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Re: Out of curiosity

Hi AJ,

I didn't design the Creek intregrated amplifier (or any other for that matter), so I can't comment as to why it sounds good. It's not perfect (my Audio Note single-ended amps are more 3D and "you are there" experience) but is good solid-state for the money.

Music and hi-fi products are created to provide enjoyment to people. That is their ultimate goal and purpose. If a product designer or engineer is not a music or hi-fi enthusiast and doesn't have the passion, then how will they know if/when they created a good product, let alone the best they can for the budget or other constraints? No piece of test equipment will tell them so. Using you analogy, someone who works on Ferrari's F1 race team I doubt is there simply because "it's a cool job" - they're on the team because of their skills, ability, and passion. I'm no BMW fan, but I know they have a requirement for their engineers to be able to drive the Nürburgring track within a specific time. This is for the same reason.

Watch the show American Chopper. From what I've observed all their main staff involved with creating and building the bikes is motorcycle enthusiasts. I think it shows in the creativity and workmanship of their products. Samuel Adams beer is another example - their founder Jim Cook is a beer junkie and it shows in their product.

Yes, big companies have the financial resources to develop state-of-the-art R&D and test facilities, have the best evaluation rooms and equipment, etc. that small manufacturer's could only dream, yet they usually don't. Harman's facilities leave a lot to be desired in terms of demo/evaluation rooms. Their high-speed speaker switcher doesn't play speakers in a manner that is representative of actual home environments (mono - not stereo, room overly dead), and their listening panel members aren't usually audio enthusiasts which I think is a problem if one is trying to extract the most performance from a product. Toole himself is not much of a listener, as I personally witnessed one afternoon in 2000. From what I've read B&O seems to have an interesting facility which some day I'd like to visit.

If a magazine like Hi-Fi Choice, who perform group product evaluations using blind methods to a listening panel, say one product is better sounding than another, then their findings are backed through plausible testing methods. Again products from mainstream brands have received good reviews too, but in HFC they seem to receive them less frequently than smaller, specialist brands.

In my experience, the best way to reduce the overwhelming influence of speaker-room interface is through directional speakers. As you know, this is one of the main design goals in my Sequence speakers. My other comment is not to expose oneself to loud sound levels from music or industry or other sound sources. These are all recent developments in mankind's history and detrimental to hearing acuity. The better a person can hear, the more likely the differences they can hear.

Donald North

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