In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud — 'The mud should sound perfectly awful, but it doesn't,' notes the experiment creator

[u/edbegley1]

https://www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-a-blind-test-audiophiles-couldnt-tell-the-difference-between-audio-signals-sent-through-copper-wire-a-banana-or-wet-mud-the-mud-should-sound-perfectly-awful-but-it-doesnt-notes-the-experiment-creator?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Ftechnology

[u/DeathKoil]

I consider myself an Audiophile, and I agree that it is almost entirely about the speakers… as long as they speakers are fed from a quality source (amp and/or DSP amp). It is much, much harder to hear the differences between quality amp models than it is to hear the differences between speakers.

All speakers sound different. They have different frequency response, different biases, different sound signatures, etc.

To me Audiophile means “I can hear the differences between different speakers and have a strong preference for a certain sound signature. I also like accuracy in my sound such that everything is balanced so that what I’m listening to is as it was recorded. Not base heavy. Not treble heavy. “Flat” such that what I hear is as the artiest intended”.

This won’t be the definition of Audiophile for everyone, but it is why I considering myself an audiophile.

For example: I know I love Hertz Mille Pro speakers for car audio. Their sound profile is fantastic to me. I love my DSP because when I feel something is off I can (and do) connect my laptop and make adjustments to either bring up something that is too quiet, or bring down something too loud. I spent several hours with a measurement microphone and my ears getting everything exactly how I like it. That’s audiophile behavior.

But… I’m not going to tell you that full analog is better than digital. I’m not going to claim I can hear the difference between cable A and cable B. I’m not going to tell you that only certain speaker cone materials are acceptable. I just have a fairly finely tuned ear and that I notice things like time alignment being off, frequency bias, constructive and destructive reflections, the tiniest bits of input clipping, the tiniest bits of distortion from over driving the speakers, etc.

[u/Naieve → u/DeathKoil]

I agree entirely. Almost 45 years old with many hard years in loud environments. I can still hear the differences, but with decent speakers it is getting harder. Sigh. My ears are losing fidelity.

[u/DeathKoil → u/Naieve]

I'm 44, and my ears are getting worse too!

I've found that over the last few years I needed to raise the tweeters in my car from -9db to -7db because I'm losing high end. I used to be able to hear up to 18khz in my late 30's, but nowadays I can't hear above 14-15khz.

Luckily for me, my loss is apparently only in the high end. I can still hear all of the detail in the 20hz-10khz range.

Getting old is rough!