Myths — Eelco Grimm is uneasy with the word. He might call them ‘blanket statements’ — generalisations that obscure the true complexity of the hi-fi topic at hand. In the pursuit of simplicity, we tuck ourselves in at night with blanket statements like: tubes are better than solid state (or vice versa); vinyl is better than digital (or vice versa); linear power supplies are superior to switch-mode devices (or vice versa); Class A/B is better than Class D (or vice versa); R2R DACs sound better than delta-sigma designs (or vice versa).
Seen through the lens of behavioural psychology, some of us create (or cling to) blanket statements out of ignorance. But it doesn’t end with unknowing ignorance. Some of it is willed into being. The Internet’s firehose of informational content has given rise to a new phenomenon called ‘cope‘ — it’s where our budget won’t stretch to a desired hi-fi product, so we choose to diminish its performance rather than examine our inability to cope with it sitting out of financial reach. We’d sooner talk about snake oil, diminishing returns and ‘all DACs sounding the same’ than face up to who we are in the face of FOMO. Others will tell anyone who’ll listen that ‘all loudspeaker cables sound the same’ but never leave the house to attend an A/B demonstration. Now our blanket statements become security blankets where – in an ironic twist – listening for ourselves would end the illusion. And if a blanket statement makes us feel good, why not pass it on?
So — in this episode of the Darko.Audio podcast, Eelco Grimm takes aim at ten topics, not necessarily to debunk their status as myths but to reveal the complexity beneath their surfaces.
1. Reality is the reference
2. A loudspeaker should look like a loudspeaker
3. A driver is ‘firing’ somewhere
4. A toe-in setup of loudspeakers gives a blurred stereo image
5. Room EQ can improve a great system
6. Vinyl sounds better than digital
7. Ripped CDs sound better than lossless streaming
8. High sample rates are necessary for imaging
9. The DSD format has magical benefits
10. Carefully balancing separate components from various specialist manufacturers offers the greatest chance of high sound quality.
Find it now on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn or use the embedded player below: