Hi 702; Good post. I agree 100% that I would like to be able to accurately measure more-- it's just that we can't so I resort to much that is more "psychological" in nature, ie how does one measure enjoyment? We have to listen to make that judgement, IMO.
Buying decisions have to be made to get us anywhere as music lovers, and as science can only get us so far, we have to take the necessary steps beyond science to put together a musically satisfying stereo system. Using our senses-- including common sense, also very much makes us an integral part of the process.
I admire the accomplishments of scientists and engineers as without them, we'd have no stereo equipment or recorded music, but without art (music) there would be no need for stereo it. Speaker wires are not even the tip of the iceberg in this issue, IMO.
I was a Forest Soil Scientist for 32 years, and as such I did a great deal of landslide investigation(s)-- used state of the art models etc. But at the end of the day when the Manager had to make a decision about building a road, or logging a timber sale, it virtually always came down to "my professional judgement" to make a recommendation because we never had enough research, studies, information etc. There was was not time, money, or capabilty to do the research we really needed/wanted to make even 75% accurate predictions.
And so it is with audio. And sorry for the diversion. When the scientific info. is available I will be most happy to use it and see if it measures up to my listening standards. We had a rule of thumb-- no one ever has all the research/information he wants. --didn't intend to get so carried away. Whew! Craig.
