What are the major issues in audio? What matters the most?

[paulspencer]

I often get the feeling that audio forums are made for obsessing about the minor issues of audio. It gets me thinking about what are the major issues. So I've put down my thoughts here, with 12 areas that I think the the big ones:

Red Spade Audio: What really matters in audio

For me some of the key areas are issues like speaker directivity, dynamics, reducing early reflections and acoustic damping in the bass range.

What's your take on this? Which aspects of performance do you think matter most?

[SY]

Those are all real and important. But you left out what I think is the most important: stereo. Once you reduce a time varying three dimensional sound field to merely two single-valued channels, you've made a HUGE compromise.

[paulspencer]

You're a fan of multi channel audio?

I was thinking you were going to mention the crossover. Posted it then realised I'd left out one of the biggest issues!

[DF96]

The difference between "low cost but decent" and "high end" can sometimes be inverted, in which case it might not be a small diference.

Am I right in assuming that you get excited about speakers, but assume that most amps etc. are now good enough?

[danielwritesbac]

Ah, well the power supply, since the input and influence of it is so much bigger than almost anything else. Its at least as important as the speaker.

[SY]

Originally Posted by paulspencer

You're a fan of multi channel audio?

Not so much of currently existing systems (Ambisonics was promising, but commercially a dead end), but it's clear that going from essentially infinite dimensions to two dimensions is a pretty major compromise!

[simon dart]

I think one major issue in Audio is that we all have a reductionist tendency to simplify things. We like to believe that we understand things when in fact our view and understanding is limited and we find it difficult to acknowledge that to ourselves. Its very human to do so.

The capture, storage, reproduction, perception chain is incredibly complex, maybe even beyond knowing. But we love to kid ourselves we know about it.

Take early reflections. On a simplistic level you say they are bad. Floyd E Toole says they are good. Simplistic analysis just doesn't do this one tiny part of the whole justice. This is a good thing, that way our hobby will never get boring!

The major issue with audio is that it is the sum of all the minor issues.

[Zen Mod]

Originally Posted by paulspencer

....... what are the major issues......

just 3 things :


1. money

2.brain

3 . #1 and #2 combined

[Redshift187]

You forgot Time Zen.

[wakibaki]

Music. Musicians.

Beyond doubt the most important things in audio and often the most ignored are the program material, and the people who produce it.

You can have audio without turntables, CDs, amplifiers or speakers.

If we're talking recorded, if the material is good, you'll ignore the shortcomings in turntables, CDs, amplifiers and speakers, just to hear an imperfect likeness of the music.

Originally Posted by 1 Corinthians 7:9

'It is better to marry than to burn.'

Music came before amplifiers.

It is better to play than to play records.

w