My soap box outburst is to say one issue with dicussing all these is that we each own different systems, some vastly different, and we each have different hearing, AND we each hear with all that in our own idiosyncratic way.
We each have different skills in hearing, and different areas of the sound we find most important. Areas of sound which we ignore, and areas where the tiniest change is a major event.
So basically not any two of us have any chance of hearing the same thing. PERIOD.
I am amazed anyone can even discuss all this stuff. And have to say it is a near miracle we do manage to usually be reasonably civil about it.
Then our systems can show or hide stuff and subtle changes can be hidden from one enthusiast, and plain as day to another.. all because the system just is allowing or not allowing the change to be hearable.
Then the fact some folks have a hard time accepting someone else, with that vastly different set of parameters, can hear something. Those particular folks feel if they cannot hear it, it cannot exist.
Then the problem of Double blind testing. IMO the real problem with DBT and listening to music, is the part of our brains which DOES the sort of judgement in a typical scenario of DBT, is NOT the areas of the brain which sense the subtle magic in music.
The DBT actually forces the subtle areas to be ignored. ONly a highly trained subect exposed repeatedly could fulfill the requirements. So the usual 'well any ten audiopiles in a room can do it' .. is not going to work.
Finally I hate, no dispise all the overpriced stuff based on common tweaks. Stuff which anyone 'could' make, but is repackaged and sold as if only some genius guru with divine guidance could have made, then they add in tons of psychobabble, and sell this stuff to gullible idiots. (it is true the idiots CAN hear a difference, but they pay a very high dollar price, for stuff they could have done for a few dollars.
Then the complete fantasy stuff. Teleportation tweak, 'special' bowls, Tice clocks, Shakti sticks.
My poster child hate is Shakti sticks. I cannot begin to say what a steaming pile. And if they work for the owners, man, they COULD have bought a couple of bits of lumber ,and cobbled together the same thing for ten bucks.
Then finally the close connection between wishful thinking, self fulfilling prophecies, and actually hearing a subtle difference. This is where we really start getting into arguing..
Because imagining it to be real.. well maybe that DOES make it real?
On the other hand, some stuff does work for some folks, no fantasy involved.
