Has it ever crossed your mind that the reason you like your system more than your friend’s or the store’s is not because yours is better, even if you think it is, but because you’re used to the sound of yours and not of theirs? Welcome to product habituation.
Some people, including some audiophiles, believe that product habituation is what’s really behind what some people refer to as product break-in. It’s not a mechanical or electronic phenomenon, they contend, but a mental one. Assuming the sound of the new gear is of adequate quality, it’s the listener that breaks in to the product, as the product’s sound, which was initially strange, grows more familiar and, so, right.
Those who believe in break-in view the process as a period during which a component’s signal-carrying parts are “settling,” the concomitant effect of which is a gradual improvement in sound quality, until whammy! Everything has seemingly, finally, coalesced into a relaxed, cohesive, enjoyable presentation.
Except that’s not what really happens, according to the habituation theory. That whammy? That wasn’t the sound blossoming into a beautiful swan (song?), it was, rather, the moment your brain completely bought the illusion—an illusion that had been there all along.
I’m a compromiser. I’ll venture that both things are happening— that habituation accounts for about half the break-in story. While humans may be the most adaptive species on Earth, it’s jarring when something new replaces something we’re used to. It knocks us out of familiar territory, forcing us to question what we thought we knew and what this new, intrusive thing is all about.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Stereophile.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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My last Far East trip
First comes the anticipation, that initial jet of warm water, that miraculous searching, finding the sweet spot, then heaven on earth as it cleans and caresses.
Riding the Common Wave
In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too.
Mind Games to the bottom of the rabbit hole
After a wild decade in the biggest pop music group ever, John Lennon's post-Beatles years were spent in protest, in various kinds of therapy, in immigration court, and in search of a new musical identity.
Trane meets the Motor City
Detroit became a destination for migrating African Americans early, starting with the Underground Railroad; the city's proximity to Canada was convenient for those seeking to escape Southern slavery.
Vital art never rests
At this late date, it seems impossible that there could still be \"lost\" albums lingering in the vaults by musicians as important and successful as Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney.
DUKE IN 10
TO COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUKE'S DEATH, ROBERT BAIRD SELECTS A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF EXEMPLARY TRACKS FROM PERHAPS AMERICA'S GREATEST MUSICAL GENIUS.
Piega Coax Gen2 811
It's funny how we discover some music in unexpected, twisting ways.
Pass Laboratories XP-27
One of the pleasures of reviewing-and also using-products from Pass Laboratories is an encounter with Nelson Pass's writing, which can usually be found in the owner's manual and is always competent, insightful, and sometimes funny.
EMT 928 II
Modern turntables are a paradox.
Dynaudio Contour 30i
Ah, Denmark. Land of the Vikings and blue-eyed, blond-haired folk with faces sculpted just so.
