I've been resisting posting to this thread as, unfortunately, I'm afraid my opinion is not particularly positive with regard to the video(s). However, I've been giving some thought to the ensuing discussion and Mr. Winer and his business.
First, I bought his book "The Audio Expert" soon after it was published and read (most of) it. I found myself in agreement with his chapters on acoustics, room measurements, room treatments, and the like; I think it's clear that he knows his stuff in this regard. (Just my layman's assessment.) However, I found myself disagreeing with so much of the other stuff he asserts, such as cables, and even actual system components not making any measurable or noticeable difference, that it made me question his credibility. We've all heard amps and other components, cables, and even source material that have clearly noticeable differences, sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle. I found myself asking, "Has this guy actually listened to this stuff? Or has he just measured? Can he not hear particularly well?" (No offense intended, just questions I found myself asking.) I hold firm to the notion that we humans have the ability to perceive sonic subtleties that current science/technology cannot detect/measure and therefore cannot explain. In other words, science simply has not caught up with our evolution. To then deny that it exists seems to me to be shortsighted. Isn't science supposed to be inquisitive?
Someplace along the way it occurred that he has a particularly well-developed business acumen. To downplay the sonic effects of easy, neat, tidy "tweaks" such as cable upgrades, component upgrades, and the like (which are difficult to measure), and to "play up" the huge sonic effects of quality room treatments, particularly large and expensive treatments (that make clearly measurable differences), would seem to help him convince the potential buyer that room treatments are a better investment than, say, cables. Part of this logic I cannot argue with: swapping in $2000 cables in to a system for subtle differences (improvements, hopefully) whilst in an awful room seems like a foolish priority. Yet we all do it. (Guilty here, too, to a certain extent.) However, spend that $2000 on room treatments and you'll hear the subtleties of your system WAY better than without. And I'd go so far as to say (and here Mr. Winer and myself will have to agree to disagree) that the subtle differences in those $2000 cables will likely sound far less subtle in a properly treated room. However, Mr. Winer seems to suggest that the room treatments are all you need - once the room is treated, your pedestrian system will sound so much better (and it probably will) that you will not need to waste any time or money chasing dragons. I think I can assume most of us here do not agree with this assertion and might go on to argue that a room outfitted with proper treatments (even his, perhaps) would be a superb environment in which to hear our music and the sonic subtleties of various system components.
As for the videos referenced above, they do seem to suggest an odd sense of humor or perhaps even a lack of professional judgement. Eh?
