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Re: Out of curiosity

Posted by Donald North (M) on February 25, 2007 at 18:15:25

In Reply to: Re: Out of curiosity posted by AJinFLA on February 25, 2007 at 17:30:41:

Hi AJ,

Yes, if a company is consistently creating a better sounding design, then it is intentional and not accidental or black magic. Perhaps they have developed a new, proprietary testing procedure, who knows. Take Lavardin for example, possibly they are on to something:
http://www.lavardin.com/lavardin-indexE.html

When cd's first were released and many people complained of the sound, people checked their frequency response, distortion, wow & flutter, etc and saw no signs of "problem". Not until years later did jitter, for example, become discussed and measured. But even since this discover, most players sold are still plagued with jitter.

Yes, there is brand name snobbishness and prejudice that may affect how one perceives the preformance of a product, but I have read plenty of product recommendations in Hi-Fi Choice over the years for mainstream brands like Sony, Pioneer, etc.

Having worked for some large audio companies, people would be surprised (I know I certainly was) how few (if any) of the employees and engineers at these large companies are audio enthusiasts. To most I have met it is simply a fun job and in their free time they're hotroding their cars or something else. If the employees are not genuinely interested in their field, then how can they make good sounding products? The answer most often is: They don't. This is one reason why smaller companies like Creek or Arcam tend to produce better sounding products, because they genuinely care and are listeners themselves.

I agree, there are instances where people claim to hear a difference when in fact none is made. However from my listening experiences which started in my teens, I try to keep an open mind and ear to what people can perceive because I would rather not spend my time trying to disprove what 9 out of 10 people thought they heard but discover and understand what that 1 in 10 did hear.

Donald North

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