His method starts with a confession: “I am biased. You are biased.” The honest audiophile, in his book, keeps questioning their ears; his own defence is time. Every new component sounds wonderful the week it arrives, and six months later it is part of the furniture. Speakers, amplifiers, DACs, streamers and turntables earn their place in his listening room over months, often years, compared like for like. Same room, same source, same track. Specification sheets get a fair hearing. His ears get the casting vote, and they ask one question. Is it believable? On Pink Floyd’s The Wall, believable means the helicopter stays overhead, because helicopters fly.
He once auditioned a cost-no-object system that many call the summit of high-end audio. Flawless, every box ticked, and after thirty minutes he needed a break. Impressing you for half an hour is easy. Keeping you in the chair for the next song, and the next, is the art.
