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In the Forum: Audio For Dummies ™
In the Thread: Josh: My visit to Romy the Cat's Macondo
Post Subject: Josh: My visit to Romy the Cat's MacondoPosted by Romy the Cat on: 1/30/2019
In reference to : https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/333079-visit-romy-cats-macondo.html
I was pointed out to me that Josh posted his commentary
about me at diyaudio.com site. Since he was actively posted at this forum I was
presuming that if he want to write anything about Macondo then it would be at
my forum. To post the writing at the forum that I do not read regularly and from
which I was banned due to my contempt of the forums community is kind of strange
thing to do. Still, Josh is a free man and he does whatever complies with his definition
of ethics…
Generally, the Josh writing very accurately describe the
sound he experienced. A very minor nuance: I did not invited Josh, he as I understood
visited in Boston, asked to be inverted, which is I did. I have no problem with
it and I do not think I never turned down any visitors, particularly a horn enthusiast.
I was also interested in another subject. From Josh posting at my site he extensively
traveled and listened many tailored playbacks out there and I was curios to learn
how my playback would be comparing to other playbacks Josh heard. It is not
that I have a competitive spirit in playback building, the people who actually
know me know how I am far from that feeling. I have my own interests: interviewing
people, getting from them some information that I understand about topological decision
and listening consequences even though in most of the cases the people do
not understand what they were asked and what they replied.
Generally meeting Josh was a positive experience. I with 99%
accuracy predicted to my wife a day before the visit what the visit will be about
and what music Josh most likely will bring. Amy asked me why do I need to do it.
I replied that it is what is out there. She wished me to have good time…
Generally Josh is what I feel is wrong with audio people and
why I very much abhor the audio crowd. This is not a negative commentary about Josh
personally. Josh is very nice gentle man and it is not a fault of his character
that he has no realization regarding what audio is all about. Many people do
not. Josh is informed, knows a lot of audio buzzwords, can fluently talk about audio
technologies and he perceive audio with slight obsession. So, what wrong with
that? The wrong part is that the hobbits
like Josh as people with whom is great to drink bear with or to discuss the latest
clips at CES but they are horrible to be with them in the same room when they
listen anything. The reason for it that they have extremely low expectation to themselves,
to own listening culture and to own sense of relationship with musically. As the
result they cruse around audio hobby in a search of some kind of mystery “playback”
that would reveal to them some kind Messiah, the Messiah that they are not able
to recognize. They absolutely do not understand that the Messiah they are searching
in in them, the Messiah is a result of self- evolvement, sort of Gurdjieff’s Fourth
Way, and a playback can only reflect it if music has it and if you are ready. Somebody told that it is hard to find a black
cat in a dark room, particularly if the cat isn't there. THAT was the perfect
description what Josh should be feeling about my installation. It is also a
perfect my assessment of Josh listening experience at my home and anywhere else.
Usually the material I play to visitors very much reflects
the visitors. I always start from one of my favorite Bach pieces and then I
observe visitor reaction and go from there. With Josh it went south with speed
of avalanche. He was looking at for some kind of frequencies, told me that he
has not enough of chest pressure at bass notes and the rest of kindergarten
crap. I told him that I can very easily to shape to him the sound that he likes
but it might be also might be an opportunity for him to learn how sound might
be from playbacks and to ask himself why I decided to it in this way if I can
do it in any way. He agreed to tolerate sound as is. I played to him relatively
simple things, and I played to him even some jazz! It was very clearly that he was absolutely bored
with classical music. There is minor inaccurate thing in his writing where Josh
stated that he “enjoy more simple romantic modern classical music such as
Satie, or Chopin / Liszt, up to Italian opera”. Sorry, I do not buy it. I do
not feel that he even remotely familiar with anything. He IS familiar with
names but he is not able or have no habit to decimate performing interpretations.
He apparently did not even understood the concept of interpretations!
The complete wreck of the day was then I stopped to play to
him my music and he told that that to “truly evaluate my playback he need to hear
his own music” and he played a dozen or so his own files. I cannot describe the
horror. First of all it was objectively severally compromised audio. Second, it
was beyond terrible music, if fact most of it was just a combination of some barbaric
sounds. Third, there was one track is Beethoven prelude and it was such a evil play
that I juts was not able to tolerate that crap and asks him to turn it off. After
this I played to Josh the very same peace with more of less lucid interpretation
and Josh was surprised that this music might be performed differently!!! After
this I left him and he spent one or two hours to listen recording of some kind of
hammers hitting marble statures. Honestly I do not know what it it as I was
trying to stay as far from my listening room as possible.
In the end a few words. I do tend to listen music significantly
loader then he does. It has to do with perhaps personal preferences, habits, type
of the music we listen, personal sensitivity. I have no problem with that and
this is why I give to visitors a remote control. Set whatever volume you want. The
harshness Josh reported is very much there and
very much deliberate. In my view it is not a harshness, Josh just did not understand
it, but it is +1.5dB forwardness of S2 driver. It gives some edge to Bruckner recordings and
to some other music. I did demonstrated it to Josh on Bruckner and he I think
got the lesson. I also, proposed him to get rid of it, it would take 10 seconds
to do but he refused.
I personally would recommend Josh temporarily stop perusing
high-end audio. I am sorry, Josh, with your level of interest in music and with
your understand of your own sonic benefits you will not be able to find a
satisfaction or fulfillment in high-end audio. You will be traveling from company
to company, from topology to topology, from idea to idea, from guru to guru,
keep discovering hew “opportunity” to explore but the “cat isn't there”. I very
much was in your shoes and very much know how you feel, you are not alone, you
have 99% of audio people with you the most diyaudio.com website. I might be
wrong but in sometimes in a future when you discover how the “back cat” might
look like you might find that you wasted a tremendous amount of energy to the unfortunately
empty chaise. If you get there then feel free to visit me again.Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site