Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPod Zune is not audiophile quality!
- Thread starter princealfie
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
People who call themselves audiophiles who are really just equipment nerds with more placebo than hearing ability make me laugh.
It's fairly often that I buy shiny A/V stuff which performs barely (if not at all) better than some considerably cheaper equipment because I appreciate it as functional ornamental furniture than for its absolute sound quality.
Then hearing people talk of its sonic superiority - which having paid ten times what is normally 'high end' to the Great Unwashed, they seem to believe makes an automatic difference - when what they're saying so deviates from how the equipment actually behaves does amuse me.
A lot of audiophilia is like someone who buys one of these saying that this computer goes a Ghz faster than a PC with the same processor in a cheap steel case. THAT definitely makes me laugh.
It's fairly often that I buy shiny A/V stuff which performs barely (if not at all) better than some considerably cheaper equipment because I appreciate it as functional ornamental furniture than for its absolute sound quality.
Then hearing people talk of its sonic superiority - which having paid ten times what is normally 'high end' to the Great Unwashed, they seem to believe makes an automatic difference - when what they're saying so deviates from how the equipment actually behaves does amuse me.
A lot of audiophilia is like someone who buys one of these saying that this computer goes a Ghz faster than a PC with the same processor in a cheap steel case. THAT definitely makes me laugh.
Its easy for you to say that, but you try an buy a Hallograph
Soundfield Optimizer for $1000 and not hear the improvement
You've tried it, right? Because the only thing dumber than someone who talks about non-existent improvements is someone who trashes or praises something, no matter how unlikely, without trying it first.
It seems unlikely to me to work, but if I see it somewhere I will surely give it a try as I'm a curious soul.
It seems unlikely to me to work, but if I see it somewhere I will surely give it a try as I'm a curious soul.
Its easy for you to say that, but you try an buy a Hallograph
Soundfield Optimizer for $1000 and not hear the improvement
Thanks for the laugh. Even me with my A-level physics wonders how something so small can have an effect on longer wavelengths for anything below 1000hz or so. I mean, have you seen some of the dampening and large-scale room shaping they do in recording studios and monitoring booths to reduce standing waves and reflections?
I agree a lot of it's snake oil. On the other hand, I've heard some pretty amazing sound out of some amazingly expensive equipment. Good sound is subjective, but often there's no debate over great sound.
No i havnt tried it - but if i told you that I've invented a square bicycle wheel that cost $1000 dollors a set and made you go 50% faster down hills, would you beleive me?
Call me a sceptic, but i doubt a pair of upturned wooden garden rakes would make a dramatic difference to the overall sound quality.
I have sensitive ears so I notice the difference.
I guess that tone deafness, the average person wouldn't care.
That's why being audiophiles is like mac users, something special.
Oi! I hope you're not implying that i'm tone deaf just 'cos i'm skeptical that a pair of overpriced coatstands would make any difference to the sound.
If you spent $1000 on an amp, then surely thats going to make a far bigger difference - a beleivable one certainly.
FWIW - although i'm not an obsessed audiophile, i do think its imperitive to have a decent hi-fi set-up - I've got an Cambridge Audio Amp, Dual Turntable, and a Rotel CD player, and JPW speakers (dont ask me for model numbers, they all about 8 years and i cant remeber, it cost about £500 back then though and they still sound great). I refuse to be drawn into elitist audiophile zealotry, however. I've instructed my brother to shoot me if i ever buy a set of cable raisers.
This thread annoys me every time I even see the title. The zune CAN play lossless audio, it just can't play lossless COMPRESSED audio. If you really want "lossless" audio, you can always just play wav files on it.
And I completely agree with the placebo effect in audio, it's incredibly easy to believe that a more expensive gadget sounds better if you're not doing blind comparisons.