Starting from this editorial, I will attempt to convey some of the elementary engineering principles that may provide a solid foundation for selecting the best audio equipment in a given price bracket; a selection that will be based on your experience of the system (Remember: Do not listen to what others say - or even me, for that matter - listen to the Hi-Fi!), supported by hard facts and figures!
Principle #1: The professional engineer strives towards perfection, thus attempting to make himself redundant. He/she attempts to conceive, design and built products that will offer significant improvements that will require minimum maintenance. It is obvious that this redundancy parameter not only describes the professional engineer, but most professionals in general, as well as material products. Oddly enough, it also appears that people, products and services that aim to become redundant are earning our sympathy and, even, our praise.
Principle #2: The second extremely important engineering principle can only become apparent from the realization that engineering is the art of compromises and trade-offs. The awareness of the limitations of certain concepts, methods and materials helps the engineer decide where to put most effort and what to avoid given certain constrains imposed by financial and practical considerations.
Having established the above two principles as the foundations of good engineering a more audio specific approach will be followed in the editorials to come.
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