My opinion is that somewhere along the long and treacherous course that lead us from
-the past days of “just headphone manufacturers being able to take measurements and having access to them, while everyone else reviewing a headphone was simply relying on their personal opinion, preferences and biases and their ability of intuitive vocabulary use and vernacular acrobatics”
to
-the most recent days of “everyone willing to purchase a measurement rig graduating and being elevated with much acclaim and gravitas to the self-proclaimed prestigious and popular acceptance level of sound/headphone connoisseur”
we lost track of where we wanted to end up.
Headphone measurements as they currently stand, are at best a questionable point of subjective reference with very little credibility or true usefulness for anything other than a reference point for the person that produced them and that individual’s equipment.
Anyone that has had even a very remote experience with engineering and/or scientifically trying to accurately and objectively measure THINGS, would know and appreciate that unless a measurement of the same “thing” under the same circumstances always produces EXACTLY THE SAME IDENTICAL results is NOT credible and therefore should NOT be considered as a proof or descriptor of ANYTHING really.
Measuring anything in a credible and
trustworthy manner is a precise science in and by itself alone. It requires and relies on deep scientific knowledge of the subject and the honing of scientific skill sets that is only possible through experience and training on specific methodologies and equipment.
Here are some important questions for all of us that often times we easily forget all of the above and take at face value the personal interpretations of subjective, non-scientific, and non-replicable “measurements” from all those self proclaimed “vetted headphone reviewers”:
-What’s the background of all of these reviewers? What are their education and training credentials in electrical and electronics engineering, signal processing and sound engineering? What TRULY allows them to pass and present their personal interpretations, opinions, preferences and biases OF non-scientific, subjective measurements (that most times they didn’t even take themselves!) as the descriptors and outliers of the sound characteristics and qualities of headphones?
-If these “reviewers” were truly able(=educated+trained+accredited) to take subjective, credible and scientifically replicable measurements of headphones and furthermore were also able(=educated+trained+accredited) to actually READ and INTERPRET them, wouldn’t they actually be into another line of work? Do you honestly believe that if they had laboured for years to acquire all the required education and skills, given their passion for music, audio equipment and headphones in particular, that they would have settled for the role of the “YouTube/Web headphone reviewer”?
All these people are in essence is at best (if their personal opinion is honest) hobbyists and promoters of products. None of them is in any better position than you would be to pass credible and subjective judgment on headphones. All they are able to do is express their PERSONAL opinion, preferences and bias; the fact that some of them are able to present their opinions etc in an entertaining/exciting/interesting way doesn’t grand their opinions ANY credibility whatsoever. All the claimed “experience with hundreds of headphones and DACs and AMPs” and “measurement taking and reading” and fancy production quality are, are simply the make-up of “credibility” and “varitas” on top of what AT THE CORE is nothing more than a PERSONAL OPINION that’s no better or worse than yours. The measurements and rigs are simply the make-up they’re putting on their personal opinions to give their YouTube/Web content (that they monetise in more ways than one
) some allure of credibility and the needed illusion of subjectivity. In the past, measurement rigs, equipment and access to measurements wasn’t as easy, or as affordable. Nowadays it’s simply a commodity and that’s why these people are using these “tools” so extensively. Using certain tools extensively though DOES NOT MEAN that you’re actually knowledgeable, educated, trained and experienced enough to use them correctly and furthermore produce credible results with them; even less so that your “interpretations” are also correct.
