Are you qualified to critique music?

[Gilly Goodness]

Found out it is a large PIONEER speaker in the boot and 2 smaller ones upfront. Asked him what the specs were. He just shrugged. Anyhoo plan to listen to it as he drives off to work this mornin'.

Hope this gear upgrade nudges me closer to HiFi status. Although the interior acoustics of an old Toyota carolla may play it's part.

[Gilly Goodness]

Ok. To paraphrase Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. "It's a new day". "No. It's a new world!"

Just went outside and the son demonstrated the sound. Without promptin' he chose OOALH off his phone and my ears were assailed by the clearest and most powerful sound. Verily, it was like the band were in the boot. The air vibrated. The bass and drum "popped". I punched his arm with delight. I have seen the light. I may even upgrade the smart TV with a new big soundbar.

Have I become Hoffmanised?

Is this a start of a whole new journey?

You know what. It just might be.

[highfell]

Not in the sense of, do you have a doctorate in musicology? But...



Was just readin' a sticky thread over at Steve Hoffman Music Forum where the good sir asks people to fill out their "gear profile" so people can judge whether someone's opinion on a CD or a remaster etc should be listened to.

On the surface a fair enough request. Though in the comments followin' some said it was still a subjective experience even if listenin'to high end audio.

I had to laugh as I remember lovin' the experience of first hearin' the entire G4T1 on a sanyo AM radio in our kitchen one Sunday night.

So I've never been an audiophile. Walkman. iPod. Computer. Now smart TV. Bluetooth speaker. Have been good enough for me. I've heard great sound systems. Yep. They're great.

So. Do you think it is reasonable for Mr Hoffman to request those private details? Does it lean into a certain hi-fi snobbishness over there or is it bein' transparent and appropriate? Does it really help people trust someone else's opinion and help inspire or not a purchase?

Well the gear that someone has for sure is relevant and one of the reference points of how I would consider their comments.

A number of the posters are way more picky over the quality of new vinyls than I am, and sending back their new copies for a replacement because of minor issues with the record pressing.

But I do find it a useful forum. I recently found myself with some Amazon Gift vouchers and decided to buy PF Pulse 4 LP set - an all analogue remastering and given praise by those Hoffman posters, so I pulled the trigger on what is a relatively expensive purchase.

[Chrisklenox]

One of the things that is kind of funny about hi-if stuff is that it’s actually somewhat advantageous to have a solid middle of the road system in some ways since most recordings are mastered for a general audience, and not necessarily people with audiophile gear. I have even read some people over at the Hoffman forum say that. Sometimes a system that is “too good” can reveal flaws in a recording that are masked by the mastering on a more modest system. Tape damage on Fragile for instance.

You can put together a really solid system for pretty cheap if you are patient and if willing to make a few trips to thrift stores. People donate some really good equipment sometimes. Personally, every single piece of my system is hand-me-down or discards. I’ve been lucky enough to have never actually purchased a single piece of gear. Right place, right time I guess. Haha

[Chrisklenox]

Well the gear that someone has for sure is relevant and one of the reference points of how I would consider their comments.

A number of the posters are way more picky over the quality of new vinyls than I am, and sending back their new copies for a replacement because of minor issues with the record pressing.

But I do find it a useful forum. I recently found myself with some Amazon Gift vouchers and decided to buy PF Pulse 4 LP set - an all analogue remastering and given praise by those Hoffman posters, so I pulled the trigger on what is a relatively expensive purchase.

That Pulse lp reissue is jaw dropping! Good choice!

I find the forum useful as well. For albums that I know I will listen to multiple times for the rest of my life, I seek out the best pressing I can find, and some of the users are really knowledgeable. After a while you start to read between the lines with those people and you figure out what the real good advice is, and what is just hot air… we’ll at least I have figured out how to tell who hears things the way I do. That’s probably a better thing to say. For example, if I see someone saying that x pressing is just to bassy, I have learned to ignore them, because I have never heard a record that I thought had too much bass. In fact, when we are talking about English rock bands like Yes or Pink Floyd, I want as much bottom end as possible.

All in all, the Hoffman forum helped me to dial in my Yes collection with great sounding records at low cost, because I knew exactly what I wanted to look for, and could wait to jump on things in good condition at a good price.