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Is there any scientific evidence that the special hardware found in high-end audio equipment (gold-plated connectors, "large polymer capacitors", expensive DACs

by p-e-w 4y ago

Is there any scientific evidence that the special hardware found in high-end audio equipment (gold-plated connectors, "large polymer capacitors", expensive DACs etc.) actually produces perceptibly different (and perceptibly better) audio output? I mean of course assuming hearing abilities that are within 1-2 standard deviations of the human average, not one-in-a-million-people super hearing. Also assuming actual music is being played, not audio tracks specifically engineered to highlight the difference.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
makeitdouble 4y ago
I think your real question is wether uncompressed audio from a fine tuned DAC sounds better than compressed AAC converted by current Bluetooth headphones. The competition to this are mobile phones, and they almost all moved to bluetooth only, so the choice is which Bluetooth headphones gets better sound with a form factor you better like, pitted against the flurry of wired headphones and hybrid that are still on the market.
MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
Its all marketing. Price and performance have a surprisingly low correlation in the hifi market, after going above the threshold of crappyness. Nobody will believe you if you tell them this.
semi-extrinsic 4y ago
Certainly the gold-plated oxygen free copper hocus pocus would only be relevant after the DAC where the signal is analog. But that doesn't matter if you are just cargo culting. Case in point, the infamous $1650 HDMI cables where people would leave hilarious reviews on Amazon. That being said, there can be a big difference going from "consumer" level to "basic audiophile". I remember my own surprise when I first got a pair of Grado SR80s, how many details I could hear in music that I never knew existed before.
- p-e-w 4y ago
  I get that some equipment is better than others. But is it because of those specific hardware components commonly cited in marketing material, or simply because of better overall engineering?
  - semi-extrinsic 4y ago
    It's mainly because of tradeoffs and engineering. The Grado's as an example have zero outside noise isolation and the aesthetics of a 1950s ham radio operator.
- MikusR 4y ago
  The only thing gold plating does is protect from corrosion.
keithalewis 4y ago
There is plenty of empirical evidence people will overpay for things they think will enhance their social status. As Woz said at Jobs funeral, "Steve invented some of the greatest tools known to mankind: Apple fanboys."
- capableweb 4y ago
  Speaking about evidence, where you get that quote from? Sounds oddly out of character of Woz, doesn't seem like something he would say about Jobs, even less so at his funeral.
  - keithalewis 4y ago
    Sorry. I should have added a sarcasm warning. I cribbed it from someone else. It is kind of spot on though.
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aidenn0 4y ago
The amplifier can make a big difference because it can allow you to use headphones that you couldn't with a less beefy amp, and the speakers/headphones are the one thing that definitely makes a perceptibly different sound.
RantyDave 4y ago
Proper capacitors certainly help. Bass is a big dollop of energy being delivered all of a sudden - being why you can see the speaker moving. That energy has to come from somewhere and it's just one of those things that if you shortcut it, you can tell. Similarly you can tell if speakers are in shitty boxes. The combination of the two leads to those "home theatre" things you see in shops that make a loud "splplplplpl" noise when something explodes on screen. Yuck. Other than that, I think it's mostly bollocks. I think a disappointingly large proportion of it can be summed up as "don't cut corners" which is why hifi gear from the 70's can still sound nice. If you replace the capacitors.
numpad0 4y ago
Take a test yourself[1]. Connectors and most of cables probably don't matter, caps do, DACs do. The real problem with cultist audio is people don't close PDCA or OODA loops and resorts to occultic nonsense like gluing pebble stones on circuit breakers to "absorb bad energy", but scientific methodologies do work for what are measurable and actionable. 1: http://abx.digitalfeed.net/ http://abx.digitalfeed.net/

by p-e-w 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

makeitdouble 4y ago

I think your real question is wether uncompressed audio from a fine tuned DAC sounds better than compressed AAC converted by current Bluetooth headphones. The competition to this are mobile phones, and they almost all moved to bluetooth only, so the choice is which Bluetooth headphones gets better sound with a form factor you better like, pitted against the flurry of wired headphones and hybrid that are still on the market.

MrBuddyCasino 4y ago

Its all marketing. Price and performance have a surprisingly low correlation in the hifi market, after going above the threshold of crappyness. Nobody will believe you if you tell them this.

semi-extrinsic 4y ago

Certainly the gold-plated oxygen free copper hocus pocus would only be relevant after the DAC where the signal is analog. But that doesn't matter if you are just cargo culting. Case in point, the infamous $1650 HDMI cables where people would leave hilarious reviews on Amazon. That being said, there can be a big difference going from "consumer" level to "basic audiophile". I remember my own surprise when I first got a pair of Grado SR80s, how many details I could hear in music that I never knew existed before.

p-e-w 4y ago
I get that some equipment is better than others. But is it because of those specific hardware components commonly cited in marketing material, or simply because of better overall engineering?
- semi-extrinsic 4y ago
  It's mainly because of tradeoffs and engineering. The Grado's as an example have zero outside noise isolation and the aesthetics of a 1950s ham radio operator.
MikusR 4y ago
The only thing gold plating does is protect from corrosion.

keithalewis 4y ago

There is plenty of empirical evidence people will overpay for things they think will enhance their social status. As Woz said at Jobs funeral, "Steve invented some of the greatest tools known to mankind: Apple fanboys."

capableweb 4y ago
Speaking about evidence, where you get that quote from? Sounds oddly out of character of Woz, doesn't seem like something he would say about Jobs, even less so at his funeral.
- keithalewis 4y ago
  Sorry. I should have added a sarcasm warning. I cribbed it from someone else. It is kind of spot on though.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

aidenn0 4y ago

The amplifier can make a big difference because it can allow you to use headphones that you couldn't with a less beefy amp, and the speakers/headphones are the one thing that definitely makes a perceptibly different sound.

RantyDave 4y ago

Proper capacitors certainly help. Bass is a big dollop of energy being delivered all of a sudden - being why you can see the speaker moving. That energy has to come from somewhere and it's just one of those things that if you shortcut it, you can tell. Similarly you can tell if speakers are in shitty boxes. The combination of the two leads to those "home theatre" things you see in shops that make a loud "splplplplpl" noise when something explodes on screen. Yuck. Other than that, I think it's mostly bollocks. I think a disappointingly large proportion of it can be summed up as "don't cut corners" which is why hifi gear from the 70's can still sound nice. If you replace the capacitors.

numpad0 4y ago

Take a test yourself[1]. Connectors and most of cables probably don't matter, caps do, DACs do. The real problem with cultist audio is people don't close PDCA or OODA loops and resorts to occultic nonsense like gluing pebble stones on circuit breakers to "absorb bad energy", but scientific methodologies do work for what are measurable and actionable. 1: http://abx.digitalfeed.net/ http://abx.digitalfeed.net/