Top 10 Audio Lies

[JohnnyCasaba]

Saw this on another forum, thought I would post it here too.

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

[GaryB]

It's nice to see that Peter Aczel is still around. I subscribed to The Audio Critic back in 1976 or '77 when it was introduced, with great fanfare, as a more rigorous, scientifically-valid "underground" alternative to Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, which at that time were solidly in the "golden-ear" camp. Aczel was very feisty and combative and, to his credit, was one of the first to stress the importance of proper phono cartridge alignment. One of his pet peeves at the time was the "S-shaped" tonearm.

He also, in contrast to what he now believes, was vehemently opposed to the proposed digital standards for CDs (which started to become "mainstream" around 1980), almost hysterically condemning the standards as not good enough.

Unfortunately, despite a promise to publish quarterly, subsequent issues arrived less and less frequently, and stopped altogether after about 3 years, when I still had several left in my paid subscription. I heard he had suffered a "nervous breakdown", and then had started a small speaker company of his own.

His feisty and literate writing style has obviously survived the years, and this article should be required reading for all audio newbies.

Thanks for the trip down "memory lane", Johnny!

[mokemo]

Thanks for the great article, Johnnycasaba. For more reading on "electronic pseudoscience" members can check out an article in the new issue of Skeptic magazine, Vol.11 No.3 (www.skeptic.com) titled "Audiophoolery".
It is written by professional audio engineer Ethan Winer, who also casts a jaundiced eye on some of the snake oil that's being scammed out there to consumers of high end audio.

[bikeman]

"It is written by professional audio engineer Ethan Winer,"

I enjoy reading Ethan. He's not one sugar coat an issue. I'll check out the article at work.
Here's Ethan's website:

http://www.ethanwiner.com/index.htm

Perceptual psychology is an area that has made great strides in the last two decades. It explains a lot about our senses and why we see, hear, taste and feel the way we do. We do in fact see and hear differences that don't exist. Experiments have shown this over and over again. Now, we're beginning to understand some of the reasons behind this. My last Psych course was six years ago so I'm not up on the lastest .
My next door neighbor has a PHD in Audiology. He's always fun to talk to about these things.
This hobby would be less interesting if it were all science but the bottom line to me will remain the science. I don't dispute what people hear or see. I can dispute if there is anything of substance behind it. Great topic. Thanks for posting it.

David

[Nicholas Mosher]

My next door neighbor has a PHD in Audiology.

Hahahaha! I've never even heard of that before? I want a PhD in moviewatchinology.

I got hired today. Now I can get back to building my flight hours for my PPL.

[curtis]

Congrats on the new job!!

Audiology is a real field. I have a good friend that has a masters degree in the field, and she used to work with hearing aids and the hearing impaired. It is cool talking to her about sound because she understands all the concepts, perceptions, and downfalls. She recently wanted to buy some small speakers for her new projection setup...I sent her to Hsu for the Ventriliquist system...she loved it and said Dr. Hsu must have been surprised that a chick understood everything he was talking about.

[KPFury]

Wow, so this guy doesn't believe in:

analog > digital
A/B testing
bi-wiring
burn-in
power-conditioner

You learn something new everyday

[bikeman]

Wow, so this guy doesn't believe in:
analog > digital
A/B testing
bi-wiring
burn-in
power-conditioner
You learn something new everyday

You can save a bunch of money with this guy's line of reasoning. I made the swithch almost two decades ago and my wallet has been thankful ever since.

David

[S_rangeBrew]

I agree with most the things listed above.

Gotta disagree with a couple, though.

Working with power for server rooms, I know power conditioning is *NOT* snake oil. It may not have a noticiable effect on audio, but it's a good thing for your electronic equipment, no matter what it is.

Also... A/B testing is worthless? Bull. It's the only way to test speakers. Audio memory is short, so instant switching is the best way to tell the difference. When I tested my Ascends vs. Polks and JBLs, A/B switching was what showed how clearly Ascends were better.

[bikeman]

I agree with most the things listed above.
Gotta disagree with a couple, though.
Working with power for server rooms, I know power conditioning is *NOT* snake oil. It may not have a noticiable effect on audio,

Correct. Buying power conditioners without knowing what it is we're trying to fix is not a solution. Can power conditioners help someone with power delivery issues? Sometimes. Will they help most folks? No. This can all be measured. If the power company isn't delivering the goods, get em to fix it. If there's a problem with the home wiring, it's better to fix the problem itself.

but it's a good thing for your electronic equipment, no matter what it is.

Spending money fixing problems that don't exist is wasteful no matter what it is.

Also... A/B testing is worthless? Bull. It's the only way to test speakers. Audio memory is short, so instant switching is the best way to tell the difference. When I tested my Ascends vs. Polks and JBLs, A/B switching was what showed how clearly Ascends were better.

The author didn't mention speakers. He specifically talked about amps and from having read other articles by him, I don't think he'd include speakers. For the sake of brevity, he left out more than he should have in this piece.

David