I’m a retired quantitative biologist.
I agree with @millercarbon that you need to trust your own ears. A few tips from my perspective:
I agree with @millercarbon that you need to trust your own ears. A few tips from my perspective:
- Audiophiles have many "secret" techniques for improving sound. A few of them actually work. Most work their effects only on certain listeners. Is that too subtle? They are placebos, is what I meant.
- Speakers and room acoustics account for the greater part of what you hear; equipment is next important; the cable game is for when everything else is really good already.
- A tipped-up treble range will sound more immediate and impressive initially, and a year later, you’ll wonder why so many of your recordings are unpleasant to listen to.
- At least in advertising and PR (which means also in the first pages of reviews), there is a lot of technobabble. Very little of it has to do with the reason the product sounds good or bad; it’s largely marketing fluff.
- Anyone who says there is ONE best technology, or ONE best DAC chip, or ONE way to do anything in audio is a know-nothing blowhard.
- Despite that, most audiophiles are great people when you meet them in person. Join the local audio club if there is one!