Firefly00
Active Member
I’m not saying that you aren’t hearing that. Not at all. What I’m saying is that it’s not just about the *audio*, it’s also about how you perceive your system, and biases that come with it.This is a hard topic for me to weigh in on with a scientific or engineering perspective. I can’t tell you why something sounds different regardless of the SINAD numbers. But, I can say that I can tell the difference between how my system sounds with different pieces in the chain. From my headphones to the amp or DAC I put in the chain. I used to own a THX 789, the amp de jour for quite some time. I hated the way it sounded in my system. I recognized how clean it sounded, I recognized that distortion was extremely low , I had no issues with its aesthetics. But, I found it to be lifeless. It didn’t have a soul in my opinion. I also recognize it isn’t supposed to. I have also owned a Gilmore Lite which is also considered to be a “wire with gain” type of amp. I have also owned a Wells Audio Milo which definitely imparts its own sonic signature and didn’t like it. I found it to be overly warm. I have owned 2 Mjolnir amps. Both beautifully built with specific build philosophies. One I loved, the other I didn’t. I never measure my gear or look at the spec sheet. If I am interested in the product, I try it. If I like the its synergy with my chain and headphones, awesome. If not, I move on. I will also change around my headphones to match my amps from time to time. My DAC is currently the Pontus II R2R and I absolutely love it. I owned a TEAC UD-505 right before it and a Vinshine R2R Ref right before that. They each made a difference in my chain, all three great but very different. I listen to a lot of music that has odd time signatures and so how my system is able to handle the rhythm and pacing of my music is the #1 thing I look for. Almost all amps and DACs these days measure past what I can hear in terms of noise. But, they all sound different. Even the ones that are meant to impart nothing by way of sound coloration. I don’t mind a bit of distortion, I am not looking for the greatest measured device. I buy to a certain budget and then do my best to ascertain whether or not it makes my music sound as close to what it should sound like at the venue. I mostly listen to live music. Being that I don’t utilize a 2-Channel system, I also recognize that the headphone has the greatest impact on what I am hearing. So the synergy between my headphone and chain is something I pay really close attention to. I continue to tweak, and try. I continue to learn as I listen. As long as I am listening to music, I am basically happy. Ears are similar to our palates. The more you use them the more fine tuned they become. And some times the sum of the parts don’t add up. With food, I always try to use the best ingredients I can find. I can taste the difference between 2 different choice cuts of meat. I can taste the difference between a piece of salmon wild caught from the Bering Sea and a piece farm raised in New Zealand. I feel my listening skills have improved to the point where I can hear how the implementation of the parts harmonize within a circuit. There is an art to designing and implementing and choosing the right parts to use for that design and implementation. The designer is looking to create something and it is up to me how I experience it to determine whether or not I agree with their piece of art. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. But the journey is the prize, so YMMV. I will keep listening and keep trying and continue to hone my listening skills. As long as it is fun, I am happy with the process.
Maybe I’m crazy, but it seems to me like Subjective Audio is about the journey, and objective audio is about the end result.
If I was to treat audio as an ongoing hobby I’d much rather spend time screwing around with tweaks and different amps/DACs, because that’s fun