So many reviewer's and a'philes seem to rely heavily on their aural memory. I know that I do this too, but how reliable is it? Can one really remember the sound of a speaker or an amp or TT or even cables inserted into a system in the past? How long do our memories of an aural event continue?.....are they accurate representations from a few days ago, a few weeks ago, a year ago, or maybe decades ago!
I'm beginning to believe that the best we can do is maybe a few days back, BUT to say that we can accurately remember how a speaker, or an amp, or you name it,sounded years back is IMHO probably a real stretch. Which is why I'm really suspicious of when a reviewer compares an amp/speaker under review to an amp or speaker he reviewed a year or more back...I simply do NOT believe that we have that kind of aural memory ( at least I know I really do NOT).
What gets me also is when we have people damming gear from the past with their current fave's, when they have not heard the prior gear for years and furthermore NOT in the context of today's set-up's and rooms.
Are we really that good with our aural memories....I do NOT think so, but it would be interesting to formulate a test to see how accurate we really are.
How good is your aural memory? are you sure!
I'm beginning to believe that the best we can do is maybe a few days back, BUT to say that we can accurately remember how a speaker, or an amp, or you name it,sounded years back is IMHO probably a real stretch. Which is why I'm really suspicious of when a reviewer compares an amp/speaker under review to an amp or speaker he reviewed a year or more back...I simply do NOT believe that we have that kind of aural memory ( at least I know I really do NOT).
What gets me also is when we have people damming gear from the past with their current fave's, when they have not heard the prior gear for years and furthermore NOT in the context of today's set-up's and rooms.
Are we really that good with our aural memories....I do NOT think so, but it would be interesting to formulate a test to see how accurate we really are.
How good is your aural memory? are you sure!