37 ms·

> Ripping people off with high prices is actually very rare nowadays Apparently you have no idea of the audiophile market. I have someone swear that music does

by oefrha 6y ago

> Ripping people off with high prices is actually very rare nowadays Apparently you have no idea of the audiophile market. I have someone swear that music doesn’t sound as nice when converted losslessly from WAV to AIFF/FLAC on whatever $$$$ gear he uses.

treeman79 6y ago
Yea, the group is both insane and amazing. They have a conference in Vegas. The sound from these setups are amazing. I started to get into it, but there is always something to do that provides a slightly better experience. Even 40k setups have room for improvement
whywhywhywhy 6y ago
Is that ripping them off though? I'd say Audiophiles want to pay over the odds for things that might not even really make a difference if you actually measured it. It's part of the enjoyment for them.
- wegs 6y ago
  Yes, it is. If I sell you quack medicines for thousands of dollars, but you BELIEVE they work, am I ripping you off? Just because someone believes a con job doesn't make it less of a con job.
  - Karunamon 6y ago
    We’re talking subjective experience of art, not medical efficacy. If someone thinks A sounds better than B, they are automatically correct for their ears.
    - yodelshady 6y ago
      That gets rather odd when at least one study [1] has indicated that a (as far as patient is concerned) more expensive placebo does have higher medical efficacy: [1] https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2015/01/29/expensive_placebos_work_better https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2015/01/29/ex... (links to paper)
      - Karunamon 6y ago
        The difference there is that you can't measure how pleasing a given sound is to someone else, at least not in a generalized fashion that makes that conclusion have any meaning for anyone else. Motor function is objectively measurable. "I like the sound of this" is not.
henryackerman 6y ago
Elaborating on the audiophile market: you have audiophiles and audiofools. I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, your friend might be an audiofool... I have even heard someone claim that spotify sounds better than CD. There is this audiophile article [0] that takes compares some different consumer level NAS devices. They used the same listening setup to play lossless audio files from different NAS devices. The article's authors perceived a difference in sound quality and characteristics, depending on the NAS and RAID configuration! The article is a solid example of a placebo effect. The bitstream is identical between the setups. When it comes down to digital to analog conversion, there's a lot of variables going on. I can definitely hear the difference between my laptop's headphone output and the headphone output of my prosumer-level audio interface. A more expensive audio interface might introduce measurably less cross-talk and noise. Some headphones will sound weak if the headphone amp is not powerful enough. In other words: some people focus on things that are measurable. Others seem to be deliberately chasing the placebo effect of expensive equipment. 0. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/hificritic/vol5_no3/listening_to_storage.htm http://www.enjoythemusic.com/hificritic/vol5_no3/listening_t...
- Loughla 6y ago
  Hey, off topic, but while you're here, this is a question I like to ask audiophiles when I come across them in the wild. What entry level turntable and speakers would you buy for listening to vinyl in a standard living room and why?
  - Rillen 6y ago
    Normal digital setup is better then vinyl. If you really want to play and use vinyl, you should try to read up on it yourself shopping around and experience it, otherwise you just have something at home because its hip to have it at home. You might just like the weirder sound from your selection even more. There are plenty of good youtube channels and videos showing you a varity on options you have to explore.
    - Loughla 6y ago
      I have and do play vinyl, just for the nostalgia of sitting in my attic bedroom with the liner notes out in front of me and my shitty old headphones on when I was a teenager. I have done reading up and shopping around. I also understand that I am not a good evaluator of audio items. I don't know, nor do I care about the lingo. I just want a good turntable, so I can get some of the old vinyl out for my small children. I think Thick as a Brick and Locomotive Breath are two things that absolutely need to be experienced in your youth. And I can't break up my pot and roll a joint on the back of an mp3 player. (jokes) That's why I've asked here for advice.

by oefrha 6y ago

treeman79 6y ago

Yea, the group is both insane and amazing. They have a conference in Vegas. The sound from these setups are amazing. I started to get into it, but there is always something to do that provides a slightly better experience. Even 40k setups have room for improvement

whywhywhywhy 6y ago

Is that ripping them off though? I'd say Audiophiles want to pay over the odds for things that might not even really make a difference if you actually measured it. It's part of the enjoyment for them.

wegs 6y ago
Yes, it is. If I sell you quack medicines for thousands of dollars, but you BELIEVE they work, am I ripping you off? Just because someone believes a con job doesn't make it less of a con job.
- Karunamon 6y ago
  We’re talking subjective experience of art, not medical efficacy. If someone thinks A sounds better than B, they are automatically correct for their ears.
  - yodelshady 6y ago
    That gets rather odd when at least one study [1] has indicated that a (as far as patient is concerned) more expensive placebo does have higher medical efficacy: [1] https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2015/01/29/expensive_placebos_work_better https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2015/01/29/ex... (links to paper)
    - Karunamon 6y ago
      The difference there is that you can't measure how pleasing a given sound is to someone else, at least not in a generalized fashion that makes that conclusion have any meaning for anyone else. Motor function is objectively measurable. "I like the sound of this" is not.

henryackerman 6y ago

Elaborating on the audiophile market: you have audiophiles and audiofools. I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, your friend might be an audiofool... I have even heard someone claim that spotify sounds better than CD. There is this audiophile article [0] that takes compares some different consumer level NAS devices. They used the same listening setup to play lossless audio files from different NAS devices. The article's authors perceived a difference in sound quality and characteristics, depending on the NAS and RAID configuration! The article is a solid example of a placebo effect. The bitstream is identical between the setups. When it comes down to digital to analog conversion, there's a lot of variables going on. I can definitely hear the difference between my laptop's headphone output and the headphone output of my prosumer-level audio interface. A more expensive audio interface might introduce measurably less cross-talk and noise. Some headphones will sound weak if the headphone amp is not powerful enough. In other words: some people focus on things that are measurable. Others seem to be deliberately chasing the placebo effect of expensive equipment. 0. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/hificritic/vol5_no3/listening_to_storage.htm http://www.enjoythemusic.com/hificritic/vol5_no3/listening_t...

Loughla 6y ago
Hey, off topic, but while you're here, this is a question I like to ask audiophiles when I come across them in the wild. What entry level turntable and speakers would you buy for listening to vinyl in a standard living room and why?
- Rillen 6y ago
  Normal digital setup is better then vinyl. If you really want to play and use vinyl, you should try to read up on it yourself shopping around and experience it, otherwise you just have something at home because its hip to have it at home. You might just like the weirder sound from your selection even more. There are plenty of good youtube channels and videos showing you a varity on options you have to explore.
  - Loughla 6y ago
    I have and do play vinyl, just for the nostalgia of sitting in my attic bedroom with the liner notes out in front of me and my shitty old headphones on when I was a teenager. I have done reading up and shopping around. I also understand that I am not a good evaluator of audio items. I don't know, nor do I care about the lingo. I just want a good turntable, so I can get some of the old vinyl out for my small children. I think Thick as a Brick and Locomotive Breath are two things that absolutely need to be experienced in your youth. And I can't break up my pot and roll a joint on the back of an mp3 player. (jokes) That's why I've asked here for advice.