Which Do You Prefer? This? Or This?

Through all of my eye troubles long ago, from a detached retina to cataract replacement lenses, I learned to switch “eye dominance.” My left eye is for “close up” sight. My right eye is corrected for distance vision. This works very well for me.

By mentally de-emphasizing the “distance vision” in my right eye, I can usually get by without reading glasses. Looking up across the room, my right eye takes the lead. This happens automatically, without a thought.

I wear glasses when driving, to bring my left eye up to 20/20. The lenses in my distance glasses are getting scratched, so I’m going to make an appointment to get a new pair.

The fun part of an eye exam is after the prescription is getting close to correct, when the optometrist quickly flips the lenses back and forth in the phoropter. The question may go from “Which looks better?” to “Which do you prefer?”

That’s what it’s all about concerning so many things in life — what’s better vs. personal preference. In economics, this leads to discussions of cost/benefit analysis and diminishing returns. So, let’s make some comparisons.

I have the first and second generations of the Tangzu Waner in-ear monitor plugged into the porch’s laptop PC.

TANGZU WANER SG 2 IEM with New Bee memory foam eartips

The most significant difference between the two products is how they fit. The Waner 2 is much worse in this regard, as I explain in my Amazon review.

https://amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RE391S18LDF8F?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

Regarding the measured frequency response curves for the two products, they are very similar. Yet, as stated in the review, the W2 is significantly brighter sounding in the upper treble.

Which is better? Neither. Which do I prefer? Both. It depends on the music being played. Both products cost only $20, so there is no diminishing return on price.

I’ll have more comparisons in the next post, regarding images rather than sound. First, I’ll return to music listening.

The original Waner is better for Pop and Rock music, and the Waner 2 is my preferred pair for Classical music. Here are all nine of Schubert’s symphonies from the good folks at the Brilliant Classics label.

Play Money

All I can do is keep thinking, in equal measures of hope and despair, “Three more years … Three more years …”

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent shows a proposed $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. KENT NISHIMURA/AFP via Getty Images

Bessent and Hassett. What a pair. They both have the same obsequious, sh*t-eating grin.

On Fox News, Hassett was, as usual, boasting about how great the economy is, when he was asked why Americans aren’t feeling it — why the long-running Michigan index of consumer sentiment has hit its lowest level ever. He responded by claiming that the index “is being driven by Democrats who have Trump derangement syndrome.”

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/whos-deranged-exactly