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> With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. I’d argue that that’s not what matters. Wha

> With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. I’d argue that that’s not what matters. What matters is does the song you’re listening to sound good. The measurement that you’re talking about is precisely the bit that obsessive audiophiles get wrong, and it’s the parallel that I’m drawing with folks who obsess over stationary too. I’m not saying that hobbies and interests are wrong, just that often they miss the point that makes the tool useful in the first place. A cheap pen can write nicely without needing to obsess over then pen, paper, ink, etc, just as much as a song can sound great without obsessing over which particular tube amp sounds warmer.

xanderlewis 3y ago
> What matters is does the song you’re listening to sound good. Good point. I still think there’s very little scope for customisation though. Once you find what sounds good, you can stop. With stationery, there’s no such thing because the question isn’t as simple as ‘does it sound good?’. It’s more like ‘does it feel good?’, ‘does it inspire me in my work?’, ‘does it work well for this particular situation?’. I personally think you’re wrong to write all of this off as fetishism; it can be a life-enriching interest. Of course there are people who take it too far, and you only have to go to Reddit to find those people. To some extent it’s also a matter of fashion, and if you’re one of those people who doesn’t ‘get’ fashion (in clothes, or in anything else) then there’s not much to be reconciled — it just doesn’t please you and that’s fine. > obsessing over which particular tube amp sounds warmer. I agree that that kind of thing is just boring as hell and detracts from any possible discussion or enjoyment of music. Seeking perfection actually is particularly boring to me, which is why it’s not what I do with stationery either. It’s more appreciation of an object, flaws and all, than it is a pointless never-ending (and wallet-draining) search for some fictional nirvana like it is with speakers.
saywhanow 3y ago
Sometimes the journey is more important than the objective. I have a 3d printer because I wanted to play with a 3d printer. Same with a drone, zero-turn lawn mower, welding machine, oscilloscope, and a host of other things my wife would be more than happy to tell you about. Most of us here are engineers of one sort or another. We tend to have disposable income and a predisposition for gadgets. I doubt many of us are truly ever under the delusion that we need these things.
- iamacyborg 3y ago
  > Sometimes the journey is more important than the objective. I wouldn’t say it’s more important, I’d just say it’s a different interest.

xanderlewis 3y ago

> What matters is does the song you’re listening to sound good. Good point. I still think there’s very little scope for customisation though. Once you find what sounds good, you can stop. With stationery, there’s no such thing because the question isn’t as simple as ‘does it sound good?’. It’s more like ‘does it feel good?’, ‘does it inspire me in my work?’, ‘does it work well for this particular situation?’. I personally think you’re wrong to write all of this off as fetishism; it can be a life-enriching interest. Of course there are people who take it too far, and you only have to go to Reddit to find those people. To some extent it’s also a matter of fashion, and if you’re one of those people who doesn’t ‘get’ fashion (in clothes, or in anything else) then there’s not much to be reconciled — it just doesn’t please you and that’s fine. > obsessing over which particular tube amp sounds warmer. I agree that that kind of thing is just boring as hell and detracts from any possible discussion or enjoyment of music. Seeking perfection actually is particularly boring to me, which is why it’s not what I do with stationery either. It’s more appreciation of an object, flaws and all, than it is a pointless never-ending (and wallet-draining) search for some fictional nirvana like it is with speakers.

saywhanow 3y ago

Sometimes the journey is more important than the objective. I have a 3d printer because I wanted to play with a 3d printer. Same with a drone, zero-turn lawn mower, welding machine, oscilloscope, and a host of other things my wife would be more than happy to tell you about. Most of us here are engineers of one sort or another. We tend to have disposable income and a predisposition for gadgets. I doubt many of us are truly ever under the delusion that we need these things.

iamacyborg 3y ago
> Sometimes the journey is more important than the objective. I wouldn’t say it’s more important, I’d just say it’s a different interest.