Sometimes other factors play a much bigger role than the actual faithfulness of the reproduction. For many people this is true and I admit that when DJ'ing it's true for me, too (though I much prefer listening to good recordings over my nearfield monitors through a good quality DA). For some people not going with the trend (being a rebel against the evil digital) gives them enough satisfaction that they ignore the merits of a technology. Then there's the factor of emotional and economic investment into a solution. Admitting being wrong means admitting that one has invested tons into an inferior solution. This often reminds me of the sad story about doctors not desinfecting (or washing) their hands before treating women in labor. After the discovery of the effectiveness of desinfection of the hands to prevent death for the child and the woman it took another full generation of doctors before it became common place.. [1] The human mind is capable of tricking itself into believing all kinds of stuff for all kinds of reasons, even in the face of contradicting evidence. And this is the exact vibe I get from most so-called audiophiles that I encountered in my life.
One last point to illustrate my stance, since there was a distinct vibe of ad-hominem attack and rethorics in your last paragraph: When I listen to a Charlie Parker recording from the 40s or 50s I don't give a rat's ass about the audio quality. I'm listening to the notes, to the interplay between the musicians and I'm just glad that SOME recording is available of these great musicians. Sure, I would prefer a better recording, but as a musician myself but the music shines through even a modest reproduction. For myself I tried to find a sweet spot in my audio reproduction system, where the costs allow me to thoroughly enjoy the music of the artists I like to listen to. This sweet spot is with a digital chain.. I'm not interested in spending tens of thousands of dollars to reproduce the movement of every single air molecule in the studio that music was recorded. Some people are and before they spend the amount of money they do on their equipment I'm just arguing that they should take the time to evaluate the different solutions with honesty before getting invested in a solution for the wrong reasons..
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_reaction_to_Ignaz_Semmelweis
Have fun,
Flo
Florian's mail is "The killer mail" for all of you guys writing of porno-technology... B-)
-r
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