Audiogon resolutions for 2022 - #1 less exaggeration when it comes to system changes


I enjoy the information presented on Audiogon, especially when posters talk about minor changes (or tweaks, which is a word I don't really like) to their system. (I also like the comedy). The problem is when everything is SUPER IMPORTANT and impactful, nothing is, relatively speaking.

I propose we institute a new scale for system changes (or even specific individual component upgrades) similar to how used records are graded. Here goes the grading system:

A - heard a strikingly positive, noticeable change as soon as the stylus hit the record

B - heard a positive change as soon as the stylus hit the record

C - hear an audible, minor change as soon as the stylus hit the record

D - was able to hear an easily noticeable improvement when comparing back and forth to previous state

E - was able top hear an improvement over previous state comparing back & forth

F - when listening intensely and comparing, was able to hear a slight improvement versus previous state

G - when comparing was barely able to hear an improvement 

#2 - keep all political opinions off Audiogon, we can hear enough of the garbage all over the place

Whaddya think?

sokogear

Showing 3 responses by hilde45

OP, bravo for coming up with this scale. I like it and will try it out. 
You're working out ways to express gradations of improvement.
That keeps us organized in terms of expressing degree of change. Helpul!
Also need to stay organized about:
(a) what specifically we are listening *for* (treble, bass, overall sound, how voices sound, pace, etc.) Here the vocabulary list from Stereophile is very helpful.
(b) What other biases might be at work in our process — mood, time of day, money spent, recording, etc.

Cross referencing the scale of gradations you've listed plus (a) and (b) creates a good way of keeping ourselves organized to make judgments. I'd love to see a scoresheet with all these factors in it.

Because this kind of task is complex — and room and ear and taste dependent, to boot — there's virtually no way to compare what we hear with what others hear, with any fine-grained accuracy. 

Still, if they're in our room with us, and a number of factors above are controlled for, we can find common ground. Lots of people stand in front of paintings in museums agreeing about shared observations. No reason it cannot happen with sound.
 

@sokogear 

Good point. I'm not against learning *specialized* terminology, and indeed, that can often be very important. Commonsense terms often do not part easily — or stay parted — from their connotations.

I would not use the word "subjective" to describe problem of assessing the quality of sound in  someone else's system; the problem lies with any number of other variables which cannot be controlled for. It's merely an "objective" problem with multiple factors. And one of those factors can be another person's preference. But that's objective, too.