What do you mean you “heard” the turntable

Whart,

your experience is valid, but  only because you are comparing with in your system with all other variables being equal. 

 My problem is people on this form say they were here or there and they heard a turntable on a completely different system in a completely different place and they say how much more transparent or how much more clear or clean or better bass or whatever. How can they be sure of what they are hearing. To me they’re hearing what they wanna hear.  I’m not saying what they are hearing is not better than what they have heard but they can’t contribute, for sure, what aspect made the sound better so how can they so easily recommend something under these conditions? 

I think maybe you didn’t read the original post. Nobody questions that one can hear differences. We are questioning how one can say they hear a new component in a new system and in a new room and contribute the qualities they are hearing specifically to that component and only that component and then recommended that component based on that unique situation. There’s no way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The only true way to compare a component to another component is to have it done in the same room at the same time all other variables being equal.

When it comes to high-end audio we’re talking about the differences between a mearly great component and an outstanding component is only about 1%. That 1% is all based on nuances, so hearing a component in one room with a certain system and then trying to compare it to something in your room to your specific system makes no sense, there’s way too many variables at play to say this component is better in any significant way or worse in any significant way.

The only component you could begin to get any real sense of, in any meaningful way are speakers, because the differences are way grater between speakers than in any other component. But even then the room is 50% of the equation, so unless you hear a speaker in the same room, driven by the same electronics your thoughts about what you are hearing or greatly skewed.

Really? We’re gonna bicker about exact %’s in a subjective context? Audiogon in true fashion. Fine, replace “50%” with “significant” if that makes you feel better.

The point, which should be obvious by the original statement, is the room contributes “significantly” to the speakers sound, so comparing in different rooms could give different presentations.

And the question wasn’t rhetorical, I asked for responses. 

@ rockinroni

 I’m not saying you can’t hear the difference, I absolutely believe you can hear the difference, but only if the change of turntable is within the same system otherwise I’ll bets are off. 

I think all too often digital proponents confuse ultimate accuracy with sound quality.

 Though I have not done the test I would be willing to bet that a $2000 cartridge on a $500 turntable with sound just as good  if not better  Than $10,000 turntable with an $200 cartridge.  But you would never really be able to tell unless they were in the same system   

 People keep running to “of course you can hear a turntable.” That’s not the question, the question is how can someone go to some other system and talk about how that specific turntable sounds better or worse than a completely different TT in a completely different system and make overreaching statements about how and why it is better sounding.