Hi Kosst
It's not really my place to agree or disagree, I deal with the physical audio variables. I don't look at recording or playback as a "Fixed" entity. I see testing and measuring technologies as an advancing science, even though this science (as with any) is constantly learning and implementing. 10 years ago seems like a lifetime away by todays latest R&D. For example what JA did 10 years ago is somewhat obsolete now. I'm sure he would say the same thing. Bob Hodas would no doubt agree as all the up to date measuring gurus would have to. Testing is always advancing and I would guess by the time your debate is over with Geoff and others we will be looking and listening to hologram sight & sound reproductions. I mean they're really just around the corner, and then all of HEA will be an archive of listening only. So measuring to me is like a building block. Is it human yet? No of course not, and it's not, because of the points Geoff and others are making. Is it going to be? Of course it will, we see this in moving making now.
However here's where the issue comes down for me.
Lets say I make a recording of a hall, or am previewing someone else's. I go into the tunable room and tune it in for me to look at the height and mate it up to the actual recording. After I'm done another listener goes in and says my call is inaccurate for him. He then tunes up the same recording to his ears so he is now hearing the hall as he remembers, or wants to. I do this level of listening on an ongoing basis and have since around 1989. From time to time, since then till now, measuring folks are welcome to come do their thing and see if they can capture what is taking place for each person as an individual and a more in general sense. Where this stands now would more than likely need to be in a tunable room that is both flexible and environmentally adaptable. That's a tall order for this thread to engage in, let alone some of the folks I have worked with or studied their approach.
To test an measure this accurately I can help from a variable physical structure, but I would think that the testing itself would need some pretty special equipment to be able to make a more than snap shot polaroid type of result. It's possible that my room is the most advanced to date in regards to the variables, but that's again at best only half of the equation. I think the two worlds (human & tools) can meet, I just haven't seen it yet. I'm sure though getting closer every day.
Michael Green
www.michaelgreenaudio.net
