Opus

https://fayar.craigslist.org/ele/d/klipsch-heresey-speakers/6737517670.html

Journey Captured

While I enjoying having others audition my systems, it is not disappointing to me if they are not impressed. The only person I want my audio systems to impress is me. If you listen to my systems and just shrug your shoulders, or even harshly criticize it, I don't care. Conversely, if you listen to my systems and express pure joy and amazement, it doesn't really bring me any greater satisfaction. That doesn't mean that I don't value your thoughts and comments. I may very well learn from your experiences, reactions and comments, but they don't change the level of enjoyment for me. I'm not trying to sell anything. Not the gear, not the technology, not the experience... nothing. I have had similar experiences. However, they don't lead me to the conclusion that those people are not capable of discrimination (although that may be the case sometimes). I just accept that what they like to hear is different than what I like to hear, or their hearing is different than mine. I'm glad they have an audio system that they are proud of, and that brings them joy; whatever the source of that joy may be.

Oops... no coaster. Sorry @jimjimbo… I couldn't help myself.

Container type is irrelevant. How about homemade muscadine wine in a jelly jar?

It was just for the picture. I don't have much room for staging photographs here. Don't worry, that NEVER happens on the SX-1250 at home.

I'm not pooh-poohing A/B/X testing. I have said, in this thread, that it is necessary for designing and building quality products. I've seen Roy's lab, and I certainly appreciate his efforts (and have immense respect for his knowledge and experience). But I am not designing, building, or selling audio products. I'm a consumer of audio products. I think that A/B/X testing, or other scientific methods, are less important than "real world" listening when it comes to me deciding what I like. I've said it many times... if it makes me smile when I listen to it, it's good!

Subjectively/Emotionally testing/enjoying my SX-850 and KG4s at my cabin on a Friday evening....

I'm not necessarily skeptical of the science. It's more that I'm skeptical of how the data that was obtained through that science has been manipulated and presented. There's always some bias there. As you said, "...the main applications are in advertising." For me how something sounds "in reality" is more important than how it "sounds" according to the data. Yep.

Yep, my perceptions are mutable. I said as much when I said that in an A/B/X test I might like A one session and then B the next session. In addition to enjoying the music, part of the fun of this hobby is hearing that music on different systems, and deciding which I like better; But, I don't think that can done in a brief A/B/X session. I want/like to hear something over an extended period of time, under different circumstances, and with different music. Fortunately I have yet to fall for any of the multitudes of expensive "snake oil" gadgets, gizmos, and fixes in this hobby. In large part due to my healthy skepticism of "scientific data" put forth by those that sell that stuff.

That's somewhat condescending. I may not be an expert in "the science of human perception." But, I am the expert in my own perception of what I like and don't like; as is every other individual on this planet. I am not throwing science under the bus. There are many aspects of the hi-fi hobby to be enjoyed. If one's enjoyment comes from building/creating/analyzing, then, sure, applying scientific methodologies is relevant and valid. But if one's enjoyment comes from the emotional impact of listening to music, IMHO, scientific analysis is not the deciding factor. Scientific methodologies cannot determine what will bring me enjoyment and make me smile. Some of us enjoy designing/building/improving various audio reproduction components. Some of us enjoy listening to the music reproduced by those components. Which of those is your primary motivation sort of determines your thoughts on this. And, it is possible for one's primary interest to move between those two over time.

Thanks for the detailed description ClaudeJ1. I think I understand the premise. And, I am not trying to dismiss the technical or statistical validity of such testing. However, for me the enjoyment of this hobby comes primarily from the emotional impact of listening to the music. I suspect if I were to be subjected to that sort of testing, I may not be able to meet your 12 out of 16 goal. I may even be inconsistent in which one I preferred from one test session to the next. Since for me listening to music is an emotional thing, my preferences are likely influenced by things such as my current mood, how bad/good my day has been thus far, etc. Such critical/technical analysis is necessary to develop quality products. It's just not necessary for me to determine what makes me smile while listening to my music.

Understood. However one must realize that the results that are presented from such evaluation/research do contain some bias, and weight them accordingly. As I said before, I tend to put more weight on the personal listening experiences of myself and others. I have always been, and always will be, skeptical of claims made by anyone trying to sell something. That doesn't mean I completely discount those claims, I just realize there is some bias in them somewhere. Does that mean that I have bought some audio gear that I ultimately did not like? Sure. But, there was value in spending some time listening to it. As for babadono's original question; is there merit to A/B testing? Maybe. But, I feel like I am happier with my choices regarding the gear I use after long-term listening. I might like something after a brief listening session, but after spending a few weeks with it decide I don't care for it as much as I originally thought. After all, I plan to listen to music over the long term, not just for 10 minutes, or an hour. Maybe another thing that affects my approach to this is that logic and critical analysis are a big part of my job every day. In my leisure time, it's nice to escape from that and just enjoy the emotional experience of well-reproduced music.

Yeah, I know. But, being in the minority doesn't bother me. I have no issue with those that enjoy A/B testing and technical analysis; as long as they don't try to tell me that I'm wrong in what I like because I don't evaluate things the way they do. As I said previously, I have three different vintage Pioneers (2 receivers, 1 integrated amp), all from the same era. Each one of them has a unique sound (to me). Oh yeah, I have a Sony AVR from the 90s. It too has a unique sound; one that I don't care for.

That's a whole lot of trouble just to decide what sounds best. Why go through all of that, unless you are trying to sell something? And if you are trying to sell something, there's your bias. I can't put much faith in these sorts of elaborate tests/evaluations/comparisons. There is always some sort of agenda involved. If one enjoys examining the technical accuracies of things for their own self satisfaction, that's fine. But, that doesn't mean that I should give much credence to your results. I need to hear something to decide whether it sounds good to me. All the graphs, charts, diagrams, waveforms, etc. cannot tell me if I will like the way it sounds. I would rather hear someone describe their experience in listening to something rather than have them show me test data that shows "...there's hole at 132.5 Hz, and at 3500 Hz there's a 7 dB peak..." or "...73.4 percent of people preferred the sound of A over B..." Listening to music is, or should be, an emotional experience; not a scientific one.

Those two sentences don't seem to go together. I agree with the first one. But if something sounds better to me, it doesn't matter how I came to that conclusion. A/B/X, DBT, etc. isn't necessary. Unless you're trying to sell it to someone else. Maybe that's the difference with me; I'm not trying to sell anything to anybody. I just want to enjoy my music.

If it makes me smile when I listen to it, then it's good! For me, that's what matters. Currently I have three 2 channel systems. All three are vintage Pioneers driving vintage Klipsch speakers (1989 La Scalas, 1978 Heresies, and 198x KG4s). They all sound different, but they all make me smile. Sometimes I just sit and listen while I read, sometimes I listen intently to the music. But, they never fail to put a smile on my face. I didn't buy my gear to impress other people. It's for me.

https://store.acousticsounds.com/

Thanks! That's the SX-1250 that I bought from @jimjimbo . I have a SX-850 too. Love both of them!

Stevie Ray Vaughn Couldn't Stand The Weather

They do appear to be Claire arrays. The article you linked has a picture of the setup for the 2015 tour. They had a different configuration in Tulsa for this tour. It sounded good.

I went to the Fleetwood Mac show in Tulsa Wednesday night. It was the first show of their 2018 North American Tour. Overall, it was a good show. Mike Campbell and Neil Finn did a decent job. The first song of the encore was a tribute to Tom Petty with Free Fallin'. Here's the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fleetwood-mac/2018/bok-center-tulsa-ok-1be905bc.html Does anyone have any idea what these speakers are?

Sorry I missed you. Depending on what day you passed through, you probably saw a lot of motorcycles on the road. Bikes, Blues, & BBQ brings several hundred thousand folks to town. Since I don't have a motorcycle, we head to our cabin for a few days. It's on Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri. You could of stopped by there, it's actually closer to your route. Of course, I couldn't have demoed my La Scalas for you; I just have KG4s there. Hope you're enjoying your newly acquired La Scalas!

On Woot.com... Klipsch R-15M Bookshelf Speakers and Powergate Amplifier - $299.99 https://www.woot.com/category/sellout?ref=w_gh_so_10

Memphis is a looooong way from Alaska. The USPS abbreviation for Arkansas is AR. Alaska = AK Arizona = AZ Arkansas = AR It's a common mistake. Back on topic.... The dry rub ribs at The Rendevous are delicious! Some incredible music has been made in Memphis; it's the home to Stax Records and Sun Studios. If you want to see some live music, head down to Beale St.