Golden Ears?

Yesterday, my wife told me that her friend John had just bought himself a good-quality home-theater speaker package. When she told John that I really like the brand he’d chosen, he replied that the purchase might have been a waste of money because he’s "not an expert" like me, and probably won’t be able to appreciate how good the speakers can sound.

That got me thinking about the myth of the "golden-eared reviewer." Though our egos may not want to admit it, most of us are just plain average. We have average incomes, live in average houses, enjoy average height, have average intelligence and average vision. Most of us also have average hearing.

Think about it: Does it matter if some self-styled golden ear claims he can hear the faintest detail, the highest high, the blackest silence -- if you can’t? Ninety-nine percent of audio systems belong to people who don’t have exceptional hearing; does it really matter if a speaker can supposedly resolve audio information audible only to dogs?

Colin relaxes in his new listening space.

With apologies to Chevy Chase, I’m an audio reviewer and you’re not. But what does this actually mean? Only that I have some advantages over the average audio consumer: I have experience with a wide range of audio equipment, I have easy and regular access to new equipment, and I get to compare competing products in my own living room instead of an audio shop. It also means that I probably pay closer attention to such things as tone, detail, and pace than would most people. It certainly does not mean that I have bionic hearing, or that your hearing is somehow flawed.

So there’s good news for John: He will be able to appreciate how well his speakers can perform. If they sound good to an average Joe like me, they’ll likely sound good to him, too. Now that’s golden.

. . . Colin Smith
editor@goodsound.com