Audio Science Review = "The better the measurement, the better the sound" philosophy


"Audiophiles are Snobs"  Youtube features an idiot!  He states, with no equivocation,  that $5,000 and $10,000 speakers sound equally good and a $500 and $5,000 integrated amp sound equally good.  He is either deaf or a liar or both! 

There is a site filled with posters like him called Audio Science Review.  If a reasonable person posts, they immediately tear him down, using selected words and/or sentences from the reasonable poster as100% proof that the audiophile is dumb and stupid with his money. They also occasionally state that the high end audio equipment/cable/tweak sellers are criminals who commit fraud on the public.  They often state that if something scientifically measures better, then it sounds better.   They give no credence to unmeasurable sound factors like PRAT and Ambiance.   Some of the posters music choices range from rap to hip hop and anything pop oriented created in the past from 1995.  

Have any of audiogon (or any other reasonable audio forum site) posters encountered this horrible group of miscreants?  

fleschler

Of all the comments I have read in this thread, this by djones astounded me:

“This is wrong, as a measurement guy "better sound " is subjective and not anything I pay attention to. “

I thought I misinterpreted the comment, but then

What is your interest in audio if it’s not better sound? I’m confused.

djones51

“Sound as accurate to the source file I receive as possible. Is that better or worse? No idea. I want the signal that leaves the amp to be as close to the signal that enters the streamer as possible.”

 

No idea if it is better or worse? Seriously? This explains the reply I got on ASR when I asked “What does it sound like”. I was told that doesn’t matter because it measures perfectly. Well let us take one example. I listen to a lot of equipment and have done many comparisons together with friends, at shows and also in demonstrations by companies. My major complaint about a dac that ASR rates as the best measuring dec is that it sounds like crap. I stated that the mid range is shrill, particularly when dealing with female voices. I was categorically told that I was wrong. I am not wrong – for me it sounds shrill. I was thrown off the site for this.

 

I would not use this dac if it were given to me gratis. Fine, I accept that others may like it, however I do not. Interestingly only one of the 8 that was present at the comparison thought it was satisfactory. We did not know what the brand was at the time. Perhaps the fact that we are all interested in classical music was a deciding factor.

 

Another example is an amp that ASR wets themselves over as the best measuring amplifier of all time; it is actually quite good, especially for the price, but there are far better amplifiers for my taste.

Regarding Amir’s comments here. Frankly I find them offensive. He has come along with the attitude of "Let me educate you." I do not need him or anyone else to educate me on what I like and dislike. Nor to I need to be lectured that I do not understand the Science. There are many people far more experienced and qualified than Amir of whom I prefer to take note.

@amir_asr

It was a spin and a debating stunt which I called you on.

The part I asked you to respond to was your statement that my "takeaway" after amplifier listening was contrary to audio (and psycho-acoustic) research. The points I re-iterated were quite sound, but I was interested in your counterpoint (as opposed to your talking points).

What you did was elevate the listening test to something it is not, then complain that it doesn’t follow the extensive protocol Dr. Toole used for research. That was improper and I responded to you as such.

Relax mate, I’m not trying to trick you with wicked (sorry, "improper") sophistry. Nor am I running a comprehensive analysis of ASR test methodology, with or without "elevation". No need for all the mansplaining.

The simple point of my earlier post is that we can listen to gear, with some experience and awareness of the pitfalls, without always following the strictest of protocols and still glean meaningful information. I described doing it upthread, you do it yourself with loudspeakers (and you say you think it has value).

Another debating stunt. I do not run a "business" to have a model.

Is there anything to be gained from this semantic quibbling? I’m sure you know that in English "business" has several meanings, including "an activity one is engaged in" and isn’t restricted to commercial activity. If you don’t like the semantics of "business model" just think of it as "modus operandi" or "general approach". You know what I mean. Argue the substance.

And it is not like you have shown any of those editors that hold on to gear perform comparative blind testing of speakers. They have the time according to you but waste it away with who knows what. You want to complain about something, complain about that.

Pure whataboutism. How about those reviewers, eh? Come on.

 

 

 

Perhaps this link is something all people who posted on this site should look at,
 

 

@laoman @russ69 Thank you for your experiences which reveal more about Amir and his buddies who accompanied him to Audiogon to TELL us what we need to make intelligent equipment decisions.  Just like you laoman, I don't need someone to educate me at 66 after my extensive listening experiences, what sounds best to me. 

When I upgraded my digital cable two months ago, I've had audiophiles and non-audiophiles just revel in the digital reproduced music.  The audiophiles say "best ever sound."  Well, I can't say that because I have heard absolutely fantastic sound systems better than mine (and expensive).   No problem as I'm living within my means.  My wife, a very tough customer who says she is now always concentrates on the sound before listening to the music much to her consternation, just sat and listened for several hours (also unusual) to a variety of smooth jazz and her rock music (1970s to heavy metal) when I upgraded the cable.  She said it sounds like vinyl.   

Today, Positive Feedback has an article by Roger Skoff-Hi-Fi Weather? Roger Skoff Writes About Something You May Not Have Thought Of…

I found the end of the article not dealing with weather’s affect on sound propagation most enlightening (especially if true) "None of those changes is massive but, with even average human hearing having a 100 decibel range from the lowest sound we can hear to the loudest sound we can bear without injury, our ears have a single-scale resolution range of 1 to 1 BILLION—far greater than any known test instrument—so even differences that might seem prohibitively small may be clearly audible."

What’s Best Forum I have for several years joined and enjoyed camaraderie of other audiophiles forums. That site is generally more congenial and well mannered than any other forum site I frequent. Disagreements do not involve character assassination or defamation. (Except with posters experiences with Acoustic Fields company/owner). I prefer hearing about others experiences than reading about the gold standard measurements as Amir prefers. Good for him but Darko uses different measurements and often reveals different answers. Choices and variable methods to conduct experiments occur in measurements. So Amir is not the greatest tester of audio equipment. There are serious drawbacks on measurements themselves. If measurements are the gold standard, then listening in a system in a room is the platinum standard.

Audioshark, Audiokarma and older sites I visited were quite nice and amiable. DIYers also was very informative lacking acrimonious postings. Why is that?