Break In Question?

douglas_schroeder

When I started in this hobby, I was precisely like most of you, self-assured, ready to debate anyone who disagreed.

It sounds like you haven't changed.

Given that you promote yourself as a writer @douglas_schroeder , here's a friendly tip from a retired editor: Use of bold face for emphasis, or casual use of italics for the same purpose, or ALLCAPS to attract attention, are all bad technique. If your writing is clear, you don't need those gimmicks.

Also, Strunk & White.

@cleeds ,

Ah, 'The Elements of Style'. The best book on writing well I've ever read.

I'm actually rereading it now.

cleeds, on the contrary, I have changed dramatically from 20+ years ago, before I began reviewing. I discuss those changes in my book. I am a different audiophile in many respects, including but not limited to the changes brought about by testing or comparisons. 

All of the local audiophiles who know me for the past 20 years remark at how much my perspective has changed. Because they are privy to my listening room and methods, they also have changed their tune on some facets of system building. 

One of my favorite incidents involves an electrical engineer who joined our group. On first meeting him at a friend’s home for a listening session, the topic turned to cables. We were debating the efficacy of cables, and I was defending their importance while he was rejecting aftermarket cables. We debated for perhaps 45 minutes, and not knowing I am a clergyman, he jokingly started to give me the middle finger, and with a smile said, "F -you," not once but a few times. 

The other gentlemen were aghast and snickering at the same time. I i didn’t mention anything to him, and only later did he realize my occupation. He turned an appropriate shade of read and apologized. I told him it wasn’t a problem and I am not so sentive to course talk but would ask that a person not take the Lord’s name in vain. 

After a while of verbal jousting, I sensed a need for something dramatic, akin to using italics in writing, perhaps. I reached for my wallet and said, "At some point you have to open your wallet and spend some money!" He did. He used the loaning system of the Cable Company to try some cables. After that, he spent $3K on a loom of cables. Now, we all laugh at the "F-you" incident. 

I appreciate the tip on writing form. The italics indicates frustration at having to clarify repeatedly. But you are correct, it was not necessary to use italics. 

samureyex, a more accurate term would be to say that we all perceive changes. When I state that like you, I "hear" changes, it means perceive changes. We all perceive the system to be changing. It is not, and I know that because I tested it. 

The perception that the system is changing is due to sensitization, not the electronics changing. I hope that clarifies for you what I intended to convey. 

While I could spend quite a bit more time here defending my assertion, I prefer to put my time into other things at the moment. Blessings to all! 

@douglas_schroeder - you have zero experience with anybody's sound systems here yet you sure are doing a lot of proclaiming. But I won't go as far as to say that there is something fundamentally wrong with you because you disagree. 

@larsman ,

Did he write anything even remotely interesting this time?

I fell asleep after the second sentence. You know, the one where he mentions his book, again.