When testing headphones with multiple listeners—our standard practice at S+V—I've learned that perceptions of a headphone's tonal balance can differ among listeners. Of course, individual taste in sound varies, too.
I've heard too many speakers. After 10 years of reviewing them, it's hard for me to remember what it was like to be surprised . . . astounded . . . amazed by a really good speaker. However, over the past couple of months, I've gotten a taste of what it was like when I first heard good speakers— when I first experienced broad soundstaging, precise imaging, and a neutral, natural tonal balance.
My greatest CES disappointment led to my greatest discovery. After a cable manufacturer bailed out on the bacchanalian dinner he’d promised me, I ended up at the New York New York hotel nursing a glass of watery house bourbon while dropping quarters into a video poker machine. I soon noticed that the man next to me was sketching electrical circuits on his napkin.
Why does the Vernal equinox always trigger a sudden urge to clean? Who knows? You'd have to read Psychology Today or Discover to find that out. We're not here to lay some heavy scientific anthropological stuff on you. We're here to save your audio/video gear.
JVC's $50 Surround System: Any Good?SXXSW6000JVCSXXSW6000From Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to The Simpsons, many of the 20th century's great philosophical works have confronted the question