NaÏve no more. Audiophiles aren't the only ones fighting. A couple of weeks ago, I sat in on a seminar about professional recording gear, PA systems, and that sort of thing—"pro…
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Call me naÏve, but I thought the Hi-Fi Wars were merely in-house squabbles. Yes, meter-carrying objectivists and wide-eyed subjectivists can carry on worse than Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But I always figured that once someone cues up Dark Side of the Moon or Kind of Blue, the partisanship subsides as we revel in our common passion for music and sound. C'mon, everybody—group hug! Okay, I exaggerate.
According to Jim, as sure as F=MA, there are no genuine golden-ear audiophiles. But for that belief to be grounded in science, he'd have to show that different metals and geometries in connectors (for example) cannot—on pain of logical inconsistency, or mathematical fallacy—create even slight differences further down the signal chain that might be audible to some individuals. Whatever equations Jim might use to prove his case, they'd have to include variables for currents, impedances, etc., as well as variables representing ear drums, auditory canals, and nerves in all their variations…
A letter in response appeared in July 1999:
Undercurrents
Editor: Reading George Reisch's "Undercurrents" in the March Stereophile (p.47), I had two strong, and opposite, reactions.
An explanation of my background might hint at why: trained as a physicist, I am currently an engineer in the new field of optical networks. In addition, as the only nonmusician in my family, I had the privilege while growing up of free tickets to the Metropolitan Opera and numerous other musical events. These I attended in addition to rock and Indian classical concerts. In addition, I am an…
With his July column in response from George Reisch:
If the bestseller was about the politics of audio, it would be called Audiophiles are from Mars and Pro Audio Engineers are from Venus. That's what I learned from the audio seminar I described in March's "Undercurrents." In this issue's "Letters," Gordon Emery Anderson seems to agree. As a physicist and audiophile, he's no stranger to audiophile bashing from engineers and scientists.
Still, Mr. Anderson thinks I was too easy on Jim, the seminar leader who poked fun at audiophiles. To debunk Jim's prejudice that golden-ear…
Compared to the world of audio, however, physicists get along famously.. Despite joking and rivalry, there's a sense of community—a shared feeling that the two camps are contributing to a common goal. Why is it so different in audio? What have physicists learned that audiophiles and pro audio engineers haven't?
For one thing, physicists know that the greatest hits of physics—from Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and others—involved just the right blend of theoretical speculation and empirical observation. The 17th-century physicist Galileo is a good example. Besides making some…
Letters in response appeared in September, October, November, and December 1999:
Scientists vs audiophiles
Editor: In George Reisch's "Undercurrents" (Stereophile, July 1999) he asserts that the "prejudices" of the engineers and scientists who bash audiophiles are based on theoretical knowledge as opposed to the firsthand experience of listening to high-end systems.
It is my somewhat educated guess that if you took most of these dissenting scientists and engineers and sat them down in front of a good audio system, they would not be able to immediately hear exactly how or why…
The conclusion is that, at low gains, audiophile-reviled op-amps like the NE5532 can achieve almost perfect audible transparency at low gains because their nonlinear distortion residual is below the unmasked threshold of hearing up to a listening level of 105dB or so. Their linear error is adequately represented by a first-order RC rolloff, which is high enough to ensure that the error is almost entirely a frequency-dependent phase shift. In turn, this phase shift represents almost constant group delay throughout the audible range, and is thus almost entirely a benign time delay. These…
Audiophiles need engineers
Editor: This is a reply to a letter from David Del Bourgo, published in the September Stereophile. First, it would have been ethical in this somewhat rare instance for the editor to seek out a rebuttal from some "qualified" audio engineer to run simultaneously. Why is it that we engineers get bashed first, without a chance to reply until much later, after the damage is done?
Editor: This is a reply to a letter from David Del Bourgo, published in the September Stereophile. First, it would have been ethical in this somewhat rare instance for the editor to seek out a rebuttal from some "qualified" audio engineer to run simultaneously. Why is it that we engineers get bashed first, without a chance to reply until much later, after the damage is done?
I take great offense at Mr. Del Bourgo's intimation that we audio engineers are not dedicated, and are also deaf (my words). His statement as to his "educated guess" is the biggest…
The Pact with the Digital Devil
Editor: The e-mail said: "Dr. Gizmo, did you read Robert Orban's letter to the editor in the October Stereophile? Want to discuss? Meet me at the Oak Room, Plaza, at 8pm, 10/4.—The Devil"
Editor: The e-mail said: "Dr. Gizmo, did you read Robert Orban's letter to the editor in the October Stereophile? Want to discuss? Meet me at the Oak Room, Plaza, at 8pm, 10/4.—The Devil"
This didn't surprise me. I have had many exciting debates with the Devil, which is one of the advantages of being the world's oldest audiophile. I was there when Joshua tested the first horn.
The Devil looked great. He was sunburned, had a long ponytail, his diamond ear studs glistened. The Tempter was wearing an ecru silk shirt, black Armani blazer, ripped…
Audiophiles with budget restrictions (most of us, I imagine) could be forgiven for feeling we're afterthoughts to most manufacturers. Even though we probably keep most companies in business by buying their "entry-" or mid-level products, we're always hearing about products designed "without compromise." Waiter, could you bring the reality check, please?
Even if you design a component without regard to the price tag, you still run into the compromises dictated by material science, or our collective ignorance, or even market pressures. (Although, with Asian economies in serious trouble, I'…