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Are Audiophiles "Simply Guessing?"

Comments by Pro Musician, Rick Beato written by Robert Archer / CEPro:

https://www.cepro.com/article/pro_musician_rick_beato_audiophiles_guessing


"File size and equipment choice don’t matter"

"Training is the biggest factor when it comes to critically evaluating music"

Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgEjI5PZa78

Came by this while searching for related material. Thoughts? Reaction?
david_ten
david_ten OP
2,509 posts
 
Also that ’Mastery’ is more than simply deliberate practice (aka the 10K Hours Rule / Malcomb Gladwell).

If we were to follow Gladwell, many audiophiles would be experts given the amount of time spent listening. One problem with this is that technology is marching on and keeping up with it, even within our very specific hobby, isn’t as feasible or as practical as some believe it to be.
gawdbless's avatar
gawdbless
1,165 posts
 
Surely that test should only be done streamed through a mega dollar set up, with loudspeakers, not cheap? headphones. As we all know the more you spend on your equipment the better the sound quality.
Perfect pitch? so what.  
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

The systems used are typically not up to discerning small differences, like that between AIFF and .wav or FLAC and .wav.  Give them a good system and make the listeners close their eyes and you would get the result you expect, even with untrained listeners. 

Training ears is always a good thing.  I believe it mostly allows the listeners to tune-out the visuals and focus more on the placement and focus.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio


elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
If you go to the linked article, the REASON he is saying that is a customer asked for a hi rez version of a music file. (which he apparently does not offer) And that request is why he is saying blah blah blah. So he is covering his behind, so to speak, with the 'story' about 'no one can hear blah blah blah. Seems HE can't hear it, so nobody else can. But since it is his job, naturally he and all the old guys still doing that job need an out. So 'experience' is the out. I guess. They still are all working LOL
d2girls's avatar
d2girls
641 posts
 
I think the amount of people who can distinguish redbook quality with "hirez" aka DSD512, MQA, is either so small it’s irrelevant to the hobby, or (more likely) non existent. This is assuming all digital files are of the same master.

In fact, I present my theory/thought: people who swear by hirez, Tidal, Qobuz, Roon, etc, they are the biggest damn (audio)fools of them all!
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