Audio Misconceptions?

[hopjohn]

There are a lot of different audio misconceptions or subjective audio related opinions out there, some may be even a bit controversial. What are some of the ones that you've witnessed?

Here are few I've encountered, and happen to disagree with.

Bose is Best
LP audio quality is superior to CD quality
Brand x reciever needs to be paired with speaker Brand y to sound right
More power always means better sound
Room acoustics are less important than speaker selection
Interconnects are meant to be used as tone controls
Wealthy people have better ears

 

[jaxvon]

All of those. There's also the notion that it takes a lot of money to get good/great sound. And one of my favorites....expensive power cords make a difference.

Regarding the LP vs. CD thing...while the CD does have superior fidelity, many people prefer the sound of the LP and it is therefore "better" to them.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

I think the LP thing is generational. Anyone born after 1980 who never heard vinyl and was raised on CD tend to dislike the sound of it (even on a decent set-up). So I think the Vinyl fetish of audiophilia has a good chunk of nostalgia mixed-in.


In the future Audioholics.com will probably have 50 threads dedicated to 'CD vs. Lossless MP5'.

 

[Dan Banquer]

Audio Misconceptions

"Room acoustics are less important than speaker selection"

In general; you can usually work over just about any room with assorted passive room treatments and make the room acceptable. Where as with a crappy speaker.............
d.b.

 

[Spiffyfast]

The expensive power cord gets my vote for the best one, yep ima get one of those 1200 power cords for my $200 dollar sony receiver and its gonna sound like a Mcintosh setup

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I don't believe I've ever said "LP audio quality is superior to CD quality." What I've said is I "prefer" LP sound to CD. I think there is a difference in those statements.

HOwever I do agree with "Room acoustics are less important than speaker selection." I think crappy speakers will always sound crappy no matter how good the room acoustics, but great speakers will still sound good even in crappy acoustics.

 

[Audiosouse]

I think the LP thing is generational. Anyone born after 1980 who never heard vinyl and was raised on CD tend to dislike the sound of it (even on a decent set-up). So I think the Vinyl fetish of audiophilia has a good chunk of nostalgia mixed-in.

I think you're on to something. We all know vinyl is incomparable to CD in terms of quality sound reporduction. But if you've got 500 LPs sitting on the shelf, chances are you're not going to run out and replace them all with "add latest format here". So you buy a good system to reproduce your source.

I can't believe you forgot tube amps. Will someone please explain the attraction of an ancient, expensive and feeble amplifier that attenuates the sound?

 

[cornelius]

Actually, tubes can sound pretty amazing. Yes, many of the tube amps out their are nowhere near neutral, but done right, they can really sound great.

Also keep in mind that one's perception that tubes are colored is often also observed by tube lovers concerning solid state. Some say tubes are open, spacious and Solid State is thin and electronic. Tubes and Solid State have their signiture, it's whichever one helps you connect with the music.

It's also funny that tube equipment is also thought of as old and behind the times. They're actually pretty reliable, and can be opened up and fixed/tweaked - unlike many solid state amps that say "Do not open - no user serviceable parts inside."

Anyway, I like both, I'm just trying to give some perspective from the tube lover's side. I'm sure a more die-hard tube guy/girl could state their case better than I. My amp is Solid State, but I've heard some nice tube amps recently.

 

[jaxvon]

1. They look cool
2. They heat your room AND produce sound
3. They add second harmonics to the sound that are pleasing to the ear
4. They tend to bump the response in the midrange so you get a "warm" sound character
5. Some of them cost a lot so it's also a status symbol thing

 

[JohnA]

Silver is better than copper
Monster is the best
Speaker cables have a warmm sound

Did I just write a Haiku?

I forgot Teflon

 

[Spiffyfast]

Silver is better than copper

It's been a time since chemistry class, but I thought silver was the best conductor of energy, so shouldn't silver be in someway better than copper?

 

[JohnA]

It's been a time since chemistry class, but I thought silver was the best conductor of energy, so shouldn't silver be in someway better than copper?

It is a fraction better for less resistance and it won't oxidize like copper...but I doubt anyone can hear a difference, and for the price I'll save my money and buy room treatments.

Read this:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/interconnects/cableconstruction.php

 

[furrycute]

I never understood the fascination with tubes. And some of the better tube amps are priced way out into the stratosphere (saw a couple that cost more than a decent sized house).

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

"First-order crossovers are superior to higher-order types because they are phase coherent", because...

"Phase shift caused by higher order crossovers and other circuits is audible and deleterious"

"Feedback in amp circuitry is inherently bad"

"Opamps and other integrated circuits are inherently (and audibly) inferior to discrete circuits"

"Purely electronic components, and even cable, need to be broken in"

"There are differences in sound between purely electronic components like amps and CD players that no measurement protocol can account for"

"Amplifiers and other purely electronic components (rather than speakers, room acoustics, and the recording) affect soundstaging and front to back depth, not just frequency response and distortion"

Heck, one person told me his latest high-end CD player (with, ugh, a tube output stage) made the balance between orchestra and soloist "better" than his previous one, which put the orchestra "way in the background". Amazing---a CDP that can alter the mix!

 

[sploo]

HOwever I do agree with "Room acoustics are less important than speaker selection." I think crappy speakers will always sound crappy no matter how good the room acoustics, but great speakers will still sound good even in crappy acoustics.

I would have to - partly - disagree with that.

Crappy speakers, yeah, are always crappy.

However, having put a decent set of speakers (that sounded great everywhere else I'd tried them) in a room that was acoustically poor, the results weren't good. No, actually, the results were pretty awful.

Some acoustic room treatment has helped greatly, but, the bottom line: great speakers + crap room = crap sound

 

[hopjohn]

Some acoustic room treatment has helped greatly, but, the bottom line: great speakers + crap room = crap sound

Doesn't sound like you disagree with me at all.

I find it interesting that everytime this argument comes up, people try and disprove it by saying great speakers in a crappy room can sound good, but it makes me wonder if the've heard these same speakers in a decent room and again in a great room, would their opinion then change? Bottom line is with any properly positioned speaker; great, good or average, the room has the final say in the perfomance you'll get from them.

The first time I heard the Athena AS-F2's, my buddy asked me how I thought they sounded. I told him I had no idea, all could hear was the horrible room reflections (hard wood floors, and bare walls). Later I heard them in a better environment and only then could I even begin to evaluate them. My point being, there are many speakers out there I'd never begin to judge until I'd heard them in a reasonable room.

 

[sploo]

Doesn't sound like you disagree with me at all.

I don't. I was replying to Shadow_Ferret's message (disagreeing with him for disagreeing with you! )

 

[Audiosouse]

Speaker Brand X sounds better with classical, Brand Y with Jazz and Brand Z with....

Sound is sound and a good speaker will produce it accurately...be that a Belushi belch or Bethoven's Ninth...don't matter.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

Actually, to answer Hopjohn, yes, I have heard great speakers in a proper room setup and they sound great. I have heard these same speakers in a poorly setup room and they still sound good. The sound coming out of the speakers hasn't changed at all.

 

[jaxvon]

I'd have to disagree. While a speaker should be highly accurate, all speakers color the sound in some way. The way some speakers colorize the sound compliments different genres of music better than others. Also, the way certain speakers interact with the acoustics of the room will work better with orchestral music than it will small trio jazz.