Golden ear definition

[davidld]

Golden ear: A person who believes, perhaps incorrectly, that he can detect quite miniscule differences in the sound of various loudspeakers, and furthermore, that these small differences are critical in determining how enjoyable an audio listening experience is.

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> Golden ear: A person who believes, perhaps
> incorrectly, that he can detect quite
> miniscule differences in the sound of
> various loudspeakers, and furthermore, that
> these small differences are critical in
> determining how enjoyable an audio listening
> experience is.

Oh, a pompous *** who thinks his shi# don't stink and that we should all breathe in deeply as we stand over the pile and admire? I get it now.

[lcholke]

I think most people on this board are in the hobby because they can hear a difference. There is always that excitement of discovering the better sound. A clarity or preferred tone that was not there before. With study and exposure to different sound systems the ear can recognize different clarities and tones.

A self proclaimed Golden ear is someone with just a little more ego than education.

-Linc

[paul_n_oneal]

[alann]

> Golden ear: A person who believes, perhaps
> incorrectly, that he can detect quite
> miniscule differences in the sound of
> various loudspeakers, and furthermore, that
> these small differences are critical in
> determining how enjoyable an audio listening
> experience is.

Sure, some people have golden ears. David Bromberg has a violin shop in town and is in the business of buying and selling very expensive violins. David is not a greatest violin player but a very good violin listener. His business depends on it. This would not a good business decision for a musician with bad ears. Why think that some people with natural talent or professional training don’t have golden ears?

<A HREF="http://www.davidbrombergfineviolins.com/">http://www.davidbrombergfineviolins.com/</A>

[klaus]

...always have an excuse to build another set of speakers or get / build more audio gear. Sorta like those with golden feet...

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> Sure, some people have golden ears. David
> Bromberg has a violin shop in town and is in
> the business of buying and selling very
> expensive violins. David is not a greatest
> violin player but a very good violin
> listener. His business depends on it. This
> would not a good business decision for a
> musician with bad ears. Why think that some
> people with natural talent or professional
> training don’t have golden ears?

> <A HREF="http://www.davidbrombergfineviolins.com/">http://www.davidbrombergfineviolins.com/</A>

It's not a golden ear, but an educated one.

[paul_n_oneal]

[klaus]

Bose customers all have golden ears too; for at least as long until they have signed their name on the credit card receipt.

[alann]

> It's not a golden ear, but an educated one.

"natural talent or professional training"

Pete, thats what I said. Boy, how times can you split the same hair?

[alann]

> Bose customers all have golden ears too; for
> at least as long until they have signed
> their name on the credit card receipt.

Bose targets the least involved consumer that has disposable cash. Check your phone book yellow pages aviation and restaurant sections. Bose has quarter page ads in my phone book under those listings. Marketing has become the ‘product’ and I wonder if the so-called research is focused on the minimum sound quality the public will accept for the dollar spent.
Sorry for the rant.

[damkor]

Golden ear: A derogatory term for someone who claims to be able to discern by listening something that you are either too dull or impatient to hear for yourself.

[davidld]

Let me also say that there are legitimate golden ears and there always have been. I would be willing to pay a lot of money to have the ears of a Vilchur, a Kloss, or a Burhoe, all prominent names in loudspeaker design. Among DIYers, I think Dennis Murphy's ears are nothing short of amazing, the way he can pick out subtle defects (frequency response irregularities) in the sound of a speaker by listening to it for only a few seconds. This come not only from innate talent but from years of experience listening to good and bad speakers and correlating what he hears with the speakers measured frequency response curves both on and off axis. Plus it helps to know very well what real musical instruments should actually sound like.

David

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> Let me also say that there are legitimate
> golden ears and there always have been. I
> would be willing to pay a lot of money to
> have the ears of a Vilchur, a Kloss, or a
> Burhoe, all prominent names in loudspeaker
> design. Among DIYers, I think Dennis
> Murphy's ears are nothing short of amazing,
> the way he can pick out subtle defects
> (frequency response irregularities) in the
> sound of a speaker by listening to it for
> only a few seconds. This come not only from
> innate talent but from years of experience
> listening to good and bad speakers and
> correlating what he hears with the speakers
> measured frequency response curves both on
> and off axis. Plus it helps to know very
> well what real musical instruments should
> actually sound like.

> David

What you are describing is not golden ear, but educated and trained ear.

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> "natural talent or professional
> training"

> Pete, thats what I said. Boy, how times can
> you split the same hair?

Give me a fine scalpel and let's see what happens? ;-)

[johnnyrichards]

> What you are describing is not golden ear,
> but educated and trained ear.
Don't forget "natural talent"

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> Don't forget "natural talent"

Still takes practice.

[davidld]

> What you are describing is not golden ear,
> but educated and trained ear.
Education and training are important, but there is also something to be said with respect to the importance of innate ability (aka genes). Some people simply have better ears than others. For example, perfect pitch is rare, even among musicians, but a few people have it and they didn't get this ability simply through training and education. I could train myself for decades and still not have the ability. I have what I call "approximate pitch" which means that sometimes I can tell the note being played within a half step, but don't ask me to tell you if my trombone is in tune by ear.

The same I'm convinced is true for many aspects dealing with what is right or wrong in the sound of a loudspeaker.

D

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> Education and training are important, but
> there is also something to be said with
> respect to the importance of innate ability
> (aka genes). Some people simply have better
> ears than others. For example, perfect pitch
> is rare, even among musicians, but a few
> people have it and they didn't get this
> ability simply through training and
> education. I could train myself for decades
> and still not have the ability. I have what
> I call "approximate pitch" which
> means that sometimes I can tell the note
> being played within a half step, but don't
> ask me to tell you if my trombone is in tune
> by ear.

> The same I'm convinced is true for many
> aspects dealing with what is right or wrong
> in the sound of a loudspeaker.

> D

You'd be amazed to find that your thoughts on perfect pitch are not true around the world.

In countries with languages that use pitch as part of the pronunciation of words, everyone has "perfect pitch". It is something that can be taught, but it needs to start when a person is very young. I do believe that some of those places are in Southeast Asia.

[damkor]

For example, perfect pitch
> is rare...

It certainly is, and not all that important, even for a professional musician. The important thing is to be able to discern and appreciate the relationship between two or more notes.

Anyway, if you want pretty-much-perfect pitch, try singing the very highest or lowest note you can, go to the piano and learn what note it is. Remember that note. You can then identify any other note, based on its relationship to your reference. As long as your voice doesn't change, you should be set!