The Fine Art of Doing Nothing By Roger Skoff

Indeed quantifying perceived audio pleasure is nearly impossible and unlikely to work a priori actual listening. That is- not checking to see if your mathematics do in fact predict the results intended without heavy tweaking and redesign. .

I wish I could find something that does nothing to the sound.Then I could join the "it's all about the music" crowd.
Everything I have done has done something to the sound of music "in my room".

Sometimes just moving the speakers a bit this way or that,adjusting toe-in, or where the listening seat is, can make bigger differences than a change in wires.

This is cheap, some wires aren't,but DIY is almost as cheap.

Yet,I find everything either adds or takes away from some bits of the music.

Sometimes more bass equals less inner detail.

So it's always a win-lose scenario.

You get a very clean sounding pre amp and then realize that there maybe other areas to address that were masked by the old pre-amp.

This is the slippery slope.

We look for ways to cover up deficiencies that we hear from our systems, and while doing so, add more colourations.

Interconnect as tone controls?
It's not something to sneer at, neither are tone controls, or electronic whole room tuning devices.

Room tuning devices have been very productive for me as have efforts made to clean up all electrical contacts in the system, from the panel to the gear.

In fact I would wager that before I ventured down those roads, I was mostly trying to compensate for my rooms deficiencies by an endless parade of wires and amps and speakers, looking for the right match that would bring me sonic bliss.

I came close,but there was always something that I missed or that I still didn't achieve.

I know this is off the mark,but if one does nothing,or simply plugs and plays in an untreated room and sets the speakers up where they look the best,the fine art of doing nothing will be doing something to the sound.
And it won't be good.

Mechans wrote,

"Indeed quantifying perceived audio pleasure is nearly impossible and unlikely to work a priori actual listening."

Oh, I dunno. I doubled the performance of my headphone system just last week.

If I was in start-over mode, I would like to seriously listen to Roy Johnson's time coherent speakers. Problem is they are stone ugly to me ... look like Praying Mantises. LOL.

cool, Bruce! :-) I'm happy to read that the "Sloped Baffle" thread & Roy's posts have had a positive effect on you & your conviction re. time-coherence in speakers is more than it was mid-way thru that thread.
Re. the shape & looks of Green Mtn Audio speakers - it's purely based on form follows function. When you re-read Roy's comments & note how he has to deal with issues to ensure time-coherence, you'll note that the speakers will have to take up a form that will not be a rectangular box with drivers fitted into its front baffle. The receipe has been tried way too many times & people in the know (which now includes you) realize that does not work....

looks like Roger Skoff is also another person in the know. I own some lower-end XLO cables - nice! I like them sonically. Purple & white jackets on one of them!! I don't think anyone else did that in the cable industry.....

thanks for sharing. :-)

Thanks for the comments Bombaywalla.

Although I'm not prepared to sell my speakers quite yet, I am trying to set up a home audition of the DEQX device. Coincidentally, the DEQX national sales rep and a retail dealer are located within 20+ mins from where I live. Waiting on the DEQX guys now. Ball's in their court. The DEQX may get me close to the time coherence bulls-eye ... I hope.

I hear ya about form following function ... but Roy's speakers really look like a giant insect. All they need are antennae and bug eyes. LOLs

Also, I have a WAF issue here. I'm already thinking about a story to explain who the DEQX guys are (when they show up), why they're here, what they're doing ... and how much will it cost.

I'm actually quite curious about what the DEQX will be able to do. If and when the guys show up, I'll be back with a report.

BIF