It seems the core of arguments here and on all other audio groups revolve around what it is that constitutes good sound with people on one side who all but claim subjective observations of sound quality are meaningless. That people who believe stereos that sound good to them, do in fact sound good, are somehow delusional. Question, where are these staunch objectivists defending their position that what subjectively sounds good is not necessarily the most important criteria where sound quality is concerned?
Good question. Really good question. So far as I can see all the answers boil down to, "I know it when I hear it." A majority go even beyond that, "I know it when I feel it." They talk about being drawn in, losing track of time, etc. One even went so far as to say, "When I can listen to Adele." Talk about a high bar!
But, unless I missed it, not a single one said, "When it measures good."
Amazingly, no one said, "When the double-blind test confirms it sounds good."
Astoundingly, no one said, "Well on account of expectation bias I am never really sure of anything."
So kudos compliments and atto-boys on a clever discussion topic. Still, don’t judge, as Stilgar might say, hastily. The question is, "How do you know". So it could be you got the answers you did because this is those of us who know. Could it be people insist on measurements because they don’t know what sounds good?
