Have you "lied" to yourself?


It is time for the utmost honesty. How many of you have made a fairly costly upgrade/purchase and weren't able to hear any difference (even if you struggled, it wasn't very obvious), but convinced yourself the difference was there (to avoid feeling embarrassed/taken, or facing that you don't have "golden ears")?

There's no need to mention the brand/manufacturer, but do mention the type of component as it would be interesting to see whether this type of thing happens more often with preamps, amps, cables, or sources (I doubt it ever happens with speakers).

I'll start. I'm guilty of spending about $600 upgrading speaker my cables and couldn't hear much of a difference.
128x128felthove

Showing 2 responses by frogman

Attend LIVE performances; preferrably but not necessarily acoustic!!!!!!

Live music. Live music. Live music.Live music. Live music. Live music. Live music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps whoever gave my post negative votes missed my point; perhaps I was too vague and not direct enough. I will answer Felthove's query as directly as I can: NO! I have never "made a fairly costly purchase and not been able to hear a difference". Was it always a positive difference? No way! But I could always, perhaps with time, hear a difference. And no I was not fooling myself. I will add however, that my personal experience with all the different types of equipment and tweaks available is not nearly as comprehensive as that of some audiophiles I know.

I think it is important for audiophiles to accept the premise that ANY change in the components of a sound system, and that includes isolation and other "lesser" components, will have an effect in the sound of a system. It has to. Wether we can hear it or are familiar enough with that type of possibly subtle sonic characteristic, does not affect the reality of the sonic change; however subtle. Then again, one man's subtle change is another's obvious change.

The point of my first post, if perhaps not directly on topic, is certainly relevant. And that is, that only through exposure to the live musical experience can the audiophile hope to truly reach the highest level of hearing/listening acuity and appreciation. I hope this point is not construed as provocative or elitist; it is IMO quite logical.

We audiophiles generally accept the idea that the recording/playback process distorts the original event to varying degrees. The rich complexity of live music is IMO well beyond the capabilities of most record/playback equipment, so only through exposure to the live experience can we have an honest sense of just how "subtle" the potential effects of changing equipment might be.

Happy listening and support live music! It just might save us costly equipment purchase mistakes in the long run.