Message to golden-eared audiophiles posting at ASR for the first time...

[Henry53]

Look, as a victim of tinnitus I can say this with confidence: Whatever hearing limitations any one person has is a filter that persists continuously for that person at some level, day and night. Thus, everything I hear goes through that filter, including live music.

Thus, if I want my home system to be accurate, it has to sound like live music, so that the filter applied by my hearing afflictions applies to it the same way it applies to live sound. That preserves the illusion for me (and for anyone else listing to my system). This notion that my sound system needs to correct for a hearing deficiency assumes that I actually can know from experience what reality used to sound like and can make that comparison. I can't--hearing deficiencies don't turn on and off, they gradually develop over years and our brains apply corrections so that everything still sounds real to us. Trying to counteract those deficiencies results in an unreal sound.

Yes, tinnitus seems to come and go, but really I think it surges and diminishes. For me, the tinnitus becomes worse when what I'm listening to is very strong in high frequencies--the frequencies expressed by the ringing in my ears. So, the strategy of hot-rodding high-frequency response to overcome the hearing loss that has probably triggered tinnitus triggers it even worse.

In the end, I still want the system to be accurate--to take what's on the recording and project it as sound in my room with the same waveform characteristics as on the recording to the extent possible. And that we can measure.

Rick "can ignore tinnitus and hearing loss unless the system tries to compensate for it" Denney

The best advice I ever heard from a reviewer was, "No recording sounds remotely like live music". All recorded music is fake, its an illusion , pick which fake you like. If a measurement makes your illusion more real, great, it doesn't for me.

 

[BeeKay]

No recording sounds remotely like live music

What live music? Through PA? Fake too. If you follow that route there are classical concerts. Sounds different at almost every seat. Crazy reverbs. Almost as awful as churches. Listening to rooms more than to the sources … and now?

Maybe time for another hobby then?

 

[RickS]

Ok, folks, should be able to see where this is going and little point in trying to alter opinions that are contrary to good science.

With over 4000 posts, pretty sure the OP's purpose is clear to most members by now. Please move on to more productive discussions.

 

[ahofer]

If a measurement makes your illusion more real, great, it doesn't for me.

If you prefer to let well-known and scientifically researched things remain a mystery, great, I don't.

Nobody 'listens to measurements' that's a strawman invented by people making a massive category error.

 

[RickS]

And now let's give this thread a long weekend break while I ponder euthanizing it.

 

[RickS]

Have had a few votes in favor of closing and none opposing.

Thread will stay locked.