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Those error bars fit the data to a tee.
Those error bars fit the data to a tee.
Those error bars fit the data to a tee.
I feel the same way, and I'm just thinking about what makes it so. Maybe if a lot of love and dedication from a designer of distinction and audiophile has gone into it. Or it is loaded with history. Hard to describe, I continue to think about it. Of course, it must also sound very good.Some gear almost has a 'soul'.
My family and dogs have soul. Literature, art and films have soul. Most of the music I like has soul. And I prefer if the audio equipment I use to listen to music does not insist on inserting its "soul" (whatever that might be) into the relationship between me and the music.I feel the same way, and I'm just thinking about what makes it so. Maybe if a lot of love and dedication from a designer of distinction and audiophile has gone into it. Or it is loaded with history. Hard to describe, I continue to think about it. Of course, it must also sound very good.
It is easier for me to describe the opposite. A Topping DAC or a Genelec Monitor has no soul, imo. It is the sober result of CAD/CAM and engineering teamwork.
If the "subjectivism" we're talking about is an insistence that subjective judgement is a superior way or the only valid way of choosing or designing consumer audio products, then I have a rather opposite impression. It is something that was rather alien when I was introduced to it in the 80s and it grew since then into something very odd.Most of us old timers started out as subjectivists because there wasn't much objective information available. Before digital audio we had nothing but phono cartridges with wild frequency response and the best we could do was find loudspeakers which had opposite flaws. Test gear was rudimentary. Today with reasonably priced transparent electronics, REW and the work of Toole and Olive available, it's a lot easier to be objective.
Inspired by the Japanese concept of animism, where objects are believed to possess a spirit or life force called "kami", I see this said "soul". In Japan, people have great respect for inanimate objects and recognize their unique essence. Audio devices can be seen in this way: They embody the history, intentions, spirit and passion of their creators.My family and dogs have soul. Literature, art and films have soul. Most of the music I like has soul. And I prefer if the audio equipment I use to listen to music does not insist on inserting its "soul" (whatever that might be) into the relationship between me and the music.
Ok. But then how come "a Genelec Monitor has no soul". Does it not also "embody the history, intentions, spirit and passion of [its] creators"? And further, how could such a question be a matter of opinion as opposed to one of fact?Inspired by the Japanese concept of animism, where objects are believed to possess a spirit or life force called "kami", I see this said "soul". In Japan, people have great respect for inanimate objects and recognize their unique essence. Audio devices can be seen in this way: They embody the history, intentions, spirit and passion of their creators.
(I was probably Japanese in a previous life.)![]()
Good question, but the massive use of CAD/CAM methods, the partly international teamwork of designers and engineers are probably detrimental to the kami.Ok. But then how come "a Genelec Monitor has no soul". Does it not also "embody the history, intentions, spirit and passion of [its] creators"? And further, how could such a question be a matter of opinion as opposed to one of fact?
The 511 looks like a part of a grade-B sci-fi movie. In fact, it was used as a prop for a death ray once. I wonder if that influenced my design choiceI personally think this question of soul has more to do with an apparent "craftsmanlike" aesthetic (including how the object is marketed) than anything else. Nothing wrong with that, but shintoism is definitely a divergent category of audiophilia vs. objectivism or subjectivism.![]()
I think that applies to most of us. A work in progress should be an option! For me anyway.Still not sure how to vote
As a response to my statement yours doesn't make any sense to me. It might make sense on its own.If the "subjectivism" we're talking about is an insistence that subjective judgement is a superior way or the only valid way of choosing or designing consumer audio products, then I have a rather opposite impression. It is something that was rather alien when I was introduced to it in the 80s and it grew since then into something very odd.
I was responding to "Most of us old timers started out as subjectivists because..." by expressing that my impression was of the reverse, that subjectivism (under that caveat of my vague understanding of what it means) encroached into the home audio hobby, took a lot of mind-share, and became this big weird thing. My recollection is of it arriving and growing over time.As a response to my statement yours doesn't make any sense to me. It might make sense on its own.