In August 1990, AudioQuest's Bill Low was invited to give a short talk to Stereophile's writers who had gathered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for their annual conference. A wonderful conversation followed.
In his talk, Bill explored the idea of "professional responsibility," and posited that the motivations of the consumer, the reviewer, and the dealer (or, specifically, the hi-fi buyer) should be essentially the same — find the good stuff and act on it — but, too often, they diverge.
Here are just a few nuggets from that remarkably candid and wide-ranging conversation.
We encourage interested readers to dive into the entire article at Stereophile.com, originally published in the magazine's February 1991 issue.
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On Unhealthy Cynicism to High-Performance Audio
I think the proper perspective is that we are rational, that they have some strange religion that forces them into perpetuating the remarkably absurd concept that while it's somehow worth paying attention to hi-fi, at the same time you shouldn't like it, that any differences are not important. That is really weird.
On Balancing Unavoidable Compromises
To me the design of a good piece of equipment involves knowing what it does wrong, knowing that it will have distortion, and choosing that distortion.
On the Purpose of a Good Hi-Fi System
To me the speakers that allow me the easiest time to forget the system, which to me is the purpose of a good hi-fi—to see past it and simply enjoy the music—point-source speakers do that the best for me.
On the Importance of Listening with an Open Mind
I think the hardest thing for anybody involved in hi-fi...is not letting what you know get in the way of using your ears in judging the product. It's tough, but it's something that should never be forgotten.
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Professionalism requires learning how to overcome your biases.
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Knowing nothing is sometimes better than knowing a little.
On the Relationship Between Manufacturer and Consumer
There's no correlation between being a designer and being a consumer. There's no reason for a consumer to understand how a product is made...
On the Relationship Between Dealer, Reviewer, and Consumer
Consumers...should develop a healthy cynicism...they should look at the motivations of the people who are giving them their advice, and examine how much responsibility those people have for their opinions.
On the Relationship Between Musical Communication and Fidelity
You can use a telephone to get across whether someone is a great conductor...Depending on your priority system, [musical communication] doesn't require fidelity in almost any sense at all.
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