yes, how does it sound, Thomas?

Just the other day Thomas Mayer delivered this cracking blogpost about trying to pin the sound of a whole system on an individual component, and on trusting the opinions of others.

Man, is that well put, I have nothing to disagree with. I do have one thing to add.

Many years ago Christian Rintelen, former editor of the enthusiast magazine HiFi Scene Schweiz and well-known ultra-fi enthusiast, told me this: just from knowing the person, from his appearance, composure and character, you already know what his hi-fi will sound like.

And it’s true: as long as someone has really worked for a period of time on his system. Either buying + trading on a budget of tens of thousands (€/$/£), or modding + building for way less, a system will take on the character of the owner, one decision at the time.

This whole character thing is an extra dimension, separate from the one of personal preferences (soundstaging or not, dynamics or not, detailed or holistic, hi-fi or unmechanical, fireworks or the performance), which illustrates again in how many ways everybody else wants something different than you, from a system.

The internet is a very lousy way to get to know someone’s character, think of all those people who really game that trait to project themselves as someone they are not. Conversely, we are very good at figuring out people we meet face to face. The first seconds count the most, and I think in about two minutes of chatting to someone we have solidified the character description of a him or her. It usually takes longer to figure out their preferences. I would say that talking on the phone lies half-way between these extremes.

When it is about your system, it is clear who you should listen to. When it is about learning from other peoples experiences—relayed via their opinions—it pays to weigh those with how much their preferences and character aligns with yours.

ps: it pays to read also part 2 and part 1 of Thomas’ How Does It Sound? series.