HILDEBRAND Quest For Absolute Sound
Channel: DH
Date: 2021-07-23

A revised version of this video is here: https://youtu.be/cWPSYLFxuPo
By David L. Hildebrand, University of Colorado Denver. This is the video for a conference presentation. Its title is “The Quest for Absolute Sound: What are the Philosophical Stakes for Audiophiles?” It introduces three audiophile debates and then describes a couple of ways that each area might be enhanced by a better understanding of some philosophical issues laying under their surface.
I. OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT VS. SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION
Should reproduced music or the gear which produces it be evaluated with objective measurement or subjective description?
II. OBJECTS VS. ENVIRONMENTS
Why is audio gear overemphasized, even to the neglect of what all acknowledge as very important — the room or environment?
III. REALISM VS. CONSTRUCTIVISM
At what should music reproduction aim? Is the best ideal realism (or “transparency”) or is it rather the fulfillment of desires, even if that means the concoction of musical experiences? What does this do to our “window” on the musical performance?