I was wondering who did the design. Puts a smile on my face. Westlake's digital designs have probably won more accolades and achieved more sales than any other hifi engineer. I had an MDAC+, great bit of kit that cost me £650 new. It improved upon a many times more expensive PS Audio DAC.I’m 95% certain that Stack commissioned John Westlake to engineer this piece. I can spot his layout technique from space.
[I’m guessing that part of why Stack keeps quiet about it is that Westlake, while a sharp engineer, has a good bit of controversy following him over long-delayed and then abandoned altogether projects for which he collected a lot of money from users in advance. You can Google that.]
Best audiophile switch
- Thread starter Frankie67
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This is why WBF has the Hyperbole Police.
Fortunately. Without hyperbole the high-end would die next day. This is is a subjective hobby relying on the perception of very small differences - we need a way to motivate most people to appreciate them.
The hobby lives on people enthusiasm for it - being a behavioral entity enthusiasm is usually measured in logarithmic scales, we need something to balance it!
Shame. You should know it sounds better at 67 than 69 degrees.
Agree. I'm beginning to see a pattern of cheap shots from him lately which has changed my view of him.
Funny, I always thought it was about the enjoyment of music. ;-)Fortunately. Without hyperbole the high-end would die next day. This is is a subjective hobby relying on the perception of very small differences - we need a way to motivate most people to appreciate them.
The hobby lives on people enthusiasm for it - being a behavioral entity enthusiasm is usually measured in logarithmic scales, we need something to balance it!
I disagree.
True, but the hyperbolic characterization of those small differences is totally optional and unnecessary.
If I just wanted to enjoy music I would not need high-end audio. Simple high quality stereo and/or multichannel would be enough.
Although music is a significant part pf my life and I enjoy listening, I know that there are audiophiles that are in hobby more for the entertaining and social part of it than for music.
I expect it from the hyperbole police.
The high-end is a business. Business depends on sales and marketing. You can't motivate people to try and change saying that there is a small difference in sound or showing measurements.
BTW, there is not larger hyperbole than comparing stereo sound reproduction to real music. We are permanently doing it.
IMO we should educate readers to understand and debate hyperbole, fighting it in an audio forum is a lost cause.
what is the difference between high-end and high quality?
Once my gear provides a good simulation of the real thing and I can get lost in all kinds of music, I'm done with "major" gear/speakers (working on pre-streaming side, thus my interest in this thread). I do enjoy the entertainment value of following audio trends, ogling certain designs and reading some of the threads here. A good distraction from our crazy world.
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if a sufficient number of people learned and practices critical thinking skills, discussions would be based upon verifiable data. Regarding switches, there are no measurements of noise reduction, therefore subjective opinions are the only points on the graph.
So what do you need "high end audio" for?
I've asked myself that question, and always seem to find the answer by actually listening to "high end audio" systems (not my own). But who knows, maybe someday...
It is large and takes a long article to expose - sorry I will just summarize, at the risk of not being clear. For me high quality audio is technically excellent equipment, not too critical to set up, created to be enjoyed by most consumers, according to models that want to please most listeners.
High-end audio addresses individual preferences, showing top performance in some areas, and needs listener involvement and adequate set up techniques.
What do you mean by "good simulation of the real thing"?
I firmly believe there are people on this forum who spend more time trying to play philosophical word games and position themselves as victims of the big, evil hifi audio world than they do actually listening to music.
To have a fascinating hobby that involves good friends, good meals and feeds my appetite and curiosity for technology, experience and music. I would love to add the word science, but I have little hope in getting new science in this hobby. High-end audio can be used as a tool to get different perspectives of music, when it brings us more information.
And you answer is ...?
words always fail to concisely define what our senses are telling us. words about senses cannot avoid lack of precision and over/undershoot. this is a broad issue with all verbal/written communications. to dismiss our hifi forum efforts to objectively/scientifically communicate how we feel is silly. it's just not possible. so hyperbole is normal for humans. and for hifi forums.Fortunately. Without hyperbole the high-end would die next day. This is is a subjective hobby relying on the perception of very small differences - we need a way to motivate most people to appreciate them.
The hobby lives on people enthusiasm for it - being a behavioral entity enthusiasm is usually measured in logarithmic scales, we need something to balance it!
the alternative is to measure and communicate in numbers, formulas and graphs. some might be happy with that.
i choose hyperbole every time. science is ok to be viewed as a sidelight/data point to the meat of of our feelings. helps us here and there.
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Let’s stay on topic. We’ve moved past outdated arguments, and things were going well until the focus shifted to criticizing manufacturers and debating in hyperboles. This thread is about audiophile switches, after all, maybe it has run its course. Thanks!
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