tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post4169266754738751686..comments2024-03-18T03:10:30.572-07:00Comments on NwAvGuy: Subjective vs Objective DebateNwAvGuyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-66113467465291526492012-08-21T04:53:56.360-07:002012-08-21T04:53:56.360-07:00Thanks for the article: I must checkout the McGurk...Thanks for the article: I must checkout the McGurk effect.<br />As an electronic engineer, I find your comments very easy to accept; they accord with my experience.<br />You may be interested in my purchase of some headphones a while back. I found a nice little hifi shop that stocked items with various levels of quality, and aimed to spend about £50 on headphones (15 years ago!). I went armed Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-78831178885046262732012-07-04T16:54:19.669-07:002012-07-04T16:54:19.669-07:00Thanks again. I had known about headphone.com, and...Thanks again. I had known about headphone.com, and actually selected my headphones as they seemed to have the lowest measured distortion in the price range on that site, but InnerFidelity seems to have more comprehensive testing, which is great.<br /><br />That does make sense about the specs, and their variations between different manufacturers. I suppose its just like treadwear ratings on tiresAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-20328983938829674682012-07-02T09:50:22.906-07:002012-07-02T09:50:22.906-07:00You're welcome. The nice thing about measuring...You're welcome. The nice thing about measuring (or blind testing) electronics is it's possible to do it in very reproducible and verifiable ways. So it's relatively easy to keep manufacturers honest. Sadly, that's not the case with headphones and even less true with speakers.<br /><br />My best suggestion for choosing headphones/speakers objectively is to find independent tests, NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-67998692086559155832012-07-01T23:13:10.762-07:002012-07-01T23:13:10.762-07:00Thanks for your reply, it does clear up some thing...Thanks for your reply, it does clear up some things for me, and gives me some more understanding on the issue of transparency and distortion. Oddly, I looked up one of my headphones, HD600s, and they are listed at 0.1% THD (lower than the 1% I remembered, which sparked my initial post), which I will assume is at their rated output of 97dB at 1mW and constant at all frequencies (not sure about IMDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-64162510284561763862012-07-01T07:52:36.278-07:002012-07-01T07:52:36.278-07:00To address the distortion question first, there ar...To address the distortion question first, there are some good reasons why you still want low distortion electronics. A lot of this blog deals with headphones, and there are headphones that have measured distortion well below that of many headphone amplifiers (and below 0.1%). And some high quality speakers can also have distortion similar to, or below that, of many amplifiers at modest listening NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-8167806233748829132012-07-01T04:55:59.465-07:002012-07-01T04:55:59.465-07:00I would like to start off with saying I think this...I would like to start off with saying I think this blog is amazing, but I think you were a bit too "nice" with regards to discussing speakers/headphones general lack of objectivity. Here is my take on the whole situation/some thoughts I had. You seem like an intelligent and reasonable human with regards to their passion for audio, so I would value your opinion on them.<br /><br />While Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-22318858307381343592012-06-20T16:19:08.670-07:002012-06-20T16:19:08.670-07:00From an economic viewpoint I believe your case for...From an economic viewpoint I believe your case for Objetivists is not as strong as it could be. Cars in any market segmet are all but virtually indistinguishable. All relevant data are easily measurable, probably accurate and readily published. Still you'll find the same lyrical language in car reviews as in audio brochures. It's an emotional affair, perfectly human, not bad at all.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-73326790107971396062012-04-06T21:02:54.369-07:002012-04-06T21:02:54.369-07:00I just wanted to thank you for this blog. Having ...I just wanted to thank you for this blog. Having read and participated in many many subjectivist vs. objectivist audio debates over the years, yours is one of the best summaries I've ever read. You and I know that the fervent audio "true believers" are immune to objective evidence, but efforts like yours are useful in opening the eyes of those who have yet to choose mysticism overEngineer Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01025657826187841626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-55245947456882003802012-03-27T17:31:27.160-07:002012-03-27T17:31:27.160-07:00Sorry, as I said in my comment, I don't know m...Sorry, as I said in my comment, I don't know much . . . and thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-8273363178309634522012-03-27T17:15:15.673-07:002012-03-27T17:15:15.673-07:00You're partly correct. Ideally you don't w...You're partly correct. Ideally you don't want any extra amplifier stages in the signal path. But, in practice, most music we listen to has already been through many (often dozens) amplifier stages before it ends up on a CD. So adding one more stage is not a big deal.<br /><br />And there are some problems with what you suggest. As I said, the iPods volume control doesn't work on the NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-20190102183225469492012-03-27T16:46:07.487-07:002012-03-27T16:46:07.487-07:00I don't know about you NwAvGuy . . . but I per...I don't know about you NwAvGuy . . . but I personally think that RobDob was joking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-54375388797735562512012-03-27T16:34:43.390-07:002012-03-27T16:34:43.390-07:00Hmm, I just got an idea . . . by using something l...Hmm, I just got an idea . . . by using something like that product could you avoid amplifying the amp inside an iPod when using a pair of noise cancelling headphones? If you were able to do this and just have the digital signal that is your music go directly into the internal amp of your noise cancelling cans that would be just awesome cause I could avoid amplifying (and thus making more obvious)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-81158285123091674982012-03-27T13:46:55.193-07:002012-03-27T13:46:55.193-07:00That's nothing more than a Line Out Dock adapt...That's nothing more than a Line Out Dock adapter with a USB jack for charging. I have measured my iPod Touch 3G using a LOD cable and it does measure slightly better than the headphone jack. You do, however, lose use of the volume control on the iPod.<br /><br />I haven't done a blind comparison as that would be somewhat tricky. But if you were to say feed an O2 amp from the iPod NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-91280132058816521442012-03-27T13:43:55.903-07:002012-03-27T13:43:55.903-07:00Hahaha!Hahaha!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-60410233416972025982012-03-27T13:41:43.940-07:002012-03-27T13:41:43.940-07:00And don't forget to orient the amplifier with ...And don't forget to orient the amplifier with the output jacks towards magnetic north and to only test during the correct phase of the moon! I'm not sure if your post is a sarcastic joke, or sincere, but either way it's representative of some of the more deluded members of the audiophile community.NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-67330833501106197422012-03-27T12:46:32.598-07:002012-03-27T12:46:32.598-07:00Hey, I would like to know if most people would not...Hey, I would like to know if most people would notice a difference between something like this <br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/SendStation-PDLO-MiU5-PocketDock-Adapter-iPhone/dp/B002ACNZFI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331562160&sr=1-1<br /><br />and just plugging in your headphones straight into the standard jack built-in to an iPod. Has anybody conducted a blind test for Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-9302557110211505702012-03-27T02:41:36.513-07:002012-03-27T02:41:36.513-07:00I'm sorry to disappoint you NwAvGuy, but you&#...I'm sorry to disappoint you NwAvGuy, but you've got it all wrong. Thing is that you can only make useful comparisons once you've got the basic setup. For instance only vinyl source can be used, And then the vinyl temperature needs to be stabilised at 21-22c. And the entire equipment needs to be switched on and stabilised for at least 24 hrs. And of course oxygen-free copper, hardlyRobDobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-42748805331655332012012-03-12T18:40:42.280-07:002012-03-12T18:40:42.280-07:00Meyer & Moran conducted a well run study lasti...Meyer & Moran conducted a well run study lasting more than a year. They inserted a 16/44 A/D and D/A into a high resolution SACD signal path and, not surprisingly, nobody could tell the difference.<br /><br />That said, many SACDs are arguably better mixed/mastered than their CD counterparts (or even their CD layers/sides). It's no secret many SACD's are mastered to a different NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-53029473333737837192012-03-12T10:56:28.974-07:002012-03-12T10:56:28.974-07:00I'm curious how the perceived nature of a form...I'm curious how the perceived nature of a format like SACD, could influence the production/mixing of the SACD compared to a CD, maybe SACD will sound better because it's been given a different EQ and less compression since it's expected someones playing it on a dedicated equipment, compared to a car radio with heaps of cabin noise, broadcast over FM radio, or played on an average mp3 Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-62345794374953390582012-02-11T16:20:45.892-08:002012-02-11T16:20:45.892-08:00The "human sense" when it comes to high ...The "human sense" when it comes to high quality audio reproduction has been fairly well tested and documented. There are several links in this article to such documentation and many more to be found at AES and elsewhere. <br /><br />Many writers, magazines, and websites like Headphonia like to wax poetic about how humans can hear a pin drop across a crowded football stadium, but the NwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-42921464799760490532012-02-09T19:23:02.226-08:002012-02-09T19:23:02.226-08:00For those interested: http://www.headfonia.com/on...For those interested: http://www.headfonia.com/on-sound/<br /><br />The statement that immediately grabbed me is the following: "the human sense is far superior than any of the currently available machinery when it comes to observing the physical world" Perhaps this is true to some extent; the ability of the human brain to sift through the vast amount of sensory data that constantly Joshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-32504272334261859712012-02-01T07:13:37.907-08:002012-02-01T07:13:37.907-08:00Thanks for your comments, you're not the first...Thanks for your comments, you're not the first to "read" Alan's editorial differently than I did. I'm not a psychologist and I'm biased by having worked in the industry for a while. Alan wasn't denying the cables sounded the same, but I got the impression he was trying to "sugar coat" the outcome so as not to offend those who want to spend money on upgradedNwAvGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309644608738074125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-48022313047064733572012-01-28T14:29:48.191-08:002012-01-28T14:29:48.191-08:00Regarding Tom Nousaine's Wired Wisdom article ...Regarding Tom Nousaine's Wired Wisdom article in Sound and Vision, you characterize Alan Lofft's subsequent editorial as an attempt to "dance around the Wired Wisdom article--likely to appease their cable advertisers." I did not notice this at all in reading his editorial. He seemed to accept the fact that there is no audible difference between high-end and cheap speaker cables,TerrenceFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-34562173870480187322012-01-27T13:09:22.598-08:002012-01-27T13:09:22.598-08:00Reading this post reminds me of Audion vs. SoundJa...Reading this post reminds me of Audion vs. SoundJam, two competing music player programs. This was back when MP3 players were just starting to become popular, and before iTunes was released.<br />http://panic.com/extras/audionstory/<br /><br />It's an interesting read. Many people claimed Audion sounded "better" even though they were both using standard MP3 decoding software withoutyeppsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6890046273025265768.post-35398153506324903522012-01-26T15:01:29.920-08:002012-01-26T15:01:29.920-08:00I wanted to thank you for your practical and infor...I wanted to thank you for your practical and informative articles. I feel like I owe you since my reading here has essentially saved me from an unwise purchase (Little Dot MK VIII SE) I was about the pull the trigger on JUST before I found your blog. (I did a Google search for 'hd-280-pro vs DT770' which yielded your DT770 review page as the 5th result, and the 1st result not from Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com