Labels

Labels are necessary for communication yet offered without thought of consequences they can be destructive. There's no harm in labeling sodium chloride as table salt. In fact, labeling a shaker of white crystals as "salt" is extremely helpful at the dinner table. But what happens when we label audio equipment with opinions? For example, labeling a particular phono cartridge as wooden or tight-assed can destroy a product's reputation. Imagine taking home an expensive moving coil cartridge and on your system, it doesn't sound right. You label it with your opinion and it is forever tainted—even if all that might have been wrong was your ability to set it up properly. I remember the first time I heard about Cambridge Audio products. Asked what their shtick was I was told it earned the label: cheap gear. Good, but cheap. It wasn't until I spent the time to audition their products myself that I realized the label was not only unwarranted but unfair. Not because it wasn't inexpensive gear (it was) but because that label assigned it a low value in people's minds. I began to support the brand by telling people it was an exceptional bargain. PS Audio products were for years labeled as "The poor man's Audio Research". I guess that's a compliment, though I probably could have picked a better label. I guess my point is we should be careful about the labels we assign products and certainly people. They have a habit of sticking.