Wiardgroup

CUSTOMERS are eager participants in the tango-macarbre of
specsmanship. They are just as culpable for the hysteria as the
manufacturers who feed them this malarky. Psychoacoustic research ***
shows that the amount of mucus in the listeners ear canal at the time
of perception makes a much larger impact on perceived spectrum than
any change that can be made in the transmitting hardware.

It's so true. After the stereo business, I went to work for a music instrument retailer. Although I was not in sales per se in either , it was amazing to see what the customer wanted. This was fed for the most part by advertising and whatever performing idol they worshipped. If you tried to carry something different, it died a cruel death. I remember in particular the Kawai K5000 and Yamaha FS1R. They were just too different to be appealing to the mainstream. I finally quit taking publications like Electronic Musician, Keyboard, etc., because I found myself falling into that trap of "If I only had this piece of gear, I could make some real music!" That is one of the things I enjoy about the modular "community" . It seems to be populated more with people trying to tailor an instrument that fits what they do ,rather than what they are told they should have. I know that's not totally true , there is some hype, just not as much and as intense. At least that's the way it appears to me. Harry D