On Dec 20, 2:58 pm, JeffB wrote:


Careful with those comments about audio distortion - you could ignite a
vicious flame war. And don't forget to use the special green marker pen
to keep the photons from leaking out the edges of your CDs... ;-)

I have yet to walk away from a discussion, heated or otherwise, even
slightly scratched.
When it comes to subjective evaluation, the tests and the documented
results, I have done my homework.
When separated from their pre-conceived ideas, even the very best of
those (usually self proclaimed) 'Golden Ears' will fall flat on their
faces. IOW, hide the stuff they are listening to behind acoustically
transparent curtains. Make sure that the volume levels are set very
precisely to identical levels, and I will wager whatever one likes
proving that a $200 power amp can't be told apart from a $5000.00
amplifier. (Assuming that both are decent quality products of similar
power)
More to the point, those Golden Ears will NOT be able to tell the
difference between speaker wires or green markers on the edge of CD's,
or even the difference between CD players.
There are (were) differences between electro-mechanical transducers.
Phono pick-ups, microphones, and loudspeakers. But those, also, will
astound the golden ears when they are deprived of the visual contact
of their mega-buck babies when a pair of $500, well designed, speakers
**** all over them.

My mentor, Dr. Floyd E. Toole shed a lot of light on the validity of
blind tests. (Fortunately, that also included a blind test of a
variety of scotch whiskies... again, when you don't know what you're
tasting, suddenly you forget all the reasons why you're supposed to
like that expensive single malt.)

I can't think of an industry so rife with snake-oil salesmen as the
audio business.

r