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Hogwash

Paul's Posts — 31 July 2012

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Hogwash

Have you ever noticed that if you have an opinion about something it can easily be dismissed or agreed upon as soon as you know there’s a term or explanation for it?

For example I used to reject as distasteful olive oils that were so spicy they burned the back of my throat until I learned that the best olive oils in the world should burn the back of your throat and that without this burn they are neither extra virgin nor as healthful for you.  Now that there’s a label (true extra virgin olive oil) and an explanation I can then choose to either change my opinion or reject the notion as hogwash.  In this case, by the way, I changed my opinion.

This subject recently came up when I was complaining to a friend of mine that many of the older operatic divas ruined the music for me with the use of too much vibrato and an over-affectation of their voice at the beginning of a phrase that sometimes reminds me of my grandmother.  I can hear that this is an added affection because when they sing duets the technique goes away and they’re beautiful again.

My friend dismissed my dislike for the singing as “the style” of the day and therefore it should be appreciated for what it was.

Hogwash.

I remember back in the days of the first solid state electronics when the “style” of design was bright and hard and “clear” sounding.  Much of the style of the day was on purpose because it was felt it helped bring clarity to the sound.

Hogwash.

When style breaks emotional connections to music for any one person it’s just simply the wrong style.

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About Author

Paul McGowan

Paul McGowan is the CEO and co-founder of PS Audio Inc. a Boulder Colorado design and manufacturing company of high-end audio products and services. McGowan has been designing and building high-end products for nearly 40 years. Hobbies include skiing, music, hiking, artisan bread baking, kick boxing and cooking. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife Terri and his 4 sons.

(4) Readers Comments

  1. Gordon

    July 31, 2012 at 6:32 am

    in a word…..”AMEN”.

  2. Jose Ballester

    July 31, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    Years ago I attended a demo of Linn Sondek turntables. Four of them each with an ever more costly level of mod in an effort to make them sound better. We were guided and “listened” to the improved sound of every mod. Each one sounded better than the previous one or so we were led to hear at the time and we actually “hear” the “improvements” in sound. Well, my agnosticism got the better of me and I demanded to go back and listen to the first not so highly modified table. It sounded no different than the the highly modified expensive one! Hogwash! I guess the human brain is highly susceptible to suggestion. My dogs are better than us in this respect! Difficult to fool them. Similar experience with green paint on the edges of cd disks. Hogwash! Also, am in the wine business and am forced to hide my grin at those so called wine experts who claim to identify wines, their origins, grape types, taste characteristics, etc. Have to sell them wines though… So much Hogwash!
    Erpepe

  3. oliver T. Finch

    July 31, 2012 at 11:25 pm

    So very correct. There is quite a bit of hogwash in audio specially the so called high end.too. Regards.

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