I find that audiophiles are, on the surface, a pretty confident bunch. However, get a couple together to listen to a good system and they will invariably have different opinions on the sound quality, even though they are all listening to the same thing. In my experience this is because they are comparing it to their own systems, systems they have lovingly built and nurtured to a point where they have the sound they are looking for. Comfortable in their sonic success, they become accustomed to this sound and consider it the benchmark by which others are measured.
Of course, the benchmark is live performance. But sonic memories are fickle. There is no way that the concert you attended at Carnegie Hall a decade ago is of any value, regardless of what reviewers would like you to believe. We do, however, listen to our own systems regularly and more frequently than we attend live performances. The “venue” is also consistent. Thus, the sound of our system naturally becomes the benchmark to which others are compared. We develop our own “house curve.”
The problem is that our house curve is flawed. But our brains become conditioned to it, even filling in gaps and smoothing out bumps. We develop our own reality of what constitutes good sound.
So to those of you (many of whom, ahem, have aging ears) who are confident in your aural infallibility, I submit: maybe, just maybe, your sonic nirvana is an illusion. But that’s okay, because it’s your illusion and that’s all that matters. But let’s all remember that projecting one’s personal opinion/illusion of what constitutes good sound is just that - an opinion.
I say measure away, if for no other reason than to have a good starting point for your fine tuning by ear.
