The Attitude of Listening

How We Experience Sound Differently - Part Two of a Two-part series

If a shared experience is our baseline, maybe we need to identify another Attitude of Listening beyond pro audio and audiophile requirements. Is there a place where emotions and the laws of physics meet? Where science enhances the human factors.

I’d say yes, and I’ve heard it. At Oswalds Mill Audio (OMA), the founder and CEO of this groundbreaking company, Jonathan Weiss, delivers the platonic ideal in sound. For Jonathan, high-end audio is heartfelt and personal yet grounded in serious science and pro audio components and techniques.?

Jonathan’s team builds OMA products in their Pennsylvania-based factory using locally sourced wood and custom-engineered and manufactured professional audio components. Harking back to the sonically perfect principles at the foundation of professional audio, OMA builds complete audio systems to create the best sound possible for the home – and anywhere else you want enveloping sound to enhance the experience.?

Jonathan exists in his own category, mainly because he sees problems in both pro audio and audiophile culture. Pro sound is limited by the fact that it’s now engineered for maximal output in the smallest box that is built to be tough. On the audiophile side, obsession and optics distract from actual performance.?

Measurement is a huge part of the OMA product design and manufacturing process. But as Jonathan says, there are no tests for what really sounds great. In analyzing the most natural-sounding speakers, you may find harmonics that could show up for an engineer as a problem. But they’re not a problem when you understand the nature of harmonic complexity.

The happy place of measuring and listening together is somewhere between the extremes of too much science versus too much posturing. As Jonathan says:

“Measuring makes it easy to understand what you’re hearing. If you’re listening or just measuring you miss the big picture, which is what’s going on and how does it sound?”

In his research of the origins of professional audio dating back to RCA and Western Electric/Bell Labs in the 1930s, Jonathan identifies the best elements of early loudspeakers and amplification, and he is like an audio archaeologist. He’s finding new layers in archival technologies, hardware, techniques and recordings, and he’s combining those with modern science and traditional craftsmanship to create a transformative listening experience.?

That sounds like hyperbole. But when I was listening to records in the OMA studio, my jaw dropped. I’ve been working in audio my entire life, and I’ve heard a lot. But when you are in a room with an audio system that combines the best of art and science, you end up hearing more — and differently!

Since I heard the OMA system, I’ve been thinking about what we all have in common as sound geeks. Too often, audiophiles are mocked for their devotion to expensive gear that delivers dubious results. At the same time, pro audio designers get flak for looking at the metrics and specs more than sitting back and listening. But somewhere in between, we all just want to be moved by what we hear.?

That said, I’m not sure the pro-audio and audiophile sides can ever meet in the middle and agree. Especially when money and status are the driving factors instead of actual quantifiable performance. The measurement of audio and a thorough understanding of physics is essential to delivering impeccable sound within the varying acoustics of venues served by the business of professional audio. Meanwhile, I think even the most dedicated audiophile would agree that what they’re pursuing is a hobby — granted, a very serious and expensive one, but something that’s highly subjective.?

Maybe that’s where we can find some common ground among all these different types of listening. Pro audio practitioners, audiophiles and brilliant outliers like Jonathan Weiss can agree that we all want to be transported by listening. And beyond that, we’d all probably say that investing in higher-quality sound will take us to an even better place. Let’s all use our best knowledge to get there, and we’ll meet in the sweet spot in the middle.

#makeasoundinvestment #wemakesoundbetter