By Paul McGowan From PS Audio

When we attempt to navigate through the unknown we rely on what’s worked in the past. This matters because we often find ourselves in unfamiliar territories, like when we get a new piece of gear.

If you’re installing a new component in your system your hopes for success are likely high. You’ve pre-imagined how it might sound.

What happens if your expectations aren’t met? Do you switch to autopilot and rely on what’s worked in the past or roll your sleeves up and experiment with the new?

If you’re in the first camp—rejecting what doesn’t immediately work and embracing what does—what would happen if the next time your expectations aren’t met you try a new tack instead: letting the new piece burn in longer than normal, living with it for longer than you’re used to, swapping tried and true cables with something different.

I make pretty quick go-no-go decisions but they often deprive me of learning and growth as I motor through a busy day. In fact, I’d go so far as to suggest that unless someone asks me to slow down and give a second chance to that new piece of music, cable, circuit design, or thought process I am likely to just go on autopilot with my decisions.

It’s far too easy to sift through the myriad of decisions we’re faced with from day to day by skirting the fog of the unfamiliar, the new idea, the tweak everyone’s raving about.

Airline passengers are a lot safer because pilots aren’t adventurous when visibility challenges them.

I am not so certain safe is where we as audiophiles want to be when it comes to the new.

Are we prepared to navigate through a bit of fog to discover the new and exciting?

For more on this story go to; https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/navigating-through-fog/