Posted by wunhuanglo [ 66.157.32.245 ] on December 13, 2003 at 08:37:58:
In Reply to: Viewpoints: To measure or not... posted by Wayne Parham on December 10, 2003 at 21:13:25:
The most interesting part of that article for me is the last couple of paragraphs discussing 8-place precision.
If audio measurements justified that sort of precision, we'd have one loudspeaker offered by a handful of manufacturer's in "your choice of black". I think understanding the integrated system of "loudspeaker" in some way transcends measurement. Else how could so many variations, both in structure and measurable response, exist to such acclaim?
It's somewhat like predicting the appreciation of a painting by identifying the exact wavelengths reflected by various areas in a defined grid. You may have a very precise understanding of the colors perceived (or wavelengths received) by the observer, but what does that tell you about the painting? What happens when the light environment of the measurement system is swapped for the light environment of the display area? Does the ability of the observer to appreciate the art before him diminish?
Obviously measurement plays a central role in the development of any engineered product. But the issue with loudspeakers is that they must do something more than vibrate in some amplitude-frequency-time domain that can be measured in a repeatable way. They must somehow convey the artistic intent of a recording. What is at present unknown is how one speaker conveys that intent differently than another, and why a particular speaker, regardless of price, will convey that intent to one listener and not another.
The adage that you can't build it if you can't measure it may be true, but it's equally true that until you know what you're trying to build you're equally unable to succeed.
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