Stereopal.com is my personal audiophile blog.   Contrary to popular belief, Audio is not a seclusive hobby.   Ever since I have founded Stereopal.com, I have been invited into the homes of many Audiophiles.   I have met more new friends through audio than anything else.

I am an active member of two local audiophile groups.    The first is my own Stereopal.com audiophile group, which meets casually on an informal basis within the Greater Toronto area.     The second group is the Audiophile Club of Toronto, where I am an active participant and a founding member.   

If you are an audiophile from the Toronto region, and would like to join an audiophile group, we would love to hear from you.   Feel free to email me.   .    Regardless of your race, age, sex, financial status, music preference, you will be welcomed as long as you have an audio system (well may be not a Bose wave radio), and is willing to share it with others.    If you plan to be invited into the homes of others, be prepared to reciprocate, there is no one way ticket.   

To see my system, click here.

The Stereopal Philosophy

I am very privileged as I have been invited into the homes of many fine people.  I have listened to hundreds of audio systems,

 and I have been blessed by the many friendships which have been built as a result of Stereopal.com.

With an open mind, and a humble attitude, I'll share my experiences and opinions with you throughout these pages.  However, they represent my personal opinions which may very well be different than yours.   

What Makes A Good Sounding System:   My Take On a Controversial Subject  ¹ 

What makes a great system?   Do we judge a system by its price tag?   Do we say it is good when some Zen Master says so?  Do we go by general consensus? Whose point of reference do we use to make a judgment?

One of the greatest myths among audiophiles is that a system is good if you like it.    Liking the sound of a system is a subjective matter.   It has nothing to do with whether the system is good, but to do with an individual's personal taste.

Judging an audio system requires two assessment:   The Subjective, and the Objective.     In this it is like literature;  You may not like reading Shakespeare but you would probably agree that Shakespeare was a great writer nonetheless.

Most audiophiles begin with a simple audio system, and with time and patience, he gains experience and develops a preference towards music and audio.  Getting to the point where a person is knowledgeable enough to have both a subjective and an objective opinion of a good system is one of the most rewarding experience in our journey.  It allows one to separate his subjective preference from the objective.     It is entirely possible to love the sound of, say, Single Ended amplified systems, but at the same time know it is not the objective ‘ultimate’ because of the high levels of distortion and coloration associated with it.

Each of us has a subjective opinion.  Having a valid objective opinion, however, requires experiencing a particular sound and understanding how it classically presents itself.    Achieving this level of discernment is possible only if an individual expands his sphere of preference beyond the type of sounds which he already knows he likes. It is only by listening to a great number of systems that are unfamiliar to a person and listening to them in a focused way (with an open mind) that he vaults his knowledge into a higher realm.

If a person focuses solely on what he likes and makes judgment from a purely subjective point of view it will lead to narrow mindedness and arrogance. Over time, the individual will begin to think that a good system is supposed to sound a particular way. When someone then invites him to an audiophile event he will be tempted to criticize and ridicule, rather than to respect others’ opinions and to enjoy the moment.   

Scientist call this phenomenon "frame error" -- coming to a wrong assessment because the entity was evaluated in an inappropriate or jaded context. 
 

The goal is to consciously try to avoid superimposing your ideas of what a system is supposed to sound like, and instead to maintain an attitude of open mindedness.     Only over time can an audiophile sense what to look for in a particular system and evaluate it in its correct context.  

Criterias for Evaluation

While everyone may have a different set of criteria for evaluation, I would like to share with you my own criteria.

1) The Right Attitude

The first and foremost criteria is to have the right attitude.   While it is easy for us to criticize another person's system, harsh comments are neither beneficial or constructive.     As the old Indian proverb goes: "Do not cut off a person's nose if you plan to give him a rose to smell".    If you plan to give somebody a suggestion, make sure you do it in a nice manner.  

Very often, negative criticism often tells me more about the individual making the comment than the audio system.     I have been into the homes of hundreds of individuals, and have come to the conclusion that there is something special about every system which can be appreciated upon.    To begin a proper evaluation, one must begin by picking out the positives rather than the negatives.   This attitude of appreciation permits the individual to maintain an open mind and a proper frame of reference.  

The continuous endless debates between Tubes vs Solid states, Vinyl vs Digital, Singled Ended vs Push Pull, US vs British Pressings, they are constructive so long as our motive is not to ridicule the other.    Those who are quick to criticize will very quickly turn themselves into a monk within the audiophile community.

2) Tonal Balance

Does the system have the ability to present the full frequency spectrum of a particular recording? Are there "gaps" in certain frequencies? Do the frequencies cohere?  A system may have the ability to present certain frequencies which are particularly pleasing to the ear, say on a single female vocal.  But if judgment is to be objectively made on tonal balance, the entire spectrum must be evaluated.

As stated earlier, some may have strong preference for Solid State equipment, focusing only on quality of the bass response, while others may be concentration on the seductiveness of single female vocals.   The entire frequency spectrum together with its coherence must be taken into account rather the performance of a narrow frequency range.

3) Room Interaction and Sound Staging

A system can have the right tonal balance, but negative room interactions. So one must ask, how does the system interact with the room settings?  Does the room create unnecessary bass ‘boom’?  Does the room echo?

Room acoustics and the physical size of the room are the two most important contributing factors when it comes to sound staging.   Having a decent sized dedicated audio room with correct room acoustics, is something which very few people are privileged to have.  Therefore, a system must be evaluated within the context of its room limitations.    

A system can have the right tonality and room acoustics, but the sound staging can be incorrect. This leads us to ask whether the system shows the ability to present instruments the way the recording engineer intended?  Is the sound stage presented too low, like listening from a balcony?  Is the sound stage too high?  Is there good depth perception?  Do the instruments separate themselves, or are they all crumbled up together?

There are a number of system which I know for certain that would sound much better if the room was another 200 sq. ft bigger.   I for one wanted an extra 10 ft of space behind my speakers, but I already know this would be impossible.   But if I was to criticize on the soundstage knowing the inherent physical limitations, such comments would not be beneficial to the owner of the system.

4) Aesthetic Qualities, and Attitude of the Host

If a system sounds good, does it look good aesthetically ?    I have been into rooms with great sounding systems, but with poor aesthetic qualities which leave much to be desired.     Some rooms have dirty clothing scattered all over the floor, others resemble the aftermath of an earthquake scene.   Such environments are uninviting and diminishes on the whole experience.

On the flip side of the coin, some audio rooms are like museums with the host playing the role of a security guard.  I have been into the home of an individual who has rules on how a person should sit.  Guest are also not permitted to choose what music to play.

Then there are those who like to role play the Hitler or the Mussolini of the community.  They believe they are the absolute final authority on the subject  and do not respect or permit any opposing viewpoints, yet they will criticize every audio system which they come across with their narrow minded measuring sticks.    "Your high frequencies are off by 15%, your bass response is exceeded by 3 db at 124hz.   Your soundstage is too narrow, your hair is too long, your butt is too big.............

The aesthetic presentation of the system, the comfort level of the listening environment, together with the welcoming attitude of the host (or the guest) are all part of the whole listening experience.  These are qualities which cannot be ignored, even though it is difficult to objectively evaluate.

5) Return on Investment

A system must be judged within the context of its cost.  My expectations will naturally be higher for a Two million dollar system, but if a two thousand dollar system can achieve 90% of the sound, proper credit should be given to such a high return on investment.   At the same time, an expensive system should not be ridiculed because of its price tag.    After all, there are pens which cost more than cars in this world, with our hobby, at least it makes sound.

~

While it is important to maintain the objective when it comes to system evaluation, as I meet more and more audiophiles on a personal basis, I have learned to respect the subjective differences between individuals.   Everybody has differences when it comes to musical preference and personal taste.   One man's  rubbish may be another man's gem.   We must respect our differences.  I believe God delights in variety, and this is a principle which humankind must learn to appreciate and respect.  

To contact me, email:    rick@stereopal.com

  ¹  My take on the subject is borrowed, and at times quoted directly from Karen's McNeil's book, The Wine Bible.     With a slight change of words, from WINE

         to AUDIO, I believe her philosophy and her approach on determining what makes a good wine is applicable to our subject.