My bottom line....Is anyone really an authority on the best sounding speaker for someone else's taste, experience and, most importantly, ability?
This is a question most often asked by those who already know the answer in the back of their mind and just can't quite meet it face to face for whatever reason.
Of course, the answer is "yes".
He's called an engineer, whether a mastering engineer, recording engineer, or FOH(front of house) engineer his job is based largely around ensuring the quality of what everybody else hears.
Here's a recording/mastering engineer some of you should immediately recognize. His name appears, not on one, not on a dozen, but rather on 100's of gold and platinum albums, some of which are right in your own collection.
Certainly in the consumer world of wankery and heartfelt sentiment, subjectivity rules. This would include a large portion of the AK membership. That's neither a
bad or
good thing, it just
is.
A competent audio engineer knows precisely the sound that the majority of us will prefer, it's what he gets paid those big bucks for.
In the real world of professional audio, the standards are much different. Subjectivity is replaced by math, physics, and quantitative analysis. A professional engineer, his clients, and even an informed segment of their audience knows how it's going to sound before the music ever starts.