- Joined
- Oct 11, 2018
- Messages
- 3,740
- Likes
- 6,454
Even though Stereophile (and the others) exist as the unofficial advertising arm of the industry, these articles are not ads per se. And if Cardas 'quotes' Herb in a real paid ad, they are just reporting what someone said.
Funny thing (and I don't know about Australia), but my guess is that you could take all nine top court Justices (with maybe one or two exceptions), and after they spent half an hour listening to an accomplished audio store cowboy, whose job is coaching unsuspecting customers in the mysterious ways of hook up wire, they too will hear start to hear stuff that's just not there.
Besides, if issue is civil, the burden of proof is preponderance of evidence, and reasonable doubt doesn't even enter the scene. In that case, Stereophile could line up all the people who 'hear' differences, compared with those who don't, count the numbers up, and even someone as skeptical as Judy would have to issue summary judgement in favor of the defendant.
The only useful thing these 'reviews' are good for, is offering a low-brow laugh. Still, I have to give Herb credit. Definitely challenging Vic for a first place gold in the 'over the top audiophile sensitivity and emotionalism' Olympics. Vic's going to have to get even more emotional, in his next write-up, for sure. Yet I feel that a man as sensitive as Vic Serinus is up to the challenge.
Great opera singers like my beloved Maria Callas supercharge the air in front of them with the purest tones and the most dramatic dynamics. They electrify large halls to the point where the audience feels the song's energy penetrate their being. My favorite audio systems mimic this effect: They put sound into the room with vigorous, tangible force. The singer's raw energy captured on the recording is not lost. It is projected in an exciting, believable fashion.
Herb takes the lead with that copy. That's got to be a 9.3, or even a 9.5, in the audiophile blather category.
Even so, I admit that I might have it all wrong. I've been wrong before. However my guess is that no matter how much Cardas Herb throws at Maria, he's not going to make those old Parlophones sound like any of the stuff he's writing about!
Last edited:
