THIS Is DESTROYING Your Audio Career But It CAN Be Fixed!! (Working Audio Tools Podcast S8 E3)

[@WorkingAudioTools]

BUY ME A COFFEE ☕️ buymeacoffee.com/workingaudiotools If you get any value from what we offer on the platform. Helps keep the channel going 🤘

[@okay1904]

Love both of you guys. Factual, entertaining, well worth the time spent. Thoroughly enjoyable and honest, and so credible, and humble. Love this.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Thank you 🙏

[@robbiemichaels2347]

Two guys I wouldn’t mind having a beer with. This was much needed and spot on

[@WorkingAudioTools]

You catch the bear first.. We'll leave that to you haha 😜🍻🍻

[@robbiemichaels2347]

@ PMSL that’s when making a mistake is better than the original word 😂 I’m already on the beers 🍺 haha

[@inthemix]

There’s no chance that me buying the PSIs and Lynx with my own cash has biased my opinion on them at all, not a chance! 😂 Really good episode gents. The headphone amp distortion/colouration issue was really important.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Just a small investment Michael eh? 😜😜 Being honest if I had spent that much my confirmation bias better be in full swing when I'm around the missus 🤣 If it's not the best of the best I better have a damn good excuse as to why we aren't going on holiday 😅😂

[@RealHomeRecording]

Well to be fair when I used Lynx converters for free on Access Analog, there was no confirmation bias there. They are solid "straight wire" converters with extremely low noise. Worth every penny for pro level studios!

[@inthemix]

@@WorkingAudioTools when December comes around in the Scottish Highlands, she’ll understand that the Headphone THD+N at - 107dB @1kHz is absolutely worth it instead of being on a beach in Mexico!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

I am still paying up a holiday to Malta next year as apparently.. "I've spent enough on the studio and that's enough".. Well.. I rode the wave as long as I could boys! 🤣

[@RealHomeRecording]

@@WorkingAudioTools 😞 sad face

[@riasure]

Female in the house💃🏽😄👍! Guys, really enjoyed this weeks episode. Always look forward to tuning in. I am a victim of confirmation bias. For so long I tried to convince myself that my speakers were set up correctly and sounded great because I wanted to justify my purchase of an Ultrawide 34” monitor😄. Only to accept that this was not the case at all and my listening position and speaker set up was too wide and therefore I needed to get a smaller monitor-which is arriving today 27”!! It pains me to admit I made mistake and for a while I was trying to pretend like that was not the case😂. But I am so annoyed as the monitor was not cheap, but I know ultimately that my music will benefit from the needed improvement/change. But it has been a bloody expensive mistake, but it’s all good😂🙏🏾🤪!!

[@infojunkie4989]

Did exactly the same. Moved the 40 inch 5k2k Uwide to the production room and got a couple of smaller units for the mix room! The ultra wide just pushed the monitors too far back.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

We have a female watcher!! Still says 100% male in our analytics but we'll take it! 🤣

[@riasure]

@ I think I am 100% female, well at least that’s what my birth certificate says😂

[@riasure]

@@infojunkie4989 so you feel my pain😂. Luckily you have found a secondary use for yours, which is good.

[@infojunkie4989]

@@WorkingAudioTools you assume everyone fills in youtube bollox accurately. I can tell you i was not born on 01/01/2000 🤣.

[@jeffburling7224]

Great chat boys. What you discussed goes well beyond audio engineering...I very much enjoyed this one.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Glad you enjoyed it! 🤘

[@juanpawm1]

I don't always agree with everything you say guys, but I value your insights and points of view (passionate at times) and that attitude you've always conveyed of treating this as your own journey in the world of audio. In this rare relationship created by streaming platforms, you make me feel accompanied on my own journey. So thank you, keep going!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

🤘🤘thanks, Juan.

[@DazzleRebel]

It was incredibly frustrating when i started mixing my own music 3 years ago. So many competing "rules" so many "must have", "secret weapon" and "game-changing" plugins. Its only this past year that I've realised that on the whole, its all a load of white noise. The biggest revelation I had was that its not about the gear but getting a good song and capturing a good performance. The rest is just the final little bit of polish. I don't need to stick this "must have" plugin on the drums bus if it doesn't need it. I don’t ALWAYS need to duck the bass when the kick hits. I don’t need to throw every single technique, "mix trick" and "secret trick ALL the pros use" to get a good mix. Letting go of that conformation bias helped transform my mixes from sounding very beginner to half-decent, possibly even (indie label) passable. Sure, I still have it to a lesser degree but it feels great when I do a mix using a few simple plugins because I know I got it right at source. I just wish I had this at the start because it would have saved me a fortune in plugins!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

🤘

[@splitrockmusic]

Excellent discussion. It occurs to me that, if the expense of a purchase feeds confirmation bias, that might make a good case for monthly subscription pricing. That way, if you come the the conclusion that the plugins you subscribe to are not what you thought, you can easily bail, and try something else...

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Swings and roundabouts. Sometimes you can find yourself "forcing" a few plugins in sessions to justify a subscription cause in reality there's only a few that you really want to use. I've honestly seen people argue toxicly over plugin subscriptions. I think I've seen it all so far as the audio community could genuinely argue about a fart in a crisp packet 🤣

[@samphelps856]

Thank you kindly

[@WorkingAudioTools]

👍

[@vgod4eva]

I often think that we join the gear “tribes” in ways like we attach ourselves to football teams

[@WorkingAudioTools]

To a degree but in football it's often social reasons. Could be family or location based and normally it's around the passion of the game with a lot of reality involved. There's a shared criticism when things go wrong and a lot of expectation and self deprivation. Gear tribes tend to come from a place of confirmation bias and it's normally all positive as any negativity goes against the confirmation bias. I've never heard of a forum talk among themselves like.. "yeah we're really shite just now eh" 😂 I've always found gear tribes to constantly have rose colored specs on and never be able to admit that something isn't going right. Where you walk into a boozer after a defeat it's "f*ckin shite never going back" 🤣

[@TigroGumi]

I find it important to have one set of speakers or headphones that makes music sound how I like music to sound as a reference to stop me trying to add colour the mix doesn't need that is actually gained in a speakers or headphone type. But that's myself... if that is not someone's requirement in the studio they are not wrong. It's about what works for you. I of course still need a very revealing and accurate set as the main set. Another thing I like is a PA rig to reference on but this comes from the days when I did a mix that sounded good everywhere then fell apart of a bass heavy sound system. This comes from my own experience and what works for me... I couldn't recommend it to someone else because it needs to experience to be relevant.

[@MadelnMachines]

I love Paul's no nonsense no bullshit approach. It makes me trust his great advice so much more. I also want to know the origins of Paul's alter-ego character - the cockney know it all engineer talking bollocks 😂 I particularly liked the one with a mustache.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Must be an autism thing cause I've always went into accents when conversing. The cockney thing genuinely came from the ole market stall banter.. Probably being brought up in a house with only 4 channels which meant having to sit and watch eastenders with your mum shaped my idea of a salesman 🤣

[@WillyJunior]

The confirmation bias thing is so true. It was painful admitting that I preferred mixing on £400 Adams than the £4000 speakers I bought.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Ed feels your pain 🤣

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Ha. It’s true. Mastered a whole track on my Nano’s the other day. Made minor adjustment on my speakers. Killer combination though!

[@TrippyTechnologyMusic]

yes that intervention with one's self is a difficult one lol

[@natdenchfield8061]

Don't know if it's a real word.. but I'm going to now use "conversate" as if it is! Got your backs!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

If it makes sense in some way use it! That's the Scottish way 🤣

[@natdenchfield8061]

@@WorkingAudioTools (and it is a word anyway, I was ignorant!)

[@UncleBenjs]

Really great episode. So many truths. I was getting caught by confirmation bias recently so i forced myself to do some exercises to get out of it. Was going to say more but the upstairs neighbour has just began some kind of thousand man march which has totally thrown me lol

[@WorkingAudioTools]

🤣

[@infojunkie4989]

Another top tip: seek multiple views from diverse sources. And take “advice” from anyone trying to sell you something with a huge pinch of salt. Disappointingly i’ve had ‘well respected’ dealers push not so good product simply because they have inventory to sell.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Yeah we always advise going through multiple sources if you don't have a trusted source.

[@davidasher22]

I’m pretty sure there’s a law stating you need at least 3 API plugins, 2 pultec emulations and a minimum of 6 SSL style channel strip plugins to even be considered an audio engineer. 😂

[@twitchbook-1]

good for a gear slots episode !

[@ZoeGilday]

Question, do you think we have peaked in terms of plugins at this stage ? As in, everything that’s already out there is all there can really ever be from here on in ? We’ve reached the ceiling imo

[@krexilinmixiling]

Nop, not even close to peak

[@WorkingAudioTools]

In terms of what you actually need to be a successful professional in this industry. Peaked a very very long time ago. In terms of technological advancement there is still a lot of room for growth and many things that haven't been achieved yet.

[@chrisrevel2801]

@@WorkingAudioTools The Industry itself has peaked a long time ago and is now almost dead , technological advancement ( generative AI ) will greatly accelerate the end of it

[@OrangeMicMusic]

Great discussion, rock on :) Aside gear and mixing techniques, another thing that can make (or break) a mixing engineer / producer is this: the artist is always right. I heard this so many times when I started mixing/producing and I didn't take it into account. Your job as a mixer is to satisfy artist's ears and ego, not yours. If you try to push your ego, or confirmation bias into this, many chances are you'll fail and not now why people don't want to work with you anymore.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Yup artist/label is who signs it off. Not the engineer

[@mixphantom0101]

My confirmation bias is minimal compared to my buyer's remorse! p.s. I loved my Neumann 310s before I even heard them 😎👍

[@nekrodamusas]

All I can think about seeing those headphones is brioche burger buns 😅

[@WorkingAudioTools]

🥯

[@jefffiets4941]

Paul so sweet to Ed 😍

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Let's hope he savours it cause I'm done being nice for the rest of the year 🤣

[@rusj5273]

I think the Specs is kind of mixing with your eyes but, It's good to know the limitations of what it can do. I found that gear that is cut at 16-18 Khz doesn't sound the way I want so I steer clean of those for now until I need something that needs those darker sounds. So, again I have an idea but no real Specs will do the same as hearing different kind of equipment with the same specs. Good Point ED.

[@UncleBenjs]

Morning guys 😊

[@WorkingAudioTools]

👋👋

[@StuBiddyBop]

Hi guys, great cast. 1 reason people may have confirmation bias is their preferred KZbinr, because they may have learned a lot from them and respect them. My example is the topping headphone stuff I spent a long time worrying about headphone mixing and got a big win from the clean amps topping do and owe that research to paul… some people therefore take on board the broader opinions of a KZbinr who helped them fair or foul… not saying Paul’s given me any foul advice though… just he’s built up my respect so I’m cognitively biased to believe him

[@WorkingAudioTools]

No pressure! 😅😅🤣

[@TigroGumi]

As for the last episode: With audio interfaces the problem is they are made by businesses and the issue and benefit of this is they are competing with each other. The benefit is they are trying to out do each other so there is always a increase in quite and performance and abilities over time. The negative of that is as a company they need to have new product each year so can not go all out all the time, but of course mostly manufacturing capacity often is the excuse for that so not too much limiting happens. The negative over all is they can't all band together to take bit from each to make a whole range of perfect interfaces. Another company can't even copy a idea because of patterns and so forth. They might have the almost perfect interface but just need that one thing from another company but they can't get around the pattern. The way to get around things as a consumer is to Frankenstein things and this is why we all crave every type of digital ins and outs. I've seen this transform.engine that is a VST3 DSP unit for live applications... it's for live so it has only Dante, which is expensive for good conversion if I go for a Dante system in the studio... I would want them to add other digital io's so I could use it in the studio for tracking... I'd like ADAT ins and outs and I can then just put this between the ADAT converter and the ADAT ports on the audio interface and get DSP that I can load whatever VST3 on that I'd like.... I have no idea how much this things cost though lol

[@TigroGumi]

sorry if these offended you guys... did give the opinions you wanted to hear

[@TigroGumi]

Was horrible back to someone because my opinions didn't match their own

[@TigroGumi]

Moving objects is not the same as panning.. it's not a volume percentage between each speaker, Atmos could not scale down if it was... it's a set of changes to the sound... mixture of a sort of a very short a subtle reverb, timing and a number of other things that changes based on the configuration of the Atoms system and what the format of speaker setup the decoding ends up with... it's why it is not the same a panning and it's why panning is not the way you sperate and place things in the mix... panning can be used for movement but movement has not space if things are panned all over... it still has it's place but it's not as simple as you'd first think it is... I kinda agree the Oria would be a less of a headache in one respect... I thought it might okay to be on the fence and just want to save £1000

[@WorkingAudioTools]

I'm gonna be honest man. You are quite hard to keep up with at times haha. Obviously happy with the engagement so other people can chip in but you have a tendency of jumping ship from one comment to the next and it can be hard to follow. Especially as they can be quite long and we may not have time to read it at that moment Like I have no idea where this comment thread is going right now 🤣

[@thevi_olin]

I will confirm, my ears are totally biased to listen for the words "my atmos room" ;) jk, you guys doing a great job! Speak your minds!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

I just dont even get involved with loads of atmos conversations now. Way too much bias either end of the debate. As soon as I see conspiracy shit with atmos I'm out 🤣

[@justinhoffman1111]

yeah on your very last point on analog gear I've begin to notice, with today age/ newer music has alot of saturation because of plugins now already in the mix so trying to add it for mastering is hit or miss

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Yeah 9/10 we both always reject the master if our ME adds some form of saturation to our mixes. We've agreed that we dont like tape or anything colouring the mixes. If we wanted that we would've already done it. I think cause we both have such an ultra low distortion monitoring setup that we can really hear the negative impact that too much audible saturation can have over a master. Normally we've already tried some colour on the 2bus just to see if it needs it as we tend to mix very clean on the tracks but you are right that many starting out tend to use too many plugins and layer saturation. Once they realise just how small they are making the mixes sound they normally end up going the other way and then they learn that it's about knowing when something needs saturated and by how much. Becomes a taste thing

[@DerekPower]

My name is Derek Power and I have confirmation bias ;) =] Throw in my two cents (and yes, it will be mostly bullet points =D ): - Life isn't "zero-sum": present success doesn't mean your past was (or is) a failure. - Related to that, a choice may be binary, but the reasons for that choice lie in a spectrum. - I think it's important to have opinions and to share them, but if you try to make it into some crusade where everyone must be in line with yours, that's where I draw a line. - Along that line, I am the one who makes the final call as to what to use or not use or if I want to change my approach. - Another way to put it is: you may not like something for whatever reason, but that may not be mine; furthermore, don't make your opinions mine (and I will do the same). - I don't like using the term "shilling" because it's a tern that's overused to the point of being meaningless. Just saying "Waves Audio makes plugins" is enough to be called a "shill". - Furthermore, I think people who announce products do so for a slew of reasons and it's not just an empty vapid "push product for you to buy". - That said, I am very aware that most of the videos made about products are ones that were made on or close to release dates. The true test is if people are still using it long after its release ;) =] - Just like I told another KZbin individual (no names here ;) ), producing music is as much an art as it is a science. And a lot of times, decisions made can't always be explained in a "rational" or "scientific" way. Furthermore, those "non-scientific" reasons doesn't make it "wrong". - This may be a discussion for another day but I personally don't mind make having a lot of choices available to me. But that's just me ;) =] Last thing: it goes back to that classic Internet joke where the wife is wondering why her husband isn't in bed, he replies "I can't, honey. Someone's being wrong on the Internet" ;) A pint or two is still on me =]

[@WorkingAudioTools]

The Internet is cryptonite for romantic relationships 🤣

[@DerekPower]

@@WorkingAudioTools Confirmed ;) =D

[@TrippyTechnologyMusic]

bullet points you say lol I might have to invest in a new filter lol

[@CookinBeatloaf]

Everyone has unconscious biases and being aware of them is critical. With headphones there have two times I got shouted down and later proven to be right. First was embracing the hd650 once I listened to it and having a slight preference to it over my 580, everyone said I was deaf and wrong. The other time was with the Sundara Closed Backs! I still get down voted to oblivion for recommending them, but seeing them here, confirms I'm the one who's right

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Whilst we use sundara closed for the podcast we both wouldn't advise them for mixing. Only closed backs we've heard that we'd reccomended for mixing are the audeze LCD closed backs

[@MKD371]

I've worked in a bunch of studios including Maida Vale, with Ray Davies, The Stones, Jools Holland, blah blah blah, the list goes on. The trouble with the audio community on KZbin, generally, is there is so much bad and poor advice. Or videos getting stuck in the weeds about things that are ultimately not important. The only thing which matters is does it sound good and does it feel good. The other fact is there are certainly hard rules with mathematics and science involved, which nobody wants to really talk about, in terms of mixing a session, just go with what you feel etc. Going by instinct will only take you so far, unless you have been mixing for 30 years and it is instinctive.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

What mathematical rules are you referring to?

[@okay1904]

What headphones do you both have on your heads in this video?

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Hifiman sundara closed

[@okay1904]

​@@WorkingAudioTools Thanks.

[@duncan.o-vic]

Whether something sounds good or not is still science, it's just that people talking like this about science misunderstand science or don't have complete knowledge on the matter. Not approaching an issue with scientific methods is bias, the same one you were talking about before claiming science isn't everything. Now I know that you've probably meant to say 'scientific methods', but that is then a problelm of not having adequate methods for assessing the matter. Talking about it like it is the limitation of the science itself rather than your own is nothing but bias. Subjective taste is bias. It is ok because we don't have ways to overcome it.

[@rusj5273]

I slowly building a headphone setup and getting a Topping L70 Headphone/Preamp. Next will be my Planar headphones. I have a question, I know it has Balanced output (XLR) on the L70. Can I Or should I run my studio monitors through them or is that just for Headphones? I'm still new to the Headphone amp thing. Please let me know. I don't want to ruin any of my equipment.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Doesn't matter which cable for your headphones when it comes to brands like topping. You won't hear a difference whether it's XLR or 1/4"

[@rusj5273]

@@WorkingAudioTools I know you guys suggested Topping and can trust your guys experiences. Can or Should I connect my Studio Monitors to the Topping L70? Are there any precautions I should be aware of? Please let me know, I really want to Grasp the information on Headphone/Preamp.

[@rusj5273]

@@WorkingAudioTools I'll for sure read the manual just want to know your guys insight and experience.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

You can connect your monitors to them. If the amp is directly connected to a high quality DAC then you'll see more benefit than connecting via interface line outs

[@rusj5273]

@@WorkingAudioTools I was just to ask about the DAC. So I'm using Focusrite Clarett Plus, I guess that will do for now until I save up money for a DAC. I'll see how thing sound when my Topping L70 comes in and go from there. Thank You so much for Your Help. One more Question, Since you know What I have, what do you think would be better? DAC or Headphone Amp/Preamp First? I will eventually get both.

[@JeroBagg]

The vast majority of audio professionals are full of crap. They are sooo biased. They hear what they want to hear and not actually what's there. They are deafened by social proof and price mostly. Too many of them THINK they know what they're talking about. There is a forum where Dan Lavry was losing his mind because people were responding to him telling him that he was wrong about things that he knows for an absolute fact. Also, Neumann sucks and hasn't been good since the U67.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Cost vs science will always be a touchy subject in the audio world

[@evanmartin4749]

I like how you had your speech about bad opinions, then declared all neuman mics after the 87 to be bad 😂

[@JeroBagg]

@@evanmartin4749 No no. The U67. I haven't met a U87 that I liked and I have one from 1976. Wait. I take that back. A studio I work at has a beat up, matte black U87 from the 80s and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. It sounds so rich and luscious. It rivals good U67s.

[@robertskey]

Old school studio guys like CLA often see their hardware in business terms as a bit of a retirement investment. Chances are CLA is simply converting assets. Early retirement?

[@WorkingAudioTools]

You would assume so. His gear is his pension fund 🤣

[@valleywoodstudio7345]

trying to communicate differences via writing in immediate response comments is a problem!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Yeah in person is aways way more resolving and amicable in most cases

[@richertz]

So investment is so stupid (I realised this the hard way) unless you plan to arrange a demo. Many companies let you send stuff back. Like the Focal Shapes, they sound great but for me I did not like the tweeters. However for listening to movies I loved them, so I might get a pair for my cinema room (haha) one day. I ended up settling on some Amphions which I was able to demo. Don't get attached to gear that is the worst waste of money.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Amphions are the one!🤘

[@WorkingAudioTools]

If Ed's confirmation bias doesn't say so itself 🤣

[@TrippyTechnologyMusic]

Lads! from 1m.30s to 2m.30s is quiet possibly some of the best audio Ive heard in a long time, you could say all vsti's are shit, DAW's are for spastix and any music made with a computer isn't music at all and i'd still stay lol

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Scottish way of setting boundaries 🤣

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Here to entertain. 🤘

[@infojunkie4989]

There is one way to cure CB. But it is not an easy thing to do.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Do absolutely nothing with your life 🤣

[@infojunkie4989]

@ never thought of that! I actually had in mind ‘buy one of everything’ 🤣.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Ed’s taken that advice before 🤣

[@infojunkie4989]

@@WorkingAudioTools 🤣🤣

[@BoarderEthan]

Based on the confirmation bias argument, Pro Tools, Cubase, etc users ought to be telling new engineers using a Mac to just get Logic. 😊 Has all the functionality, plugins etc. constantly updates for free after initial purchase. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@WorkingAudioTools]

💯 Logic is incredible value for money. Pro Tools is not!!

[@Chaos-Dynamics]

I think being a brand fanboy is essentially stupid. Gear are tools which are used to shape sonics. I don’t care which manufacturer branded its logo on it. I use what I have and it depends on what works for the song. I did a mix completely on a hundred bucks headphones yesterday and it sounds great. You don’t need expensive stuff to get good results. Even my room and monitors are pretty simple and still my mixes translate well. How come? Mixing a lot and learning my setup 😊

[@WorkingAudioTools]

👍

[@bakerlefdaoui6801]

How to avoid Confirmation Bias ? Use only cracked plugins ! Just Kidding 😋

[@WorkingAudioTools]

It would solve part of the problem but we definitely don't advise it 🤣

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Lol

[@TigroGumi]

My confirmation bias is to hate what I brought lol. I'm very hard to be please for more than a couple of weeks at best. The amount of times that I have been super into something from a ad and suddenly I find out all the screaming frustrations that come with it. Did that enough time for my bias to polar flip lol... although never had passion about it... the only thing that gets me is either lying or not knowing the most basic facts... hence why the Atmos conversation has become the argument of normal earth and flat earth. So what they brought into is not a product or against a product but the theory of a being all for a product or against a product like it's a cult. They are arguing over the concept of different gods basically at times. Which in essence is a very personal dependant journey that even with objective facts is still subjective in delivery to others. A situation what works for someone works for someone... if someone has something else that works for them then neither are wrong. To say "I actually find this other thing to to be better for me" is fine, but to act like your way is the only way is incredibly narcissistic

[@WorkingAudioTools]

I am the same. As soon as I have the product in front of me the rose tinted glasses come off and all the allure shines off. I actually find it a good thing though cause it doesn't make me precious. Bar my red gretsch. That is my ride or die 🤣

[@user-yk4gd1fl4z]

Unfortunately , there will be no defeating A.I. Even if you think it sucks now, dosent matter ! It’s ONLY going to get better and better. That’s a SAD fact.

[@natdenchfield8061]

Personally i do t think investment of money has anything to do with it - i hear people say that in arguments that people are justifying the money they've spent - it feels more like their *emotional* investment of getting gear lust about something and them making this outward declaration, colnerable show if their gear lust by spending loads of money. It's always an ego - emotional thing. I bet people who are super rich don't care about spending ££££ and hating their purchase!

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Depends on the motive behind the purchase. Some believe that a piece of audio gear is the correct buy because it's one of the most expensive. If they always buy the most expensive alternatives then you would argue that their confirmation bias is strongly related to price. I get lots of comments relating to price like "Bro it's 3x the price, of course it's better, what do you expect?" When in reality the science proves that they've been oversold an overpriced piece of gear. These are the times that I get the most toxic responses and you see the whole "nobody will ever take you serious if you use that. Don't ever call yourself a professional" and "don't use your eyes use your ears!" bullshit when in reality if they were to compare to the cheaper in a blind test they wouldn't be able to hear a difference. Or they would actually hear an issue in their piece of gear in a certain circumstance. But they'll never do it. They'll just plead ignorance and blindly refuse to accept that price doesn't always correlate to quality. I agree that the emotional investment can come from "so and so uses it" but we all know some people that tend to buy certain brands in life that are more expensive purely because they believe that it gives them a better perception over others. Some buy expensive shit to make others believe that they earn a good living and are somebody of importance. You see this in lots of audio circles where a guy on IG buys 30k of analog gear before even learning how to properly use them. KZbin can lead people to believe that these engineers are massively successful when in reality they are competing and in a lot of cases, losing to itb guys in their home studio

[@infojunkie4989]

These things are just tools. Rarely do you hear a carpenter big up one brand of saw and comment that you can only make a good cabinet with saw x or y. If the tool does the job, it does the job. If not, move it on and try another. Not everyone will get on with every tool. If there was such a thing as a ‘best’ set of plugins or speakers, then there would be far fewer makers. As for forums. I imagine the issue is that most who post are hobbyists with fk all better to do. People who are billing all the time won’t have the time to post bs on social media. They’re too busy using the tools. Forget about trying to influence others. Leave them to it. Simply post your position and let it rest. Those who value it will appreciate it. Don’t feed those who argue for the sake of it. If they have the time to argue the toss about minutia of some product vs another likelihood is they don’t really have a successful business as they have far too much time on their hands. Those types will never make it. They’re in it for the wrong reason. Home studio has to some degree become the new ‘hifi nerd’ arena. All the best chaps and keep up the good work.

[@WorkingAudioTools]

Good advice!

[@gtk_NO]

I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home. They're not much bigger than two meters.

[@infojunkie4989]

@@gtk_NO and practise makes perfect, let us know once you graduate to a death star.