Original post (Simplified Chinese): http://itbbs.pconline.com.cn/diy/9078374.html
It's been a while since we had a good discussion about where the heck we're going. According to this author, PC Hi-Fi is the real deal and everything else is bull.
Below is the translation, done by me. Granted I don't have a Ph.D, but neither does Dr. Dre. So that.
Around 40 years ago, when people just started in on Hi-Fi, the goal of power amplifiers has to have a THD of below 0.1%. However, due to recent advancements in technology and refinements in material, the distortion of amplifiers continue to decrease. A small op-amp today can achieve what humans dreamed of 30 years ago, which is "high-fidelity". Imagine how a little chip, operating under normal bias, can have both the THD and IMD lower than 0.001%, even 0.0001%. This was unthinkable 30 years, even 20 years ago.
One day, suddenly, Hi-Fi manufacturers found themselves not being able to make money off technology, because advancements in technology has rendered "low distortion" worthless. Whatever little cover they had was blown. So what they did was to invent metaphysics and pseudoscience, lauding subjectivism (that's a word, Firefox) and listening impressions to swindle money. Deep down, they know very well that only this play can let them sell their crap at stratospheric prices. Strictly speaking, today's "high fidelity", especially amplifiers, are full of distortion. The manufacturers call this "sound signature". However, subjective hearing varies vastly from person to person, so no matter how bad your stuff, there's always somebody who likes it. Which is why there are so many Hi-Fi manufacturers, and they can all manage to survive.
Unfortunately few people are brave enough to attack and debate such absurd claims. Sound itself is very low-tech, and all those with real skills would never work in analog audio, such a dead-end domain. They'd choose communications. Audio designers are mostly (but not all) not very skilled, grand masters such as Douglas Self are quite rare. These designers do not have correct judgment themselves: they are misled by erroneous claims themselves, and they in turn mislead consumers. The consumers, of course, know even less: they'd believe whatever the manufacturer tells them, and they will tell such things to their peers, and such these hilariously absurd claims can keep circulating.
Right now, be it Hi-Fi equipment or high-end cables, it's all about distortion. As audiophiles amuse themselves in their bubble, they are perceived as insane by everybody else. People can identify minute changes in sound, but "changes" don't equate "better". And that's how the game is played: in these cases, people will go for the more expensive models, and such, manufacturers of high-end cables and audiophile isolation feet continue to successfully swindle wads upon wads of cash. In short, today's equipment shouldn't be called "Hi-Fi", but "Audiophile", because they do not retain high fidelity at all.
[...]
Then the author claims how PC Hi-Fi is the only way to go, and such.
Due to some demands, I have translated the last part of the text (PC Hi-Fi).
Now let us take a look at PC Hi-Fi. At the very least, today's professional sound cards and high-end consumer cards still retain the goal of lowering distortion and maintaining maximum fidelity. The market is cruel, especially in the pro domain where technical specs are always the primary guideline towards measuring the quality of a product. If it ain't good, it's obsolete. Of course, I (original author) believe firmly that DACs must be outboard, because the currents inside a computer highly affects the quality of the analog circuits. Any arguments based on internal DACs are straw man arguments. But in any cases, PC Hi-Fi has the ultimate goal of low distortion, which is truly "High Fidelity". Physical storage media will inevitably become obsolete, Hi-Fi is also not out of reach. It is all around us, it emphasizes on objective facts. Anyone who upholds subjectiveness or "sound signatures" do not deserve high fidelity. PC Hi-Fi must maintain its own path, and let the insane audiophiles who fiddle with cables and isolation feet amuse themselves in their ocean of fallacy! Let them fall into the bottomless pit unobstructed.
Well, let the discussion begin.
Edited by 3602 - 12/29/10 at 1:54pm
