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The reality - objective reality - that I perceive is that for some reason - non measurable - some stereo kit just sounds really inviting - warm (now measure warmth)
And Saint Saen (organ symphony) and Debussy (la mer) and Philip Glass. Those tunes may leave others completely cold - fine - but try and measure something objective about them. Impossible.
This is an audio forum, probably better asked in a brain measuring forum? I think there'll still be wide agreement that Elliphant is better than Philip Glass, though (particularly North Star).
That's because initially, in some cases, they mistakenly used vinyl masters, which have rolled off bass and boosted mids (to save space and avoid distortion on LP's). Because CD players don't then apply a corrective signal (no need since better at storing audio than vinyl) they sounded crap. Not a fault of CD technology, just the tinkered with masters that were used, which were necessary for vinyl.
So now you are left with only one thing - declaring myself deaf and possessed of no taste. About what I would expect in any kind of argument with a stereo zealot - no matter their particular religious bent.
Depends on where you look and who you know. For me once every two or three years I need to watch "Mishima" with Glass' soundtrack to feel how complex and ambiguous life can be.
So what we’ve got is a bunch of stuff that measures badly, but @valkeryie likes. So far, that’s fine.
But then we wander into a language warp. He describes his personal taste in reproduced sound as “objective reality”. It almost pains me to say this, as it is so obvious- personal preferences are, by definition, subjective.
I hate mayonnaise. I think it is awful. That does not make it “objectively awful”, as hard as I try to convince others that is so. None of us get to be the final judge of what is preferable.
However, in audio, we can marshal evidence as to what is accurate.
As far as the great unmeasured criterion, I’m afraid we are no further along, but I have a hunch it is in fact a lot of second harmonic distortion, a high noise floor, and rolled-off treble. All measurable. All inaccuracies to the source. But a very common preference in the audio hobby. It might be worth buying a $300 analogue or DSP effects box from Sweetwater (see links below) that can do the same but be dialed up and down depending on the perceived need. Label the knob “objective goodness” and go to town.
@valkeryie or anyone else interested. Download these two versions of Alan Parson's the Raven. See which you prefer. Zipped file with version A and B. They should sound different. Express an opinion about which you like better.
File A: 02 - Alan Parsons Project MFSL UDCD 606 - The Raven A.wav
SHA1: 192386737c1f606a1e23ee926f64111082cbc302
Gain adjustment: -3.92 dB
File B: 02 - Alan Parsons Project MFSL UDCD 606 - The Raven B.wav
SHA1: 1834f93bddd35d6b6a381b274f70724c74a60d98
Gain adjustment: -2.97 dB
A sounded quieter, more neutral timbrally, and more dynamic and was preferred. Once I adapted to (I presume) the coloration in B however... it really didn't bother me all that much, and I could totally get into it as well. Odd that the automatic gain had to do so much... I can only imagine how much more identifiable it would be without.
Biggest takeaway for me personally... I like the song. Second takeaway: how the hell did that 4ch conversion get into my foobar without me adding that!?! (Must have fat-fingered that at some point recently when playing with something... gone now. On a side note I just ran a second ABX with it off... I think that DSP might have made it slightly harder to tell originally - but still easy.)
File A: 02 - Alan Parsons Project MFSL UDCD 606 - The Raven A.wav
SHA1: 192386737c1f606a1e23ee926f64111082cbc302
Gain adjustment: -3.92 dB
File B: 02 - Alan Parsons Project MFSL UDCD 606 - The Raven B.wav
SHA1: 1834f93bddd35d6b6a381b274f70724c74a60d98
Gain adjustment: -2.97 dB
A sounded quieter, more neutral timbrally, and more dynamic and was preferred. Once I adapted to (I presume) the coloration in B however... it really didn't bother me all that much, and I could totally get into it as well. Odd that the automatic gain had to do so much... I can only imagine how much more identifiable it would be without.
Biggest takeaway for me personally... I like the song. Second takeaway: how the hell did that 4ch conversion get into my foobar without me adding that!?! (Must have fat-fingered that at some point recently when playing with something... gone now. On a side note I just ran a second ABX with it off... I think that might have made it slightly harder to tell - but still easy.)
Perfect reply. You confirmed you heard a difference (and it isn't hard in this case), and then you listened, picked a preference and explained it very well.
Perfect reply. You confirmed you heard a difference (and it isn't hard in this case), and then you listened, picked a preference and explained it very well.
I have this https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Com...00008NRQZ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 . (Creative 2.1 SBS 370), and I admit that I find it a LOT more pleasurable to listen to that my other system (Roon --> Digione --> Hypex DLCP --> Hypex UCD 6 channel --> Linkwitz Studio). Creative is so much more real, enjoyable and fun to listen to.
I have this https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Com...00008NRQZ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 . (Creative 2.1 SBS 370), and I admit that I find it a LOT more pleasurable to listen to that my other system (Roon --> Digione --> Hypex DLCP --> Hypex UCD 6 channel --> Linkwitz Studio). Creative is so much more real, enjoyable and fun to listen to.
I certainly can't fault your subjective preference (it's yours after all) but I do find that very hard to imagine! At least if dynamics and linearity are of even nominal importance to you... Regardless, it seems like you could easily sell off that gear and put an SBS-370 in every room in the house and have a few in reserve in case one fails on you down the road. (If you could find some old stock somewhere that is)
My understanding of electronics is thankfully limited to being able to pick a diode from a resistor. So, I have the pleasure of being blissfully ignorant of linearity/dynamics and such. Believe me, I was seriously toying with this thought of selling the gear and putting up an SBS in all rooms, yesterday! Finally, I had to resort to a bottle of peer to extinguish this subjectivist-objectivist anguish. The battle is postponed to another day .
Some 2.1 PC speakers sound damn impressive for what they are. I bet non-hi-fi companies like Creative do more research on psychoacoustics than any of the high end cottage industry brands.
Truthfully, I enjoy just about any audio setup as long as it's not underpowered or interacting with the room in an unfortunate way.
Do I get more of an emotional kick from from a really nice setup that fits my preference? Sure. But most of the time my brain compensates in a way that makes me blissfully unaware of what I'm missing.
I imagine it probably measures awful but I loved my PA2V2 for the time. I used it to amp my Sennheiser HD595s. First "real" headphones I ever owned. Sold it and the headphones over 10 years ago:
@valkeryie or anyone else interested. Download these two versions of Alan Parson's the Raven. See which you prefer. Zipped file with version A and B. They should sound different. Express an opinion about which you like better.
As far as the great unmeasured criterion, I’m afraid we are no further along, but I have a hunch it is in fact a lot of second harmonic distortion, a high noise floor, and rolled-off treble. All measurable. All inaccuracies to the source. But a very common preference in the audio hobby. It might be worth buying a $300 analogue or DSP effects box from Sweetwater (see links below) that can do the same but be dialed up and down depending on the perceived need. Label the knob “objective goodness” and go to town.
We've had cooler temperatures here, so I've fired up the space heaters:
Rogue Audio M-180 monoblocks. I've been using these less of late because of the expense of replacing 8 power tubes every couple of years when they start sounding a bit dull, to say nothing of the power they chew up.
