MANILA, Philippines —
When I started my audio journey, I had to do lots of research and rely on friends who share the same hobby such as Leonard Co, Tony Rodriguez, Wendell Rupert Alinea, and my brother Dennis. Audio groups on Facebook are helpful — although you have to wade through the sludge of “now playing” posts, most of which brandish obligatory “Female Audiophile Voices” records; lyrics; or some copy-paste captions from Wikipedia. Thanks, Boomers.
You get to hear music as intended during recording sessions. Each instrument is accurately positioned. The size of the mouth of the singer is human, dead center. The low-end is tight, fluid, with depth and extension. The dynamic range is wide. Overall, the entire experience should be non-fatiguing, magical.
But good gear is not enough. The listening room itself is crucial, an essential component. Even not-so expensive equipment will sound good in an acoustically treated space. Thankfully, my girlfriend tolerates how the space has been transformed into something that resembles a recording studio with an arsenal of acoustic panels, practically uninhabitable.