"subjective" measurement

[D OB G]

How do we apply objective measurement techniques to the "micro" level- perhaps the level inhabited by the objective/subjective debate.

Timing can probably be correlated with an impulse response. How do we measure "micro-timing" (say, that revealed by the playing of Glenn Gould, and depicted differently by different speakers)?

I can't quote the sources, but I have seen it speculated that the description of emotion, connected not with the true emotion of the musical performance, but atrributed to the playback system- speakers in particular, is correlated with the "micro-dynamic" capability of the system. What would that be, and how would it be measured?

We can agree on whether there are gross anomalies in the FR, for example, but how is the micro level measured? Do we just need good resolution of existing techniques? Or do we need development of nascent techniques? Or are we missing some parts of the picture?

David

[SY]

If you make up an undefined term, you can fit the definition to mean anything. There's no real definition of "micro-dynamics" or "micro-timing," so audio writers can fling those buffalo chips around with impunity. Remember Humpty Dumpty in "Alice in Wonderland"?

[Conrad Hoffman]

Almost anything you can think of can be measured to whatever degree of precision you want. It may be expensive and difficult, but techniques usually exist. There are just too many aspects of speakers that need to be considered, and almost nobody has the resources to look at every single thing using state of the art techniques. IMHO, there are some basic requirements that should be met as far as response and directionality, but since you have to listen to the thing, you should do the fine tuning by ear, allowing general measurements to guide you.