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Is There any Consensus at all amongst Audiophiles?

I remember once reading somewhere that theories in science don't necessarily disprove and succeed each other - merely that when proponents of less popular theories die they often take their theory with them.

So even in science there is no absolute right or wrong, merely an accepted consensus which can change from day to day. Much like the butter or margarine debate which has seen both sides on top at one time or another. Sometimes even old forgotten theories eg Flat Earth, can attempt a comeback!

However this lack of consensus only applies to cutting edge science. It does not mean that the vast amount of accumulated scientific knowledge is held in contention. Indeed there have been no major upheavals in scientific thought for almost one hundred years. 

And that despite the rise of the internet age.

Anyway, it would be interesting to see whether there is any consensus at all in the world of domestic audio playback. Very little, if the past few years of this forum are anything to go by. Professional audio on the other hand doesn't seem to have the time or stomach for this kind of endless navel gazing. 

But still, there must be some consensus in domestic aydio - there must be. Otherwise we're all doomed to die endlessly disagreeing with each other. Perhaps it might be easier to get the ball rolling if we can all state what we actually believe in. Perhaps.

I'd like to start by saying that err... this isn't easy. Hmm.. how about me saying that increased bandwidth (20Hz-20kHz) is a good thing?

Surely we can all agree with that, can't we?

What else is there?

Loudspeakers have a greater performance impact on the delivered sound than other components. Even more than other transducers like headphones and cartridges.

How about adding that this is because loudspeakers exhibit over a thousand times more distortion than the rest of the audio chain added up together?

Instead of constantly bickering, which we also enjoy, it might be of some interest to see what we actually believe in.

This might be more difficult than knocking other opinions (and less fun) but who knows, it might even make us consider different opinions, if not quite abandon our own.




cd318
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,652 posts
 
@noromance ,
I struggled between the two choices and settled on Hobbes. He believed the common man couldn’t properly choose and was powerless to reach any outcome, or something like that, without guidance from a sovereign (Leviathan).

The Hobson’s choice was something like a take it or leave it situation. I had to look them up to make sure (it’s been so long). 

All the best,
Nonoise
richopp
760 posts
 
The only thing I can think of is that YOUR ROOM is the most important element of any sound system.

Other than that, everyone likes what they like, so that is GOOD!

Cheers!
cd318 OP
2,636 posts
 
@nonoise , are we human or are we cats?

@maghister, "And also some evident fact: an amplifier costing 10,000 is probably better than my vintage very good Sansui..."

I agree with what you say about individual experience. Your comment above ('probably better') shows just how difficult it is to establish any definites. 

@boxer12, agreed. Surely we all like music?

@erik_squires , totally agree.

@flatbackground, not sure about that. I think his arguments do have merit. I just wish he'd pull his punches a bit more.

@douglas_schroeder , I have read Blink and don't see what it adds to the work of Freud. Sure Siggy's writings go in and out of fashion but the acid test of his analysis of the workings of the unconscious mind is currently moving along almost hand in hand with the ongoing development of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scanning technology. Whew!

@andrewkelly, do you mean "AlI Want is You"?

@bpoletti , you're probably right. Perspective matters.

@richopp, in extreme cases yes.
A dead room can almost kill the life/energy out of any sound. But on the other hand too much life (echo) has its own issues.

So yes, the room matters.







onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,153 posts
 
I remember once reading somewhere that theories in science don't necessarily disprove and succeed each other - merely that when proponents of less popular theories die they often take their theory with them.

So even in science there is no absolute right or wrong, merely an accepted consensus which can change from day to day. Much like the butter or margarine debate which has seen both sides on top at one time or another. Sometimes even old forgotten theories eg Flat Earth, can attempt a comeback!

However this lack of consensus only applies to cutting edge science. It does not mean that the vast amount of accumulated scientific knowledge is held in contention. Indeed there have been no major upheavals in scientific thought for almost one hundred years.
This is just uninformed scientific nihilism.  In the last 25 years humans have confirmed the existence of exoplanets, discovered the universe is expanded at an increasing rate of speed, measured gravity waves from colliding neutron stars (which also confirmed the genesis of many heavy elements) and discovered that super massive black holes are at the center of nearly all galaxies.  And that's just a few of the scientific discoveries from astronomy.

There's more happening between human beings than figuring out what power cord to use.
winnardt
170 posts
 
As several others have noted, you seem to have sabotaged the main point of your post by including the statement that there have been no major upheavals in scientific thought for almost one hundred years. To a scientist such as myself, this is just a frightfully ignorant statement. Here are a few of the more important ideas: Big Bang Theory and accelerating expansion of the universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background, the age of the universe, missing mass and energy (dark matter and dark energy), exoplanets, plate tectonics, Quantum mechanics and the structure of atoms, quarks, Superconductivity, DNA (which conclusively proves evolution), and vaccines (which have saved millions of lives). 
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