what percentage of us really knows sound

Tvad, Perhaps having a circle of friends whose ears you trust may mean you know their predilections.
Perhaps a group who listen for different aspects can actually over time bring out the whole system better than any one individual.
Uru975 (Threads | Answers)

Yes. That's exactly correct.

The other point I was attempting to make was to be careful not to assume the group's predilections are *correct* and applicable to all other listeners. For example, if the majority of a group of like minded listeners preferred Component A more than Component B, then therefore Component A must be superior. Not so. Component A may be preferable to this group, but this does not mean Component A will be preferable to everyone, or that it is superior.

This is where dogma vs. preference comes into play.

What percentage of us really knows sound?

Me. Just me.

Juancgenao, are you saying you are not getting good bass from your Merlins? That does not seem right, especially with your preamp which has quite "rich, organic" bass. I'm also suprised by Paulfolbrecht's comments regarding the Merlin's dynamic, as they seem to me to be very dynamic. Juancgenao, I would think your Joule/Quicksilver/Merlin system would be pretty darn good, so it is hard to understand how you could be so unhappy with it - something doesn't seem right. That being said, no stereo system I have ever heard sounds anything like live music, they are too different to really sound the same - but I accept that, I'm just looking to enjoy music as much as I can at home.

Interesting thread;all I can say is the audio store I did business with in St.Paul Mn never jammed gear down my throat;they demoed gear based on listening to the music being played and pointed out events that were occuring in the piece being played;things I never even considered when I started out in this hobby.
I owe Paul Szabady many thanks for making me really listen to the source material and understanding it as well;not just playing the music and saying listen to that bass but being able to hear the pluck of a standup bass or the striking of the hammer on the cord of the piano.
Turning 50 though I miss some of that material as the hearing is not what it used to be.
One other advantage was meeting Ralph from Atmasphere when his amps were first coming into the industry and learning about his design and goals for stereo reproduction.

I will start here... Not sure if the poster is in fact just upset and getting a rise out of the "People" or in fact the people are upset because they feel like they fall into the category he lists!!!

Problem is they are both probably correct at whatever is going on here in this thread.

Personally I will say this, I have in fact been in the 100 dollar couch with crappy apartment rental's, and way too much invested in audio camp more than once! And he would be correct I thought I knew something and did not as it did ultimately sounded like crap compared to the money I spent, but I can freely admit this a few years later, but not at the time.

You almost have to really get your hands dirty and realize what it takes to keep audio in "Reality Check". Meaning many have to be hands on in building and tweaking their own gear to find the optimal performance from it. Not everything, but you all know this is true to a degree.

However I will say this, my experience is the opposite when visiting some audiophiles and their system, I always find something cool about another system, or its just new to me because I don't own it, so its kinda exciting, and most of the time I can hear things I like about it, not to say I would trade my system for it, but makes me take the experience to try and mimick some things in my own system sometimes. Its just fun. Self worth can only go so far need to open your mind on both sides I believe in this case.

Experience personally is all we have, buying and seting up audio gear, or which peanut butter you like best from the grocery store.