Reading the bi-wire thread made me smile, thinking about the incredibly long road I've travelled to get to my current system which I think is quite good, but of course could easily be better, but its certainly good enough to entice me into spending an entire evening listening to music at least every few weeks! I mean really listening, not just playing background stuff or DVD's (which simply never sound that good just OK).
I'm an engineer by qualification (although I'm a Mechanical Engineer and know only the absolute basics about electronics) and thus subscribe to the world of logic and science. It took me many years to learn that approach would only get you so far, with regard to what actually REALLY sounds good in hifi. Trying to choose a system component based on the engineering specs alone is hopeless. I dont even bother to find out what the watts RMS or the % distortion, current output or any of the stuff that used to be so important to me are any more. The only real scientific facts I can say I still rely on are:
1) A big amplifier (ie large power output) will control the speakers more precisely than an equal quality/design smaller amplifier.
2) You cant produce deep, distortion free bass from tiny speakers no matter what the salesmen from BOSE or anyone else say.
3) The more rigidly your speakers are mounted to the earth the better
The rest is a black art, to me at least.
Thus the only measurement that counts after that is does it sound good? If yes then keep, if no discard and move on. No matter how much the brochure, the specs, your mate, the magazine etc tells you it SHOULD sound, if the little voice in the back of your head is saying it sounds crap, it sounds crap!
This is incredibly difficult because our brain's dont keep easily reviewable previous audio experiences available for easy detailed comparison. Its not like photography where you put the two images side by side and experience/compare them simultaneously. Music examples have to be experienced in sequence and the detailed memory of the performance fades within a few seconds. Even playing the same track and switching between components can be very difficult as the differences become more subtle. Which to me is the downfall of blind testing, its very easy to become confused about which is better in short A-B selections.
The trick for me was to learn to listen to the little voice, becuase your subconcious knows, your concious/logical mind doesnt! Some times you really want it to sound good. For example you get to hear a system that cost close to 100k, with all the knobs and whistle's and latest must have's, which is rated good by all the magazines etc, how can this possibly sound bad? Or you get the upgrade itch and you start the research and find what you think is THE ANSWER based on reviews, brochures, or whatever, you finally get it home and start listening in earnest. Typically after a few hours of listening I always ALMOST convince myself that I was right, it is the answer. The key at this point is what does the little voice say? If you find yourself explaining away the nagging suspicion of slight new harshness in the trebles away or the fact that while you can hear every single note made in absolute perfect clarity, it still sounds like a machine copying the artist in fantastic, even better than life detail (a problem I had with some of the super priced units I briefly considered, some of the real "big" names), if you find yourself getting tired or thinking "if only it wasnt so bright" "or "why does it sound like its being processed by a super computer" etc then its not for you!
I tend to rather just want to live with system A for a few days and then B, typically at the end if I still have access to both I might try a few direct A-B comparisons to sort out any specific issues that worry me. If its not absolutely clear then which is better, stick with what you have until you find something that is! This also stops you falling for the WOW factor that is designed to mislead you into picking something that gives superficial performance but cant sustain it or becomes fatiguing.
I'm an engineer by qualification (although I'm a Mechanical Engineer and know only the absolute basics about electronics) and thus subscribe to the world of logic and science. It took me many years to learn that approach would only get you so far, with regard to what actually REALLY sounds good in hifi. Trying to choose a system component based on the engineering specs alone is hopeless. I dont even bother to find out what the watts RMS or the % distortion, current output or any of the stuff that used to be so important to me are any more. The only real scientific facts I can say I still rely on are:
1) A big amplifier (ie large power output) will control the speakers more precisely than an equal quality/design smaller amplifier.
2) You cant produce deep, distortion free bass from tiny speakers no matter what the salesmen from BOSE or anyone else say.
3) The more rigidly your speakers are mounted to the earth the better
The rest is a black art, to me at least.
Thus the only measurement that counts after that is does it sound good? If yes then keep, if no discard and move on. No matter how much the brochure, the specs, your mate, the magazine etc tells you it SHOULD sound, if the little voice in the back of your head is saying it sounds crap, it sounds crap!
This is incredibly difficult because our brain's dont keep easily reviewable previous audio experiences available for easy detailed comparison. Its not like photography where you put the two images side by side and experience/compare them simultaneously. Music examples have to be experienced in sequence and the detailed memory of the performance fades within a few seconds. Even playing the same track and switching between components can be very difficult as the differences become more subtle. Which to me is the downfall of blind testing, its very easy to become confused about which is better in short A-B selections.
The trick for me was to learn to listen to the little voice, becuase your subconcious knows, your concious/logical mind doesnt! Some times you really want it to sound good. For example you get to hear a system that cost close to 100k, with all the knobs and whistle's and latest must have's, which is rated good by all the magazines etc, how can this possibly sound bad? Or you get the upgrade itch and you start the research and find what you think is THE ANSWER based on reviews, brochures, or whatever, you finally get it home and start listening in earnest. Typically after a few hours of listening I always ALMOST convince myself that I was right, it is the answer. The key at this point is what does the little voice say? If you find yourself explaining away the nagging suspicion of slight new harshness in the trebles away or the fact that while you can hear every single note made in absolute perfect clarity, it still sounds like a machine copying the artist in fantastic, even better than life detail (a problem I had with some of the super priced units I briefly considered, some of the real "big" names), if you find yourself getting tired or thinking "if only it wasnt so bright" "or "why does it sound like its being processed by a super computer" etc then its not for you!
I tend to rather just want to live with system A for a few days and then B, typically at the end if I still have access to both I might try a few direct A-B comparisons to sort out any specific issues that worry me. If its not absolutely clear then which is better, stick with what you have until you find something that is! This also stops you falling for the WOW factor that is designed to mislead you into picking something that gives superficial performance but cant sustain it or becomes fatiguing.
