Listening to the Best System in the World

Hi All! This is part of a discussion from a thread about hearing aids, which is getting minimal traffic:

If you're at home (not the best audio system in the world) playing a recording made from the best audio system in the world, are you indeed listening to the best audio system in the world? If there is a recording on YouTube of a specific album played on that system, would you be better off listening to Youtube, or having that same recording in hand, and playing it on your system? How about if that recording was done on tape, and shipped to you?

 

I would think that you would probably need an equivalent to the best system in the world to accurately hear the sound of the best system in the world.
Or preferably you would be best off with a better system than the best system in the world to make sure that you’re hearing all of it.

 

I feel for anyone on this forum who has a hearing impairment as I would for someone in a humour forum who promotes Carrot Top. You cannot enjoy the full benefit of the topic.

 

To be clear, I'm talking about a person with perfect hearing doing this comparison. I'll explain more later.

 

It's an interesting question, unfortunately like so many interesting questions there are probably 1000 answers to it. For me youtube is like headphones and the computer, which for me is immediately disqualifying, as I wanna be free man, not chained to a keyboard and headphones. I wanna be on my sofa listening to my stereo.

 

I think it's going to sound like your system at home.

 

Your system at home when it's sounding good, or your system at home when it's sounds like something has gone horribly wrong?

 

Thread does not compute.

 

To be clear, you have already explained exactly what you want?

 

From your post it appears your opinion is anyone with hearing deficits (age, exposure to loud environments, illness and birth defects) can't enjoy this topic. I assure you that there are people of all levels of audio acuity enjoy hearing music, nature and the spoken word. It's a given we all hear a little differently.

 

I didn't respond to the hearing aid thread,but here is what i was thinking when i read it.If hearing issue is frequency related,DSP is the answer...we now have access to equalization on a level that we couldn't have imagined 20 years ago....not expensive and ridiculously cheap....while i hope i don't need it,you can bet your ass i will be all over it if needed.

 

Everyone's hearing is different: different ear shapes, different degrees of hearing loss, different neural pathways, different brains, etc. So, ideally each person's home system is attuned to their unique hearing. A super-high-end system might be considered "better" or even "best," but if it is at odds with the idiosyncrasies of your hearing, it is not best for you-- even a modest system attuned to your ears will be better. I would think a good recording would be "system neutral," with each listener's system essentially acting as an intermediary for their specific ears and preferences.

If I used hearing aids for music listening, I would want to dial in my system to sound good with the hearing aids, whatever that entails, even if it results in a system which is objectively bad or measures terribly.

 

Also, If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it still make a sound? That's what I wanna know.

 

Appearances can be deceiving.

 

Elaborate? Did I not understand...

 

I guess that you don't see the equivilancy. There was no derision implied. My sympathies are with the hearing impaired as I have a 15% loss in my right ear. I got off easy.

 

Exactly. It's bizarre that so many people don't understand this. You can't hear another system through your system. That would work only if you had a literally absolutely ideal system, with ideal everything. Since that kind of system doesn't exist, you're always ultimately listening only to your system, with a bit of difference on input level. Thinking you're hearing other systems through your system is beyond ridiculous. It cracks me up when i see wannabe scientific, measurements focused, "objectivist", as they simplifiedly call that, guys doing stuff like that.

 

Ok, but some people with perfectly good hearing find Carrot Top hilarious.

 

You are always listening to a recording. And it will always be your system reproducing that recording. It will only be as good as what your playback system is capable of.

I used to make bass cabs and other HiFi speakers. You’d be surprised at how many people told me to just make a Vimeo to show how good they sound.


A few people will get this:
(Translation: This is not a pipe)

 

I rest my case.

 

I have a buddy with a mega buck system ($500k+). He did some needle drops for me from his very expensive turntable/cart combo. Sounded great, just like my system playing back any good recording! Didn't sound like his rig!

 

This is why I prefer to take pictures of my phone pics with a better camera if I didn't have my good camera on me at the time.

60% of the time, it works every time.

 

I shake my head when these idiots have a system playing and expect that to ad anything to their opinion. So I can't see how your system can become a comparison, when you've no idea what the best system in the world sounds like, I mean come on we've got Youtube sound quality issues, probably a different front end and you're hearing it through your own system.

 

Now change things up a little bit. Let's say that you have super primo speakers at your house, but you have diminished high frequency hearing. Would you get better sound quality by using hearing aids with those super primo speakers, or by using ultra deeeluxe headphones and eq. (Remember, hearing aids are devices that include a microphone, equalizer, amplifier, and speaker.)

 

Still on this rant...