The Value of Genuine Expertise in a ‘Just Sell It’ World! - November 2025

I recently received a note from a fellow subscriber of our YouTube channel:

"Hearing your attitude on this really shows how much you care about your customers and how you handle business. You seem like a great business owner."

My Response:

We are trying hard in a very trying time. It is not only in our industry but many. As an equestrian, I have seen many good independent shops disappear and with them, sound advice and knowledge. Let me expand.

Formats like emails, text messages, and google searches do not truly include the nuances of situations. Any simple Google search, for example, is fraught with both unwanted advertising and irrelevant information.

And now, with the AI chucked in, fraught with erroneous information (we have had to correct Google several times about our business reputation alone as they kept tying in business behavior of "Audible", the Amazon book service to our own.

None of these methods come near the spontaneity of human conversation and interaction. Subtle clues or information in a conversation triggers questions and insights. A small fact may change the course of the reaction whereas a simple other small fact may change it again. It is this way with many trades.

What manufacturers are doing is replacing the knowledge base with what I call chicken marketing where customers are left to hunt and peck. Lowes and Home Depot are perfect examples of this whereas a real hardware store may suggest a better solution. It doesn't matter at their end how the product gets sold as long as they get paid, consumer be damned. The illusion of savings ignores the cost of errors but why care when it doesn't come out of their pocket? It becomes part of the trash and replace cycle. 

Years ago I sold a product line, which I had for years, come out with a new line which we could not get to perform properly.  When, at a major show, I addressed this issue with one of the owners and the response was: "I don't care what you think, just sell it."  I dropped the line.  This was not the type of company I wanted in my store.  "Just sell it has now become a motto of many companies. (Interestingly enough, within two years, that whole product line was revised but some of the reputational damage was done.  Years later, in the hands of one of their employees, we represent them again. It is a fine product line.)

It is up to the consumer how they wish to spend their money of course, but when a manufacturer begins to cut off knowledge for volume or simply doesn't care, well, that's where I draw the line.  It means, at least to me, that they don't care about their customers and likewise don't care about me. 

If they don't care about me, then it makes it very difficult for me to care about you. 

It is that simple.

-Lou

The Promoting Of Mediocrity In Audio - October 2025

I recently posted a video on Youtube, found at Audible Elegance, about the history of mediocrity in hi-fi as I see it.  It's not the end all and be all of history, but my perspective of it.  I had the pleasure of a viewer commenting about it and it allowed me to explain my thoughts further.  Hope you all enjoy.

Viewer:

"I think a more polite term would be compromise. I've been a consumer of these mediocre products, just recently I bought a soundbar and subwoofer in a box solution. $600 Samsung and no need to manually calibrate crossovers etc it just works with your TV audio. I think we all need to victim to these conveniences, I remember the day I ditched wired headphones for Bluetooth I just can't go back."

My Response:

While I understand what you are saying, you certainly must recognize how "the experts" of CNN, Yahoo, and other sites promote these products as the full and complete solution right along with a link to their paid advertiser or Amazon. You cannot even read any news site without these ads being interspersed with news stories with convenient links to the sellers. That is where I draw the line. It is promoted mediocrity, not a compromise to meet other needs. 

It's like home automation which promotes all these glorious things it can do which, if properly installed, may last a year before computer firmware, software, begin to take its toll. These "upgrades" come from both product manufacturers as well as those from the makers of the control systems themselves. And after a few rounds of this, the entire network becomes outdated like a Windows machine running Vista.

In short, it is the over-promising and underperforming that gets my attention and the obligation to simply point this out. What people do with the information, well, it's their money and their decision as it should be.

-Lou

That LOUDNESS Button! August 2025

The most misunderstood feature on any audio product is the loudness switch or button. Loudness was derived by the research into making a good telephone (The handset one with both the receiver and transmitter in one piece) which resulted in the Fletcher-Munson curve. 

It was discovered that human hearing is not flat (equal) across all frequencies, assumed to be 20 to 20,000 Hz, but has curve across the frequencies with less perception at BOTH low and very high frequencies, particularly at low volumes.  This was used in the design of the original handset dial telephone.

Now, there is not one curve but many based upon decibel levels or how loud it is.  Almost all manufacturers produced a loudness button with a sort of one size fits all and the boosts varied between manufacturers.  

The only company that actually tried to get this right was Yamaha with their variable loudness.  You may recall seeing their loudness control with the numbers 1 thru 10. That would allow the user to change the loudness based upon the volume of the system.  This was actually a promoted feature but even this attempt was basically misunderstood.

Unfortunately, the loudness control became synonymous with bass boost and away it went. Wanted more thump, press the loudness. By the way, I don't think anyone really addressed the human weakness at the other end of the spectrum, treble. 

So now we come to audio products that do not have a loudness button.  This is where misunderstanding really comes into play. Human speech is typically between 55 to 65 db.  If you look at the curve, a loudness button does have some use. However, most people don't listen at that level but, higher.  Put into perspective, 90db is that of a lawnmower, a car horn at 10', or a shouting conversation.  People often listen at 70 to 80 db where the curve begins to flatten out. At 90, well, it is a lot flatter.  But a switch in the signal path is typically not harmless.  So, a number of manufacturers recognizing the incorrect use of the loudness button and the risk to accuracy, have chosen not to provide one at all.  For most, this is not a real issue.  For some, well, they rather cling to it as a bass boost.  

Now, recognizing that not everyone perceives sound the same way, particularly as we age, well, some equalization may be proper.  Life's experiences also dramatically affect hearing.  Constant loud noise at work can be a contributory factor in hearing deficiencies.  Even illnesses can affect life-long hearing.  So, it is not necessarily age dependent but typically it is. 

I thought it would be useful for all to understand a bit more about loudness and if you are interested, look up the Fletcher-Munson curve. 

-Lou