Stumped!
- Thread starter Bloom@83
- Start date
You don’t need to do a test. Isn’t it pretty obvious that only a small percentage will hear a difference between a cheap and an expensive music system? It’s like wine. For example I honestly can’t tell the difference between a Rs 1000 wine and a Rs 20000 wine. So I am happy drinking a Rs 1000 wine. But I know a few friends who can and are happy spending Rs 20000. In audio, i can hear a difference, so am willing to spend. This is true for all hobbies which are sensory dependent.
I genuinely can’t understand how you can have endless debates about what is right and what is wrong in a hobby that is so sensory dependent.
I genuinely can’t understand how you can have endless debates about what is right and what is wrong in a hobby that is so sensory dependent.
liverpool_for_life
Well-Known Member
That analogy doesn't hold in this case. To equate the linked test to wine, the purported "connoisseurs" (i.e. not folks who could care less and with presumed above average tasting ability) weren't told the prices of the two wines and chose the much less expensive wine after tasting.
liverpool_for_life
Well-Known Member
'What if' the cheaper system was objectively and subjectively better in comparison to the more expensive one used in this very test - that majority of "trained ears" were able to pick the genuine brilliance regardless of the price or were not able to differentiate?none so far have been able to rebut , logically , the conclusions from the blind Test in the opening post.
We are all aware of the marketing ploys and snake oil associated with this industry (or any for that matter), what if in this case the cheaper setup was actually better or the harmony between the speaker and the cheaper components was better than that of the more expensive setup? This is not unheard of - and at some point in our life most of us have 'probably' experienced this; that a cheaper setup sounds better to our ears than a more expensive setup. That doesn't say all expensive setups are worse than the cheap ones or vice versa. It just says that the two setups in this case - there was perhaps a clear winner. To give an example here - I personally feel that Etymotic ER4 IEMs for Rs.24,000/- sound better than a lot of IEMs that are multiple times the price (and many around the world agree with this notion), including Shure SE 846 and Westone W60, but that doesn't mean it is better than every expensive IEM out there. Nope, it isn't it is just better than a few - that doesn't prove anything in respect to the "cheap vs expensive" debate.
If this test was repeated a few times with the same audience, with a completely different set of equipment each time and they chose the cheaper setup each time, that result could have been up for a lot of interpretation - as there is a theme there. In this case it just seems like - 1 set wins and another doesn't. So basically do not buy the expensive setup used in this test?
Just my 2 cents!!
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I thjnk the summary is that we should all buy 35K INR systems and lots of 1K wine as together they will sound sublime.. and stop wasting time on this forum discussing expensive systems.
Let the ones buying those 10K+USD systems and 20K INR wine waste their money.
Well , felicitations to the minuscule , for they truly are the Lord’s Blessed Lamb.
PS: Here’s a true (and very amusing ) story recounted by Orson Welles about celebrated drama critic & author George Jean Nathan.
‘’Nathan, who lived in Manhattan’s Hotel Royalton, was known for his tight-fistedness, and tipped none of its employees.
After about ten years of never getting tipped, the room-service waiter peed slightly in his tea. Everybody in New York knew it but him. ... And as the years went by, there got to be more and more urine and less and less tea. And it was a great pleasure for those of us in the theater to look at a leading critic and know that he was full of piss. And I, with my own ears, heard him at 21 complaining to a waiter, saying, “Why can’t I get tea here as good as it is at The Royalton?” ‘’
PS: Here’s a true (and very amusing ) story recounted by Orson Welles about celebrated drama critic & author George Jean Nathan.
‘’Nathan, who lived in Manhattan’s Hotel Royalton, was known for his tight-fistedness, and tipped none of its employees.
After about ten years of never getting tipped, the room-service waiter peed slightly in his tea. Everybody in New York knew it but him. ... And as the years went by, there got to be more and more urine and less and less tea. And it was a great pleasure for those of us in the theater to look at a leading critic and know that he was full of piss. And I, with my own ears, heard him at 21 complaining to a waiter, saying, “Why can’t I get tea here as good as it is at The Royalton?” ‘’
It’s better to be in the minuscule because at least these guys can hear differences, know what they are looking for and buy stuff accordingly. The rest I feel are wasting their money, not being able to hear and understand the differences. So you have to decide which camp you belong to.
So, Is it time for a poll?
(Draft to be refined with suggestions)
Choose one response/statement:
1. I am absolutely delighted with my system and how it sounds right now
2. I am happy with my system and how it sounds but sometimes wonder if it could get better
3. I am satisfied with my system at the moment but am planning to upgrade in the future
4. I am not happy with my system and have devious plans
5. I have a set up that plays music and I don’t bother no more about it, it sounds fine after a couple of…
6. I will never be satisfied with whatever I have
(Draft to be refined with suggestions)
Choose one response/statement:
1. I am absolutely delighted with my system and how it sounds right now
2. I am happy with my system and how it sounds but sometimes wonder if it could get better
3. I am satisfied with my system at the moment but am planning to upgrade in the future
4. I am not happy with my system and have devious plans
5. I have a set up that plays music and I don’t bother no more about it, it sounds fine after a couple of…
6. I will never be satisfied with whatever I have
95% of the time in camp 5, remainder in camp 2 when I hear other setups
Cheers,
Raghu
camp 3 since i know there is so much to improve over time. would love to be in 2 and get to 1 only before I pop off.
Having been in this hobby for almost 20 years, Would not bother with this as a hobby if in 4-6
exactly. if one cannot hear differences keeping an expensive system is just a waste of money and time.
Depending on my mood, I belong to all the camps. Probably this implies that I'm mostly in camp 6.
A forward I received seem to sum up the audiophile condition:
It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada.
Two school-going friends had a crazy idea. They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the numbers 1, 2 and 4 on their sides. That night they let the goats loose inside their school building. The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong. They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building. A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found. But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3? They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3. The school declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day. The teachers, helpers, guards, canteen staffs, boys were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found. Simply because ………… it did not exist.
*Those among us who, in spite of having a stereo setup are always feeling a “lack of fulfillment” are actually looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat No.3.*
*An absence of something is always larger than the presence of many other things*
Let’s Stop looking for goat No.3
Enjoy The Music !!!
square_wave
Well-Known Member
Hey, If one shops wisely, isn't midfi where the biggest value is ? W.RT to the magic. That has been my experience. I also know that this is the place where the bread and butter gear of most manufacturers reside so the biggest tricks are also played here.
Magic is tough in the entry price point unless one buys used... at-least the speakers.
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