Is AI taking over audio gear research?
an audio dealer recommends talking to AI.
It's getting better and better and better. I think ai deep analysis of all things audio is impressive to the nth degree. Of course eventually you're gonna have to listen to something before making a purchase decision.
a lot depends on Web available source data and it's difficult to get a sense as to how extensive available material is being reviewed by AI, clearly it's vast. The truly impressive aspects are continuing to improve inference capabilities. I am far from an expert in audio stuff but I do recognize some really impressive comments being made by AI. I find myself asking lots of questions about certain gear and asking for comparisons to other gear. I have a running thread that's probably the length of the Bible at this point and that's the better way to do it rather than doing a bunch of individual threads although now ChatGPT is accessing all the threads so it may not matter much but it's still better to keep it all within one extended thread. I approach things with healthy skepticism.
ai takes initiative. It anticipate things I have not thought of. I am using ChatGPT pro. I think free Gemini AI sucks and make lots of errors.
I don't type into ChatGPT I dictate everything and that makes it more effective. I can use extended thoughts and questions and basically compose several sentences of content before I submit. It can handle lots of twisted info.
I thought I'd share all this.
AI is regurgitating all the slop online. It's impossible to understand WHY AI is recommending a product vs. say, asking online in a forum. It's also easy to game by posting your own slop on Reddit and waiting for the engines to run through and read it. The funny thing for me is reading so many posts from A'goners about what AI said, taken at mostly face value as if AI could hear a thing when it can't. |
AI is a tool. A very good tool but a tool based on probabilities. For me it all depends on how I ask the question and how much information I provide from my end. BTW, I find the exact same thing with dealers. AI is a great first step in research and far exceeds anything a simple google search comes back with. Dealers are biased, forum posters are biased, we all have leanings and preferences in responses to questions. So in the end it is an individual decision. AI can help summarize and consolidate inputs for that decision but it was still my decision to make. I would recommend challenging the AI responses and have it double check the response and provide sources so you can double check. I also copy responses from one AI and use another AI to vet it. Where AI was invaluable was in attempting use REW. No way I could have negotiated all that confusion without Gemini. I could even copy/paste screenshots. Same for HQPlayer. The HQPlayer developer tends to put helpful nuggets in posts across forums and no way I can or want to read all that. BTW, on the Hegel post above, AI did recommend it as a good pairing for KEF and KEF agreed when I emailed them and asked what amp works best with their speakers. So AI can be right and it can be very wrong. But people/dealers/forum contributes can be as well. I vet it all regardless and am very grateful for everyone who contributes because it was helpful for me as I navigate all this complexity. |
It's really good for getting specs/details on products you already know something about, even it it's just the name. Beats manually looking at a bunch of websites. As an example, I recently asked it to compare 2 specific cables, one of which I own, and the conclusion was most likely a lateral move. Obviously I would need to listen to both to prove that, but the logic made perfect sense.
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@erik_squires, I agree!! Mike |
