this is an important factor. I tend to raise this subject often, within the scope of the idea of the learning curve of sonic reproduction. This, in the context of the listener/audiophile, and the reviewer. hearing being function that can be taught. to learn. It also depends upon the will of the given person to learn. To understand that change is the norm and static conditionals are the odd man out. therefore, to learn that a given state of understanding of sonic reproduction is not a state of finality, unless the person involved, with their plastic learning capacity, will it to be so. Willing it via desire and emotional directives, which may or may not have any basis in logic function.
That there never is a final answer; merely a given condition in the given journey.
early in the game, the mind tends to see gross exaggeration as a form of detail in the signal. And since these exaggerations are distortions of a sort, they are entirely obvious. Like the so-called mainstream's fascination with big breasted women with over accentuated features and behaviors.
A trend that began with the computerization of televisions in the CRT days, was to have a setting on the given television that was called 'vivid', which grossly over accentuated differentials.
This was created and implemented due to human perception systems and how they work, these parameters and internal systems...how they function in the given human as an unconscious aspect of existence and life projection.
That these gross differentials and exaggerated differentials in the minutiae of the video signal, as distorted by the 'vivid' setting on the given television, would be what it takes for the potential buyer in the large store..to separate the in-situ television from the rest. To live in a moment of a '5 minute romance', and then take that given TV home, as a purchase.
We tend to live that way, to some degree or another and the specific mind and body's awareness of self and potentials for rumination and change, will either move that person forward from there, or they will be frozen in that state of development. Some move faster, some move slower, we learn and decide how we learn, at different paces and in different ways, regarding path and results.
In the audiophile world, this situation also exists, in it's own way. since the vast majority of humanity sits in these sort of bell curves of development, this means that the greater mass of audiophiles will not be at the highest level of refinement in audio presentation and aural understanding. It most specifically does not mean that smaller group (outside the norm/average bell curve of audiophiles) of well learned and accomplished audiophiles will have tons of money to buy expensive audio gear, either.
That it would be a mistake to idealize that buyers of expensive audio gear are automatically, due to their capacity to buy expensive audio gear.. that they are automatically accomplished listeners.
This bears out in the analysis of high end riding bicycles, and who buys them, and their associated paraphernalia. Novice bike riders who are well heeled, cash wise, buy the most expensive gear, but have no idea how to bring it to a maximum performance level, as that skill does not reside within them. But that the money required to buy a bunch of stuff, did reside within their capacity. That a serious and accomplished bike rider does not need all that expensive gear and paraphernalia to outclass the novice. And that there is, due to the cash orientation, no way to correlate the expensive biking gear with inherent capacity for that gear to be the best there is for bike riding or for riders.
Due to this overall situation, the novices and the expert bikers intermingle at the top of the bicycle pyramid of expense and quality.
The audio and audiophile world is much the same.
It is also the opposite side of the coin, that in the bicycle business, the novices and their ridiculous amount of coin inserted into the bike and gear procurement process, is what allows the bicycle business to survive and innovate, to be around and in business....for the serious bikers to be able to purchase gear that works for them.
My point, circling back the comparison to the vivid setting on the TV and the reasons behind it..... is that one of the indicators that a piece of equipment is doing what it should be doing, is that it can be very understated in sonic attributes, regarding initial assessment.
