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Steve Winwood • S/T

I've heard stuff that people say that I don't agree with.

I've heard stuff people say that others don't agree with but I do.

I find that it's not the experience level that matters as much as the understanding of what is producing that experience for the listener.

daddyjt wrote: »

“all amplifiers sound the same, as long as the output power and distortion numbers are similar…”

While, technically, this is true...on paper, reality is not so cut and dry. This very same discussion about all amps sounding the same has been had here. "Discussion" being a kind way of saying "knock down, drag out fight".

When folks make de facto statements like that, though, I have found more times than not that it's not coming from jealousy or inexperience or some other sort of social based construct. It is coming from rationalization instead of rational thought, though.

OK, so you made a change in your stereo and you heard a difference. Cool. Maybe you made a change and didn't hear a difference? Alright then, that's cool too.

But do you understand why? If you don't understand why are you going to try to learn why?

There are so many variables to account for in those changes. Everything from the environment you are listening in all down to the acid content of the PCB that your amp is built on can affect the reproduction of the sound. You can go crazy fretting over every little detail if you want.

But the biggest factor of them all lies between your ears. Whether you can grasp the concept that wires do matter because gauge, material composition, length, termination ends and even jacketing can affect the conductivity and noise floor of the component and it can manifest in audible changes. Sometimes it doesn't for some people. That doesn't necessarily mean that wires don't matter, it just means you can't hear a difference. Mr. Grand was a big "wires don't matter" guy but Mr. Grand also had permanent hearing loss from decades of serving his country as the boom operator in a KC-135. He couldn't hear much above about 11,000 Hz. So changes I could hear when wires were swapped out he could not because they happened in the ranges where his hearing was impaired. Does that mean wires don't matter? Nope. It just means that wires didn't matter to him because he could not realize the benefits.

There's always the placebo affect too, where you are expecting a change so even if there wasn't an audible one, your brain is saying there was so you can rationalize an expensive purchase.

The biggest problem, though, with all of it is the stigmas forced on everyone over it. It gets very cliquish and you're either a "believer" or a "non-believer" and then sorted into a faction perpetually cursed to do battle with the opposing faction for the entirety of your hobby activity.

Then you get the forceful rationalizations where folks make brash, broad claims like your amp doesn't matter or cables don't matter and it's often not coming from an empirical evidence stance but rather a "Holy heck, buddy, will you shut up about the amp specs and just listen to the music already!" or maybe they don't have the money to spend on an amp and they want to avoid the peer pressure or ridicule over their decisions? Any way you cut it, it's not always willful ignorance but it is always ego based. Nobody likes being told they are wrong, especially when personal evidence is contrary to that idea. Additionally, nobody likes hearing about how their rig is junk because it doesn't meet someone else's standards or getting mocked for it either (like Emotiva owners, anyone?).

I think that, right there, is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in this hobby of ours.

Do you like listening to your stereo? I like listening to mine. Most would scoff at some of the very plain and basic rigs I've had. I don't care though. I like it and that's all that matters.

Some of us just like listening to the music and they are content with what they have. More power to them, I'm sure they have way more beer money than others because they don't swap gear like they change underwear.

Some of us like the nerdy, science side of the hobby and strive to find out at least WHY things happen the way they do when something changes even if they can't afford to make the actual changes every time. Gives them something to strive for, though!

But the whole hobby is relative and it's based completely on a subjective consumer trying to be objective about a subjective topic.

When we mock others or dismiss them for their thoughts and experiences being different from ours, we really do hurt the hobby and, honestly, ourselves. Sometimes there are people who are very closed off and just won't listen to reason. You can't reach/help those but the rest of us? What's our excuse to laugh at and torment others over their difference in experiences? We should be learning from each other to deepen experiences and understanding on all sides.

So, I said all that to say this. The stupidest thing I have ever heard of in this hobby is the superiority complex based around a perceived moral high ground that deliberately excludes those who don't know/understand from actually knowing and understanding. Especially when the person thinking they hold that high ground has even less experience and understanding than the person they are holding that high ground over.

A close second is the baffling questions from audiophiles on why non-audiophiles dislike them. For the answer to that question, see the previous statement on what I think is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in this hobby.

YMMV

@Jstas, all the reasons why I like it here. Hardly any of the negative stuff that you so well summarized, at least in my experience.