General Asylum

Posted by chuck55 (A) on September 29, 2007 at 13:50:10

In Reply to: RE: Different than sports cars - Porsche vs Ferrari? posted by mkuller on September 29, 2007 at 13:10:10

I can SEE the differences between how a Porsche and Ferrari look. Car and Driver can MEASURE the differences in acceleration, skidpad, braking distance etc.
Now if you want to get into the intangible "soul" of the car, good luck. But how many people just buy cars based on looks? It works for GM but less so for audio. Tubes look cool glowing but most people aren't going to showcase a fancy stereo in their living room so you're back to the "sound" thing. And we all know measurements lie or at least don't tell the whole picture.

How do you quantify what you can't see? By the looks, driver material, measurements?
If you're going to base it on perception, well, that is highly subjective and changeable. Even for the same person on a given day and their frame of mind.
There are so many ways to define sound and no system does it all. Do you focus on:
1) Dynamic range.
2) Spacial dimensionality.
3) Transparency.
4) Full range sound.
5) Cohesiveness.

I watch Wilson with careful interest because if any co. can figure it out, they can. What I see is their creation of the Wilson sound. It is big, dynamic, warm. Yes, colored too, but getting BIG sound costs BIG bucks and I think they have found a way to somewhat justify their prices.

Edits: 09/29/07