Blog Post #502: Musings on a decade of audiophilia, maturation, objectivism and the road ahead.

Well guys and gals, this marks post 502 since the start of the blog back in 2012, although articles really only started flowing by 2013. As we are approaching the latter months of 2022, it's amazing to think that a decade has flown by!

Over the years we have touched upon a huge number of audiophile topics. Much of the ideas and experiments over the years have and will continue to serve as the foundation for me in the days ahead as a music lover and "hi-fi" audiophile. Before embarking on this blog, I remember the frustration of feeling entrenched in audiophile obsessions over the fears and uncertainties around things like whether I needed expensive cabling, whether the ethernet switch was deteriorating my audio stream, concerns about the "noise" from my computer, and if for some reason jitter was further destroying my sound. I remember recognizing that none of those anxieties were ever fully addressed or clarified by product manufacturers or the mainstream magazines of the day, and there were little resources out there on YouTube or other websites. Descriptions were vague, and as I recall, nobody ever could clearly express to me what jitter sounded like for example, despite prominent claims. Other than suggesting that handing over money was the solution by buying and "listening for yourself", hobbyists could seem to do nothing else - powerless in the face of dramatic claims.

I remember thinking at one point: "How problematic are these issues, really?!". Given the decades of audio hardware evolution, and in the context of all that we know in the 21st Century about the engineering that has gone into these human-designed and assembled electronic devices, is it reasonable that hobbyist audiophiles seemed to blindly stagger in the dark, typically discussing these things with little facts, or figures, easily drawn into opinions and assumptions that can swing to extremes or seem so idiosyncratic depending on the subjective whims of the reviewer who supposedly "hears" things?

Even where there are measurements (like in the pages of Stereophile), it also seemed odd to me that the objective results appear to be subservient to unsubstantiated subjective comments. If the subjective reviewer heard some "harshness" and the DAC showed higher jitter anomalies, it's not hard to use that as the "attribution theory". But if the DAC is expensive from a prominent name, more likely than not the subjective listener likes it, and the impact of sometimes exceedingly poor measurements appear softened and the device still gets an overall recommendation (look at the measurements for this).

For this post, I hope the reader will indulge me with an opportunity to meander into thoughts that have been bouncing in and out of my mind over the years, and consider expectations over the next decade.

Through the years, I have seen significant shifts not just in my own psychology, but also in the audiophile landscape. In general, I believe audiophiles have become more "enlightened" and reasonable than back in 2012/2013. One area that has clearly changed is the accessibility and ability for consumers to access objective knowledge, the know-how to measure equipment and correlate experiences for ourselves - time permitting, one can learn a huge amount by listening and measuring with the RME ADI-2 Pro series, E1DA Cosmos ADC and REW or Multitone for example! The hardware and software tools now at our disposal have allowed us to shine light on those dark corners of audiophile uncertainties and "subjectivist" culture in indisputably powerful ways beyond the limits of human auditory perceptions I would not have known a decade back. As it has been said for millennia, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free". I would much prefer that than some variant of "spend money and listen for yourself".

Compared to most other hobbies, I think this freedom by knowing the truth is particularly liberating for neurotic audiophiles willing to take the steps beyond feelings, and willing to engage with intellect. Where there is knowledge gained by empirical testing, we begin to walk away in peace from audio pseudoscience, myths, legends, faith in the "high priests" and those who sell snake oil (even when they insist they're not selling serpentine lipids ;-).

Sadly, I've often felt that there are a number of manufacturers out there that purposefully operate in ways that perpetuate FUD and act counter to the growth of knowledgeable hobbyists. This blog is peppered with the names of these companies which I won't mention here, some of them appear to no longer be in the spotlight any more for good reason.

I agree. Mere opinions often point upward in their tendency to magnify extremes but have us remain stationary rather than provide a useful direction to proceed.

What is even more disappointing to me as a hobbyist are the times one needs to speak up against the "mainstream" audiophile press who are supposed to educate and advocate for consumers. There are numerous "journalists" out there basically taking on the role of advertising spokespersons of the Audiophile Industry, sometimes calling upon supposed "experts" in the Industry without acknowledging secondary gains like the financial self-interests of these individuals when they express their opinions. It's sad to see such articles, blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, presented as opportunities to transmit "knowledge" or "understanding" but end up as nothing more than poorly conceived and frankly unbelievable advertising. Hard questions are rarely asked in most interviews, never mind some of these "journalists" seemingly unable to engage their own basic common sense! Even as rational gains have been made, "infomercials" appear to have been on a growth trajectory over the last decade in audiophilia as videos have become opportunities to monetize; often asking people to pay monthly for early access through services like Patreon.

While audio forums remain places of debate that can get heated, my feeling is that the general demeanor has become more thoughtful with deeper discussions and people willing to take time to explore and test ideas rather than accept claims by faith (at the sites I tend to visit at least). I think as a hobby, there has been maturation among participants linked to healthy skepticism over the last decade. If one has evidence (which can still be falsified of course since nobody's perfect), and remains respectful, there is no reason to avoid being assertive. The potential for continued growth by ultimately seeking wisdom (beyond just knowledge) I believe is the greatest part of character formation we can hope for over time both individually and corporately as a body of audiophiles.

Among the words, photos, graphs, listening tests, and measurements posted over the years, I hope this blog has provided some useful suggestions and hit on fundamental facts as a reflection of the path of "Archimago the Audiophile" at this point in history. The last decade has been a time of intermingling between computer systems, networks, and high quality/high resolution digital audio. Our quality of life has been blessed by the convenience and availability of inexpensive devices achieving levels of fidelity "unheard" of a decade or two back.

This last decade has us witnessing the transition of music playback from purpose-made black box physical media devices to high-resolution computer audio; and with it the freedom to escape the limits of the CD 16/44.1 physical format and lossy MP3 thanks to massively expanded storage to terabytes of data. Though nowhere as popular, DSD/SACD albums have become easier to handle for modern computers, lossy and lossless file format options have expanded (like this), and we've seen a push forward using digital signal processing to achieve better sound quality in our rooms. We can fully transition if one wishes from physical formats to downloadable content, and now cloud-based Internet streaming. This move from an ownership model of the music library into a rental model seems to be working well for many music lovers.

[Mitch Barnett recently sent me a great video showing the "rise and fall" of formats used for audio consumption as a beautiful visual illustration.]

As with computing hardware in general, the deflationary forces of technological innovations have brought down the prices and increased availability of devices like DACs performing at levels of fidelity that are more than likely "perceptually perfect" now. As discussed, luxury "high end" needs not follow price-fidelity correlations.

I have suggested over the years that audio technologies were the first to mature among engineering-based hobbies. These days, it's hard to imagine accurate <20Hz to 20+kHz audio frequency reproduction demanding much cutting-edge R&D engineering dollars. Sure, research dollars can still achieve smaller devices, more power-efficient amps, better speakers and headphones, more powerful and effective DSP algorithms, but are we not well past the point of diminishing returns?

Regardless of exactly how the future plays out in this hobby, what is non-negotiable IMO is the role that modern objective testing must play as its reality-based foundation. While subjective perceptions, "feelings", "impressions", and opinions can and will continue to result in endless discussions (like whether tube or solid-state amps sound "best"), mercifully, the objective pursuit provides a necessary "off ramp" should one desire to distance ourselves from those obsessions and compulsions. Instead of building a faith based on the whims of one's emotional desires (or the desires of some other guy in a magazine or online) that vary as the winds blow, I think it's much better to build our audiophile foundation on discipline and knowledge that allows for verifiable progress based on high fidelity ideals. Of course, eventually enjoyment of music is what matters and I would never suggest one not do a proper home listening evaluation of a product; that's a given which I trust no audiophile would suggest otherwise! But there is something to be said about freedom to "move on" from things that simply make no sense any more like thousand-dollar audio cables, "quantum" products, and the countless tweaks that demand evidence before any serious consideration (anyone want to show me evidence for this which made the rounds as if it's a legitimate product among websites and magazines a few years back?).

IMO, mindless fringe products do not require "first hand experience" any more than spending money to try out multiple psychics to find one who isn't a fraud.

A few months ago, I read the final "Keeping It Honest #99" article by Srajan Ebaen of 6Moons (recommended website only if you want to see numerous examples of subjective folly), subtitled "Farewell to the great pretenders" (who is he referring to!?).

"I promised you a distillate of ninety-eight preceding features. You might feel disappointed now but – this was that. Really. There’s nothing wrong with learning from the mistakes of others. There’s nothing wrong with asking for some advice. But the foundation against which all such insights and advice are used is always our personal experience, then decision. Why can’t we trust in our own experience? Should our ears enjoy something which the audiophile police or forum hyenas claim is wrong… how does it matter? Perhaps our wiring is inverted. So what? It’s our wiring. We must live with it. Why can’t we trust our own enjoyment? Should that change over the years, we adapt. We stop buying white wine and start drinking red. It’s not complicated."

As you can see, while the prose is hard to follow, this weak "distillate" of 98 articles came down to the simple idea that we should just "enjoy" however we see fit. Is this all that a "subjectivist" audiophile has to offer after all those articles and reviewing probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions of MSRP dollars of gear through the years? I personally find this rather sad, empty, meaningless, grossly shallow, telling the world that after 20 years, he has understood nothing new, and nothing more to offer than what we've all known as children ("It's all kindergarten stuff" as he admits). Surely as audiophiles who devote time, and passion into this hobby, we must have learned more about ourselves and the technologies!

BTW, I can't say I know of any "audiophile police" who cares to bust hobbyists for listening with "inverted wiring". At least an objective audiophile can test and say if that preference came with maintenance of "absolute polarity" through the audio system. That objective knowledge with self awareness of polarity preference could be useful, right? ;-)

In basically all areas of life, I hope we aim for something greater, friends. As a physician, I hope to have added something to the field if not at least changed the life trajectory for patients for the better during my career. As a father, I hope my children will have learned something of value both in knowledge and in character through our relationships. So too as a "more objective, rational" audiophile, I hope the articles talking about high-fidelity playback have been able to enlighten readers with important truths that apply to all of us. And even if not enlighten, at least stir thoughts about the "whys" and "hows" of this hobby. There is humility in accepting that our perceptions (whatever our "Golden Ears" tell us) are but part of a much bigger story which we can take time to learn about - the world (and this hobby) has much, much more to offer than what we achieved in kindergarten.

Looking into the crystal ball, let me throw out some observations about the hobby and expectations for the decade ahead. As usual, when I offer these musings, it'll be interesting to see how many of these ideas actually play out if we are to revisit this post in a few years' time:

1. It would not be surprising to see an extended period of consolidation in this hobby. Even if devices make evolutionary resolution gains, however small with each technological generation, it's not like the human auditory apparatus evolves within such rapid technological timeframes to experience benefit anyways.

2. The luxury audio "High End" will need to come to terms with the fact that while the "non-utilitarian" benefits of expensive devices will always have a role in consumer psychology, consumers are now well on the path of recognizing that price no longer correlates with sonic fidelity for much of the electronics products like DACs, streamers, computers and amplifiers already at very reasonable price points.

3. Very reasonably priced devices from the likes of Topping, SMSL, Sabaj, etc. have created a market for objectively-advertised devices demonstrating transparency. I suspect the Industry is taking notice and it's great to see reviews of these devices starting to enter into the mainstream audio magazines (like this and this). The connection between price and "fidelity" of speakers and headphones likewise has become tenuous and will likely continue to be challenged ahead. (For example, the many reasonably priced ELAC speakers and if you want to splurge a bit, recently I heard the <US$2000 SEAS A26 kit I think hits well above the asking price if you're looking for "audiophile" quality bookshelves!)

4. As a result of the market competition and as we enter into the very likely specter of economic contractions and uncertainties ahead, I suspect there will be a need for luxury brands with sky-high prices to rethink their business model. This would be good for consumers of new products, and possibly phenomenal prices in the used market in the next few years. Audio products are not financial investment vehicles, friends. I hope you've already started saving your pennies, in anticipation for that day once we pass this current inflationary cycle.

5. When it comes to the technologies, clearly the shift to mobile audio (as discussed back in 2016) is well along its way. This is part of the generational cycle we need to think about as the participation of Boomers decline in this hobby and those of us in the Gen-X club "mature". While there will always be some interest in anachronistic technologies, I think things like tube technology and analogue reproduction (turntables, LPs, reel-to-reel which never really made much of a "comeback") are in decline with perhaps the MoFi fiasco as yet another reminder of basic truths.

6. What will come ahead? Well, during times of consolidation, I think audiophiles will appreciate what they already have and recognize that much of what is on offer as the "next greatest thing" will very much be lateral moves rather than real advancements. In time, I think we will understand ourselves better as hobbyists if we take as much of an internal journey as an external one of consumerism. We might start to recognize our idiosyncratic "euphonic" preferences and understand how these are manifested in the gear we choose (eg. non-flat frequencies, noise level preferences, and euphonic distortion amounts). Just as there will always be a path for audiophiles who value "high fidelity", I trust in the days ahead we recognize and acknowledge where we each deviate from that "accurate sound" target. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having subjective preferences that aren't strictly "hi-fi" - just make sure we're insightful about the claims we make!

7. Even if the traditional 2-channel playback audiophile hobby with the luxury "High End", as represented in much of the mainstream magazines stagnates, technology will continue to move forward. Back in 2019, I suggested the importance of getting headphone listeners on board with virtualized multichannel. This is the obvious conjunction of the shift to mobile listening with multichannel audio. This is also the way to increase consumption of multichannel content beyond the expense and cumbersomeness of building a surround-capable room with multiple speakers. In time, perhaps those virtualized surround headphone listeners will upgrade to higher quality multichannel media rooms with top-end amps and fancy speakers.

As you know, by 2021 with the push from Apple for Spatial/Atmos Audio, that dream of "surround sound for the masses" has begun in earnest with Amazon Music, Tidal and Qobuz also participating though to lesser degrees. There is still much to be done in this area which centers on the continued development of DSP technologies for the hardware and more importantly, a believable model of the HRTF for each listener to achieve better headphone surround realism. We are still a ways from being able to easily and accurately customize the parameters for each listener and I will be looking forward to progress in this domain! (Creative's Super X-Fi with ear-shape customizations and the head-tracking of Redscape were interesting steps to improve the perception of realism.)

Recently I've been exploring music sub-genres like "vaporwave" which is a form of electronica that summons a heavy dose of sentimentality wrapped into a product that sounds often like light electro-jazz of an alternate retro universe with synth sounds of yesteryear ('80s and '90s). In this subgenre, you'll also see much Japanese/Asian iconography as it evokes the era of Japan's economic peak, imagery reminiscent of a dark Blade Runner-esque neon glow with other characteristics like lo-fi "8-bit" resolution, temporal slowing, and often plenty of dreamy, moody reverb. Some examples of this would be Macintosh Plus's Floral Shoppe (2011), 2814's 新しい日の誕生 (Birth of a New Day) (2015), or the work of death's dynamic shroud (their recent Darklife (2022) is a nice evolution with a heavier edge).

Like vaporwave music, not only do many audiophiles celebrate the retro esthetic, but also idealize analogue technologies like old tube designs and ceaseless versions of classic BBC speakers. In recent days, a number of companies have reached back to designs of the past with the resurrection of products like the Mission 770, JBL L100 Classic, the PSB Passif 50, or the classic look of the JBL SA750, and NAD C 3050 LE. It's great that these products exist and I think many audiophiles will appreciate that the internals have been updated with modern drivers (including metal tweeters), Class D modules, Class G (rail-switching A/B), and network streaming. However, as we envision hi-fi, particularly 2-channel reproduction reaching a level of objective performance hitting various physiological ceilings and maturation of computing technologies in audio, we might see within the audiophile hobby a technological stagnation, increasingly focused on appearances and sentimentality - "an endless repetition of pastiche and past cultural artifacts of a complacent culture" as this interesting commentary on vaporwave and "hauntology" puts it.

Injection of computer technology into the audio hobby has been a vital force in the last decade (actually, since before 2000 with the rise of MP3 and file sharing, but really took off in the last 15 years or so). How much more vitality is left to inject remains to be seen. Looking ahead, I'd certainly be curious to see if stylistic recapitulation becomes a prominent feature rather than technological advancement in the audio Industry.

I wonder, in another 50 years (2070), would the "audiophile" hobby still be a small group of middle-aged and older Gen Z (born ~1997-2010) & Gen Alpha guys (born ~2010-2024) transfixed over similar looking 2-channel boxes, arguing about whether special cables make a difference, and luxury manufacturers still using words like "jitter" to encourage purchases of the next great new product that plays 16/44.1?

Alternatively, we could imagine a future where in 50 years, the greater audiophile/music-lover pursuit is for those well along the path of implementing cutting-edge wireless transmission and neural-machine links, many experiencing music directly piped into the nervous system over 10G wireless. Interconnect quality, noise floor, distortions, temporal anomalies, the idea of "room correction" would be either moot or basically meaningless as the only limiting factor would be the capabilities of an individual's neurological system. Hmmm, on second thought, this could be a rather dystopic future; let's just stick with safe 2-channel boxes. ;-)

As you will see, I still have a number of interesting products to test out, classes of devices to review, and thoughts to discuss, but I'm thinking at this point, it's more than OK to slow down the weekly publication schedule a bit.

We in the West have clearly entered the "post-pandemic" phase and are realigning our routines and expectations to live with the coronavirus and its strains. By now, almost everyone I know including myself has already recovered from a least one infection with COVID-19. Looking ahead, there are albums to enjoy, movies to watch, family things to do, friends to meet, photos to take, golf balls to hit, fish to catch, etc... And as myself and the Gen-X'ers proceed through middle age, I trust we're all also taking stock of the roles we play, responsibilities and commitments to complete, that we can one day look back on as "generative", meaningful, consistent with our values for this stage in the lifecycle. The tests and contents of this blog being one of those things I can hopefully look back on with pride as having done my part for the hobby and for fellow pilgrims on this path. ;-)

That's all for now. I truly hope you're all having a wonderful time with your music and hardware systems. I'm not "done" quite yet as an audiophile or blogger, just wanted to take some time to look back - and forward - here at the 500-articles mark!

Until next time... Hope you're enjoying the music, friends.