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No. 247 December 2024

Editorial

Text by WOJCIECH PACUŁA
translation Marek Dyba
Images press releases



No 248

December 1, 2024

LAUGHTER AND SERIOUSNESS IN AUDIO

Do we like to laugh in audio? One of the older but surprisingly vital anthropological theories says that humans are properly distinguished from animals only by laughter. Today we know it's not true, that many animals laugh, but in audio we probably never believed it. Humor is a scarce commodity in our industry, available almost exclusively from under the counter. Or is it not?

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I from my childhood remember emotions, minor events, and objects out of context, usually ones that are not very practical. As for the latter, the more they fascinated me, that's how I explain it to myself, the more firmly they stuck in my mind.

A few artifacts stand out among childhood memories of this type. One is 100 Forints. My parents had friends in Hungary who visited us occasionally, and such a souvenir was probably left with us after one such visit. Years later it would turn out that they were not Forints at all, but Hungarian crowns (“koruny”), and for the friends they had sentimental significance, as they remembered the times before communism. The banknote will, moreover, be irretrievably lost in later years.

Another memory is related to binoculars, but not the usual military or hunting binoculars that my friends' fathers had. It's about a theater binocular. I found an identical one on one of the portals, which describes it as follows:

Theatrical binoculars in a leather case, from the communist era, made in Russia (USSR). Dimensions: length about 10 cm, width 6 cm. This is an item with a soul, and this has consequences :), you will not be its first owner, which means that, as every retro object, it has traces of previous use. According to us, among other things, this is what makes it have its unique character and atmosphere.

⸜ Wytwórnia Dobrostanu, → WYTWORNIADOBROSTANU.pl, accessed: 23.10.2024.

To be honest, I don't know where it came from into our house, because I don't remember my parents being theater lovers. That's why, years later, I'm all the more curious about a trinket complementary to these binoculars, and which must have been the property of someone who really frequented the theater and liked this type of art - a gold-plated pin that always lay next to these binoculars. But, not just any pin, but one with two masks, a happy one and a sad one on it.

Symbole.pl writes:

Thespis introduced one actor to the stage and Aeschylus another, and initially only two re-enactors appeared on stage, in different roles. In order to stage a play that involved more characters, actors would put on colorful masks to express different emotions. These masks, although over time their use ceased to be obligatory in the theater, became its symbol.

The symbol of the theater are two masks, a sad one and a happy one. They refer precisely to the first Greek plays and the need to make the characters more interesting.

⸜ Entry: ‘Symbol teatru’ (‘Theatre symbol’) at: Symbole.pl, → www.SYMBOLE.pl, accessed: 23.10.2024.

Whether it was a curse, or a prophetic gadget given to me in the cradle by some fairy aunt unknown to me, or perhaps a coincidence - I don't know. But it is also the case that one of the formative parts of my youth happened to be working in... a theater.

⸜ Dirk Sommer, one of the most positive journalists I know (far left); we are in 2023 with Messrs. Sikora - Robert and Janusz • photo by Bartosz Łuczak

And it was these two masks, actually a combination of laughter and sadness, but also seriousness, that came to mind when I thought about the column you’re reading. And my thoughts wandered around an issue seemingly somehow present in audio discourse, but nevertheless repressed. We are talking about laughter and seriousness in our industry. Because it is the case that audio is an ultra-conservative world, and therefore a “serious” one.

Where does this come from? Based only on my feelings and not any hard knowledge, I would say that it is about something related to being a geek. Wikipedia says that a 'geek', is “a person who strives to further his or her knowledge and skills in some field to a degree far beyond mere hobby”; more → HERE. And that is, after all, what we are. Although we use the name 'hobby' in conversation when describing what we do, it would be just as easy for many of us to simply refer to it as 'life'. It is for us - I apologize for packing you and I together, but I hope you will forgive me - a 'life and full-time' job.

So, we are geeks. And geek is, after all, a ready image of a fanatic, as evidenced by the definition of the word given in turn by the “Dictionary of the Polish Language SJP”, which says that “a geek is a person fanatically devoted to expanding his knowledge in a given field (most often computer science and the sciences); an expert.” Thus, we have gone from a casual hobby, or an enjoyable way to spend free time, to a fanatic in two paragraphs - that's quite an ennoblement!

⸜ Schitt Audio Vali 3 headphone amplifier • photo press release

But there's something to it, I think, at least. Please recall the people you meet at audio exhibitions, shows and presentations. Please close your eyes and recall the image of some such event. I am sure you will see under your eyelids the image of clenched, bitten lips and nearly madness in the eyes. You will see people who hold the flag of their “faith” (tubes, vinyl, digital, closed and bass-reflex enclosures, “copper” and “silver:” etc.) held high upwards, unless they happen to stab someone with it, wanting to force them to convert to their, only right, beautiful and forgiving, peace-loving “faith.”

This is a component of our industry that can be described as a “serious” approach. I'm making fun of it a little, but it's also the case that experts, and the definition describes us that way, have to be sure of their own opinion otherwise they would be experts of only a momentary, fleeting, perhaps even imagined kind. Therefore, we take this need completely - nomen omen - seriously. Tests of audio products are constructed in such a way that they do not violate this unspoken contract, so that an expert-reader feels treated fairly by an expert-journalist.

In texts of this type, jokes are, of course, allowed. But only to a certain extent and must be completely under control. The best of the best, such as the irreverent Art Dudley of Stereophile magazine, rode the bandwagon, talking about everything, even the most serious products and issues lightly, with swagger and - mind you - humor and without treating themselves too seriously. But for one, only a few people can do that, and two, even this type of texts were based on the same deal, albeit modified. Such people are allowed more, but only if the seriousness of the issue and its importance is not lost in these jokes. One doesn’t treat oneself too seriously, but there is still a clearly visible string connecting the writer and the subject of his interest. And this is already an absolutely unique skill.

Probably this is also why audio manufacturers treat themselves with almost deadly seriousness. After all, they are usually audiophiles, or expert-fanatics, who have “switched sides”, so to speak. They joined the industry and started to offer their own products which further exacerbates this attitude. And again - it's a good thing, it can't be otherwise.

An artist-craftsman, and such a hybrid are the people and companies producing products in perfectionist, we would say, high-end industries, to refer to the title of my son's book, must be sure of what he is doing, against everything and anything. And at the same time they need to have ears and eyes wide open. Then we are dealing with a truly top manufacturer, regardless of whether he offers something costing 1,000 or 1,000,000 zlotys.

⸜ Dartzeel NHB-18NS preamplifier • photo press release

The fact that the audio industry is very serious is evidenced by ... exceptions to the rule. Or rather, that they are so rare. Among people involved in audio you will find many warm, witty, laughing individuals. What comes to mind at the moment are Yoshi and Elia Hontai of Muson, agent for Leben, Acoustic Revive and Oyaide, also Touraj Moghaddam, once co-founder of Roksan and now head of Vertere, Jarek Waszczyszyn, i.e. the heart and soul of Ancient Audio, or - going back to journalism - Dirk Sommer, my friend and head of hifistatement.net magazine.

I know more people of this type, but after all, the point is not to list them all, that would be pointless. Let those cited be a sort of “representative sample”. Samples, because they are, however, in this industry absolute unique, exceptions to the rule. In the same way, by the way, as products that would undermine the arrangement mentioned, relating to respecting the “serious” status of audio products.

This is why I smile so widely when I hear the name Schiit Audio. This is an American manufacturer of very cool and superbly priced products. Pronouncing it, it is impossible not to associate it with - well, precisely - with THAT :) And this despite the fact that the manufacturer on its website gives its etymology, which is an absolutely legitimate explanation:

Shih-tah. It's a proud German name, host to a long line of audio engineers who slaved away in crumbling Teutonic fortresses as lightning lashed the dark lands outside, working to perfect the best amplification devices in the world...

⸜ → www.SCHIIT.com, accessed: 23.10.2024.

However, he immediately winks at us, saying: “Or not. Yes, Schiit is our name, and it's pronounced like “hey man, it's really good Schiit!””. As you can see, the humor and distance didn't prevent them from gaining ardent followers and satisfied customers. But it is perhaps the case that both are similar, that such companies attract a certain type of people. If this is true, then the same must be true of the Polish company David Laboga Cables, which is most often referred to as “Olaboga cables.” Although the old Polish overtones of the word are completely lost in the English translation, in our country having “Olaboga” cables must speak well of the person in question.

⸜ David Laboga Custom Audio D-Connect cable • photo press mat.

And, finally, another example of humor that has not prevented the company from breaking out and making it to the top. The Dartzeel in question is a Swiss company and thus, it would seem, with a heart made of tiny gears (the company styles its name: “darTZeel”, thus combining it with its logo). And yet.,,

Take a look at the NHB-108 Model One integrated amplifier. Hervé Delétraz, the company's owner, arranged the manipulators on the front panel so that they look like a face. And he also signed them like this: “left eye,” ‘power nose’ and ”right eye.” Or let's look for a photo of the NHB-18NS preamplifier. When we find it, we will be surprised to read the names of the knobs, almost everywhere else being “input selector” and “volume control,” and in the darTZeel changed to: Enjoyment Source and Pleasure Control. And, of course, with “power nose” (or “power”).

Can one do that? - Yes, one can, but only because others do not. This is because the two masks that symbolize theater in audio are only for show. In reality, we almost always use the one with the mouth curved downward. That's how it was, is and will be - it's simply a feature of our industry, for better or worse. Do you remember the Polish BiedaKu amplifier, which was a copy of the Japanese OngaKu? There is no trace of it, the company has disappeared. Because we audiophiles like to joke around, but only a little. And preferably at others, not at ourselves.

WOJCIECH PACUŁA
Chief editor

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Our reviewers regularly contribute to  “Enjoy the Music.com”, “Positive-Feedback.com”“HiFiStatement.net”  and “Hi-Fi Choice & Home Cinema. Edycja Polska” .

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