Considerations prior to your next purchase


I propose that applying the term audiophile to a person over fifty is an oxymoron and such, that person can’t really be trusted to make competent choices when it comes to purchasing or discerning what actually sounds best.


According to Decibel Hearing Services https://decibelhearing.com/high-frequency-hearing-loss/ it is very hard for a person over 50 to hear over 12,000hrz and I suspect that most in that group who consider themselves audiophiles probably can’t get close to that as we tend to enjoy or enjoyed in the past the louder volumes which is a known destroyer of high frequency hearing


If you notice from the linked chart most people over 18 can’t hear over 17,400hrs so truth be told the only true audiophiles are probably 12 year old girls. Because they can actually hear 20 to 20,000hrs they are the only group who are truly qualified to actually make component sound decisions


(The other option which actually might be easier is to train cats to make the decision but I’ll explore that in a later thread.)


What I’m proposing is actually based on the babysitting model where you would hire the true audiophiles to come either with you to the stereo shop or in your home space to perform the listening tests. The benefits to them would not only be short term CASH but also long term. I fear that the whole high end stereo complex is going to die out when the current crop of wanna be audiophiles die off. Just think in 10 years there would be a population of new listeners that could tell the difference from booming bass and flabby bass. They would be a catch for every 22 year old guy with a stereo. Maybe they could even effect the music scene where recording and dynamics matter.


Thoughts?


128x128danager
“Everyone’s gone to the movies… now we’re alone at last “

Steely Dan


Pathetic attempt to taunt me into doing your own work for you. Total fail.
@millercarbon  I heard a couple of Hans Beekhuyzen youtube videos recently where he discussed hearing at older ages. He affirms the point about older hearing being better in many ways because hearing is not just the physical reception of physical stimuli, but the training of attention, selectivity, and discrimination. You know all this, I realize, but I just remembered it and wanted to throw it out there for general consumption.
Yes. A visual metaphor. One time on a Porsche Club tour this one guy is letting his son drive his 911. Extremely narrow twisty country road. Up and down, left and right, sun and shadow. Kid is keeping up but we can tell from the lines he is taking it is a challenge. At one point yet another blind curve only this time a puddle on the road. At this pace if the kid hits the puddle, not good. He misses it. We all miss it.   

Afterwards we are congratulating the kid on missing the puddle.

"What puddle?"  

I'm sure if tested his vision was a lot better than any of ours. So much for simplistic performance measures.