Instead we like to cling to "everyone likes a different sound so let chaos reign."
Right, what I took home from that article is that (no surprise) each designer has different priorities about how to "correct" a recording's inherent inaccuracies. Andrew Jones' philosophy is one approach, and no doubt his designs sound "good", but they aren't the only ones that do.not sure why you think the lack of an absolute sound (as all designers in that piece basically said) is chaos.
If you subscribe (incorrectly) to the notion that every person likes a different sound, it creates a totally random situation for speaker designers. Every company then chases a different goal and you as a consumer is left to sift through to total confusion. All because of the false premise that the chances of someone liking ice cream is 50-50. Once there, you would need to have a million flavor to please everyone....not sure why you think the lack of an absolute sound (as all designers in that piece basically said) is chaos.
not sure why you think the lack of an absolute sound (as all designers in that piece basically said) is chaos.
It does not result in any chaos at all - it results in many types of speakers, availability and success is then determined by economics (including marketing) and people preferences.
Even designers that create speakers aiming at being essentially "neutral" such as Laurence Dickie - I think no one has doubts about his vews on speaker design - admit that there is a place for alternatives. (quoted from a Soundstage interview http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/features-menu/general-interest-interviews-menu/242-searching-for-the-extreme-laurence-dickie-of-vivid-audio-part-one)
I also appreciate that, in the world of reproduced sound, there is plenty of room for adding character. There will be styles of music, listener preferences, and combinations of equipment that are not necessarily neutral, but that go together. Some people like rock music with a bit of an edge. And that’s fine. I appreciate it, and in fact I sometimes like that edge as well. I’m not blind to it. Sometimes it’s nice to just stand in front of a stack of paper cones that add a bit of color, some horns that add a bit of shout, a little bit of beaming. It’s an involving experience and it’s fun. But with Vivid Audio, we seek to provide something that disappears as much as possible. But I do completely appreciate the point of a loudspeaker that is part of the performance instead of a clear window. I also work for a professional sound company in the UK that makes horn loudspeakers, which I would not deny have a healthy bit of character. They are great fun. You go and enjoy a club night or a loud band, and it is part of the experience -- not neutral, but great fun.
As long as you remain fully aware that all of these opinions are presented with zero data to back them, you are good. Just because someone is a speaker designer, it doesn't mean they have mastered or know what the population perceives good sound. It takes research and analysis is which is not seen anywhere in these statements.
So wallow in them if you like. But don't present them as anything that has weight.
Instead we like to cling to "everyone likes a different sound so let chaos reign."
And there's nothing 'magic' about live music, per se! Went to a solo cello recital many months ago, in a nice vaulted setting - and was grinding my teeth for much of the time; the tone of the instrument, the way he was playing, his choice of material - I was wondering when it was going to be over, for some relief!There is no choice. We have preferences at live performances. I have played bad sounding violins, good sounding violins and great sounding violins. I've used bad sounding bows, good sounding bows and great sounding bows. I've played in bad sounding auditoriums, good sounding halls and a brilliant sounding concert hall. And all of that is before there is any sound preproduction going on. It's live music!
I'm afraid that makes no sense - if distortion is so low that it's not distinguishable, then why do systems sound different? No audible distortion means exactly that, if the systems sound different then at least one of them is distorting.It's true that all stereo's would eventually sound the same if accuracy was in mind. But that's assuming we were remotely capable of approaching perfect. We're not anywhere near close. Unless we acquire some radically new technology soon, our lifetimes are not likely to see us getting too close to that. Distortion is so low it shouldn't be consider distinguishable especially given we can't seem to detect it will above the decimal place into many percents, and yet all of our devices still somehow sound different...
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