Hi Rob,

I thought that was an interesting vid clip putting aside Erin’s un informed understanding of what we take for granted.

I didn’t have time to watch it all the way through.

The call outs are Harman’s use of Toole and Olive’s research to counter what they refer to as the flaws in Consumer Reports.

The thing is that goes not just for Harman but every other loudspeaker manufacturer. Are they complaining publicly? No. As Olive pointed out if a consumer reviewer damns at loudspeaker without solid evidence that might cop a law suit. I don’t recall ever reading a foul review in Stereophile. I think their advertising revenue might suffer.

The difficulty for Harman is that their research is quite a complicated piece of a consumer to understand fully and correctly. For example Olive made the point that the power curve should not be flat.

The other call out is that despite Harman’s research the home HiFi environment and the enthusiasts preferences are un controlled. Nor are the vast majority educated listeners. Many are brand loyal and stay with a brand they trust and like.

Another important point is that Harman’s original research referenced measurements taken in 30 customers recording studios. As useful as that might be Geddes is quoted as saying that’s a huge assumption by Harman on a home listening room. On Audioholics Gene and experienced installers freely admit the customer has the last say on the tonal balance and invariably they prefer more bass (home theatre).

Do l believe that Harman’s research or Klippel testing is an accurate prediction of what l or anyone else prefers in a loudspeaker choice. Slam dunk no. Olive was careful to admit that subjective assessment is very important.