I had a dream last night of a bizarre world where home audio systems had to conform to a preset standard.
The Audio Politburo had been created to write those standards.
Over decades, well-meaning engineers in white lab coats and an army of dedicated bureaucrats had spent millions of dollars turning reams of paper into volumes of books so that every audio manufacturer would build identical levels of musical reproduction equipment.
Only their faceplates and features would vary.
No one would ever again be subjected to the vagaries of poor performance.
Electrostatic loudspeakers were the first to go. Permanently outlawed because their dynamic range did not meet the politburo's standard.
Consumer protection.
Over years of complaints from outraged electrostat owners, they relented and allowed them back into the market with the proviso the customer sign a waiver acknowledging the product's failings.
Customers need to know when a product is substandard.
We wouldn't want home audio reproduction to suffer.
