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in the final analysis we can judge the sound for ourselves - which generally means for guys like me some kind of blind listening test.
But Bill facts change all the time. Facts are the one thing we can't depend on.
Science is that mode of knowledge that says to us, everything you learned yesterday is untrue today.
If science actually found the real truth, the iltimate fact, it would ceased to exist.
Ask yourself, how much of science in the 1800s is true in the 2100s--not very much I'd say. Even Netwon has taken quite a hit. Will the facts of the 31st century be close to the 21st century? No way.
Measurements are about context, the machines we measure with, as if we could build a machine that's accurate enough to measure correctly. When did we start measuring jitter? What other unmeasurable things are we missing now that we'll discover down the road. And I don't think "it's the only thing we've got" argument works at all. Because the one fact is that people enjoy music and create music, and that no one can argue. How senseless is it to say Mozart is better than Cage? Art doesn't improve, it's just different. Some people will say, "well stereo equipment has definitely improved over the last 100 years." Others will say "stereo has improved since the late 50s", and still others will say "surround sound is a step beakward in recreating music." Some will actually say that mono is better than stereo. These people are committed and serious, not some weirdos. Progress isn't assured, just difference. the violins of the 1600s are far superior to the violins of the 20th century. Now if anyone , including me can follow this argument, then measuring stuff clearly doesn't work--except in one way, the human way, with the ear. Machines don't hear music they register it, and that's not the same thing. The best speakers ever made, the best instruments ever made, have been voiced by a human with a particular notion of what great music is. That's why when someone like myself reviews a piece of equipment, and compares it to similar equipment, is saying very little indeed. How else do you explain vintage gear? I hear McIntosh and old Dahlquists, and Infinity Kappas, and I just wince in pain. While some other person who loves music as much as me has his endorphins ping ponging around his brain. I know I tried to say too much in too few words, but let me try to sum it up in two quotes that deeply affected my philosophy: Walt Whitman "Do I contradict myself, yes I contradict myself, I am multitudes" and Chief Seattle "the world is unknowable, and so we create story." Whatever comes of this discussion, Bob Smith has created an amazing story.
In all our efforts, we really can't define anything or resolve it down to its fundamental nature. In the end science tells us that all matter is essentially energy. What's energy? The ability to do work on matter!
What the hell is anything - everything? Tell me one and I'll tell yo the rest.
What is life? Animate matter? Created? Evolved? Both? Neither? Evolution is on the run these days though. "Irreducable Complexity" http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/behe.html
Has Newton been replaced? Depends on what your expecting of him. He still gets our DISH Network satellites in orbit and probes to Titan,
Science is nothing more than a place to stand to get a better view. It can never tell us what lies beyond the horizon of that view...but I would submit that a better view is better than total blindness.
Our speakers are designed on the principles of nature that science has so far been able to discover - to the best of our ability. According to the reviews, nature knows what it's doing. In the end, if anything defines our experience - it is nature. Rather than dismissing science for its failure to succinctly define nature, I prefer to use it like a guiding light in helping me to follow after.
But, I got my eyes on a pair of Sierra monoblocks, 500 watts per. That oughta make them Continuums purr!
Which reminds me of this thread......(oh, you don't need that much power... ....but you sure can use it... ).[/list]
I'm a philosopher by degree. The semantc of "theory" has always intrigued me. And they way many have misconstrued it, meaning "oh, it's only true, not ultimately provable," so they can put forth their own agendas.!
bhobba wrote:Quotein the final analysis we can judge the sound for ourselves - which generally means for guys like me some kind of blind listening test. With SP speakers, I guarantee you will have no problem recognizing them in a blind test. Like them or not, they have the most distinctive and impactful sound of any speaker I've heard.
Now I do not agree with this - but to me it does prove the sound differences are subtle and requires care to demonstrate
I am very comfortable remaining in yesteryear with my tubes.
Bill, these comments are not directly aimed at you but your quote allows the conversation to move forward
However I will say that many solid state designs [can] sound similar. This of course does not hold true for tubes.
However I will say that many solid state designs [can] sound similar.
I have been hearing over the past year that tubes will fad away once again. While I agree tubes are still a small market in the large scheme of things, I have seen no signs of this coming true. At least not from my standpoint.
For those who want to try and keep up with the "latest and greatest" technology in solid state and digital switching amps, have at it. I am very comfortable remaining in yesteryear with my tubes.
Please don't get me wrong here. I do appreciate and enjoy all the different designs now available in the audio world but I prefer to cater to the tube world. It's simply personal preferences. That's all.
I always wonder what this line of discussion means? I like all kinds of amps and own 1 digital, 1 solid state, and 2 tube amps.
Now I will admit that tubes amps make us feel better, especially since we're so involved in them, swapping, biasing, etc. These are the accoutrements of audiophilia (yes, the disease ) and often mistaken for the experience of high fidelity.
