Propeller Head Plaza

Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

Use this form to submit comments directly to the Asylum moderators for this forum. We're particularly interested in truly outstanding posts that might be added to our FAQs.
You may also use this form to provide feedback or to call attention to messages that may be in violation of our content rules.

You must login to use this feature.

Inmate Login

By default, logging in will set a session cookie that disappears when you close your browser. Clicking on the 'Remember my Moniker & Password' below will cause a permanent 'Login Cookie' to be set.

Moniker/Username: The Name that you picked or by default, your email. Forgot Moniker?	Examples "Rapper", "Bob W", "joe@aol.com".
Password:	Forgot Password?
	Remember my Moniker & Password ( What's this?)

If you don't have an Asylum Account, you can create one by clicking Here.

Our privacy policy can be reviewed by clicking Here.

Inmate Comments

From:
Your Email:
Subject:

Message Comments

Original Message

I think you're mixing apples and orangutans

Posted by lipmanl@hotmail.com on December 12, 2006 at 12:48:20:
I wholly agree with your first paragraph. It's the second where I have trouble.
This is indeed a hobby where we participate in advancement, including the advancement of knowledge. In general, isn't the best equipment today better than the best equipment of some arbitrary yesteryear? Isn't your system better (higher fidelity) than it was a decade or two ago (assuming you're old enough)? Your second paragraph, while it makes the perfectly valid point that one's purchases need not be justified says, in essence, "Damn the science! Full speed ahead!"
You are correct that that kind of thinking will not advance any kind of science, including the science of audio.
I have to admit that my philosophy is that art is phenomena that science has not yet explained. Do I think you should buy one amp over another if you like the way it sounds even though it tests worse than the other amp? YES. We need to continue scientific investigation, while at the same time acknowledging that we can't yet quantify all that matters in audio.
Double blind testing, IF PROPERLY CONDUCTED and analyzed, contributes to our collective knowledge and to future generations of audio equipment. You're right: You have to pay attention to sample size, to the effects of any additional switches you may have inserted toe ase testing, and to the possibility that you may have an outlier. Progress is often slow and painful, but always worth it.