[Things your Mom warned you about] Never judge a HiFi system or component if...

The inspiration to put together some basic concepts on how to listen and judge a component or a HiFi system, concepts repeated thousands of times on this very website, came from a recent discussion on our Facebook page.

One of our readers, commenting on my review of the Fosi V3 Mono power amplifiers, wrote that he had compared the V3 Monos with the ZeroZone power amps (as I did), finding the former - in some way - not worse, if not even superior in certain parameters. This, of course, would have made sense if this test had been performed under the same testing conditions. Unfortunately, the comparison test that would have allowed our reader to get an idea of the sound of these amplifiers occurred in different listening rooms and with different systems (!!!). Given that is already very difficult, for those without any experience as a reviewer, to exactly determine the differences between two power amplifiers of similar cost, the different context, as should have been obvious, deprives this comparison of any logical sense. I believed that, in 2024, something like this should have been rather obvious. Evidently it isn't. So perhaps it's worth clarifying a bit.

Fact #1: it is not possible, in any way, to express opinions and make comparisons between components, be it amplifier, source or speaker, if such comparison is not correctly performed in the same system, in the same environment and at the same time. The sound of a HiFi system is conditioned for at least 50% by the listening room (acoustics and speakers placement), then by the speakers and the rest of the components, to a minor extent. It is sufficient to alter just one of these variables and the comparison loses any meaning.

Performing comparisons at the same time is equally important, at least for two reasons: the aural memory, especially that of untrained listeners, is incredibly deceptive and, what's worse, the system itself can play differently depending on the environmental conditions: room temperature, quality of the mains, and background environmental noise. A couple of extra dBs of background noise is enough to alter the sound and make it perceived as less dynamic. Then our physiological state also comes into play: being more or less tired and/or more or less well disposed alters our ability to judge critically.

For the same reasons, you cannot extrapolate the sound of a single component within an unknown system. This, unfortunately and not surprisingly, happens very frequently: audiophiles who listen to systems in unknown contexts (HiFi shows, shops, friends' houses) who are able to express judgements on the sound of a single component. By changing the boundary conditions, there's no possibility of understanding “what influences what”. The increasingly widespread lack of scientific culture leads to this kind of superficiality: the conclusions of an experiment are drawn when all the conditions are known and controllable. And repeatable.

Fact #2: the listening room and the placement of the speakers alter the sound of a system to such an extent that it would be better to refrain from making judgements or drawing conclusions if these two factors have not been optimized first. Unfortunately, it is quite common to find enthusiasts who make decisions about purchases or sales based on completely unrealistic conditions, such as empty (and therefore sonic nightmare) rooms or speakers suspended two meters above the floor, or bookshelf models sat on the floor (see pic above) or placed close to the rear wall and/or to the corners (except for the few exceptions that allow this by design). Some examples, coming from our own pages, can be seen below and in the pic that opens this article. It is clear and obvious, or it should be but evidently isn't, that under these wrong conditions it is impossible to experience the sound as described in the reviews, where the component is put in a position to perform at its best, often within systems that are extremely revealing of the most elusive differences.

Fact #3: you cannot make judgements about the timbre of a system or a HiFi component if you have no experience on the true sound of musical instruments. Knowledge of unamplified music, i.e. reproduced exclusively acoustically, is fundamental. Not only should we be able to distinguish a cello from a double bass, but we should also have heard different ones, in various contexts, in order to build a mental model of how that instrument should sound in our home. This lack of real-world experience has spawned all kinds of audiophile myths and monsters: from violins that always have to sound silky, to low frequencies that always have to be fast and controlled, to the silky or warm sound that must never fatigue our ears. Try listening to an unamplified drum kit playing a few meters away and see if it sounds warm and soft: the snare drum pierces your eardrums, the kick drum presses against your solar plexus, and the cymbals are so loud and rich in harmonics that you'll find yourself trying to attenuate them with a tone control. Listen to a large pipe organ in a church, and then tell me if the bass is fast, controlled and articulated. It will shake your bowels as well as the walls of the church, and the notes will float in the air for so long that you'll try to close the bass reflex port, if there was one. The same goes for the double bass, plucked or played with the bow. And what about the brass? Have you ever heard a trumpet sounding soft and warm? Most of the time it will sound aggressive, shiny, metallic, and shouty. And even the human voices, for example a soprano, heard at a short distance, will not always sound caressing to the ear. You might even experience those reproduction faults that are often attributed to HiFi systems: excess of sibilants, for example.

Amplified music, however, whether electric or electronic, can be useful for evaluating other parameters, though certainly not timbre. I would say mainly the micro and macro dynamics, the speed and the articulation of low frequencies, the correct scanning of musical tempos (say, if the rhythmic base is synchronized with the rest) and, above all, the ability of a component or system to unravel complex musical textures, composed of many different instruments.

Conclusions

Being passionate about music and its correct reproduction should be something for people who pay extreme attention to details and listening conditions. The same orchestra, in two different theatres, will play very differently, why two speakers shouldn't do the same? I still remember a phrase that a Linn dealer told me, when I was still in my twenties and was about to buy my first turntable from the famous Scottish brand: “Remember, being an audiophile means being fussy”. Well, it seems that all this wisdom has been lost, and everyone can improvise as reviewer in a crude and superficial way, without even having taken care of the minimal conditions for being able to express judgements.

Hence no, the much loved “in my opinion it sounds like that!” is not expression of democracy, as most of the time it is a symptom of superficiality and inexperience. Not all opinions can be equal, for sure, but there is a minimum of basic assumptions and boundary conditions that must be satisfied in this context, where experience and obsessive attention to detail should be inalienable principles.

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Things your Mom warned you about: critical listening basics!

It isn't always a matter of subjective opinion, my dear

Foreword

Conclusions