FW: Re: Advice on Cables and Line Conditioners Wanted

Archived from groups: rec.audio.high-end (More info?)

>Michael Scarpitti wrote:
>
>I wonder if the 'objectivists' really listen to high-end systems.
>There is something to the notion that one has to 'learn' how to spot
>differences in sound. Taking just speakers for example,

So who said speakers didn't sound different???

>as I grew
>familiar with the various sets of speakers I have owned over the
>years, their flaws became more and more obvious as time went on. Thus,
>the upgrade bug gets hold of you. My first speakers were cheap two-way
>Electro-Voice models I bought in 1972. A few years later, I bought
>Yamaha NS690's, because the EV's just did not satisfy me anymore after
>4 years. After a few years, the shortcomings of the Yamahas became
>increasingly apparent, even though I had upgraded the power and
>quality of amplification along the way. Thus, after an audition, I
>purchased Rogers Studio 1 speakers in 1981, which seemed to be almost
>flawless at the time...
>
>They were, in fact, quite good, and I kept them for 20 years, until I
>ran across a pair of used Yamaha NS-1000M's, which I brought home to
>compare to the Rogers. The big Yamahas made the Studio 1's flaws even
>more apparent.
>
>I have also visited audio salons on a regular basis for the past 30
>years, and occasionally I would bring home equipment to audition.
>Having thus acquired a practiced 'ear', I now can listen critically to
>high-end equipment of all kinds and hear nuances that I would never
>have noticed in 1972.
>
>It takes time and practice to be able to hear the differences between
>products like cables. The quality of source and amplification, not to
>mention the transducers, also matters

I have two questions for you, Michael:

Question No. 1: Do you think you're telling us anything we haven't already
heard?

"Your system isn't resolving enough." "You haven't trained your ears." It's
all old-hat. And none of it affects our suspicion that the "nuances" you
claim to hear are actually in your imagination.

Question No. 2: Do you actually read what others post, and do you understand
why we suspect that you are imagining those nuances?

There are solid scientific reasons to doubt the ability of human beings to
hear differences among most cables and amps. I don't insist that you accept
this science as true, but if you're going to argue with people, at least
make an effort to understand what they are saying to you and why.

bob

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