[Gary Eickmeier]

Arny Krueger wrote:
"Audio_Empire" wrote in message
...


The error here is the lack of affirmation of the true knowledge that
a good digital player and a fine pair of headphones or earphones can
be as accurate and enveloping or even more so than the dedicated room
and jillions of dollars worth of racks and boxes of equipment.

One friend, in his 40's, once told me
that while he could appreciate the sound from my system, he felt
that he didn't need that because he could hear what he was
*interested* in with his little pre-packaged video surround system.
Depressing.

The physical size and cost that equipment has to have in order to be
enveloping and accurate has decreased significantly. A Sansa Clip
and a pair of Sony XBA-2 earphones (for example) should not be
pooh-poohed in the way that many seem prone to do.

In my fanciful Mars article, in which an imaginary trip to Mars by the AES
introduces the Martians to loudspeaker stereo rather than the only system
they had ever known, headphones, the team remarks on their success:

"The demonstration went extremely well. It is so refreshing to see beings
who had never been exposed to this type of reproduction jumping up and down,
screaming, and at times weeping over the beauty and realism of the music.
They had never been able to move around, dance, and interact with each other
before during a hi fi experience, unencumbered with headphones. They had
never felt the chest-thumping bass or been able to turn toward the soloists
and practically 'see' them playing. They enjoyed this pure audio experience
even more than a complete AV bit, feeling that they were in the living
presence of the performers even without the visuals."

Gary Eickmeier