LSA Voyager GAN Amplifier

I saw the ASR review today and was surprised. I listened to

the new Voyager for 2 weeks and thought it did many things well.

Walter will address whatever may need addressing I am sure.

GaN ain't going away. My early prediction.

Why do audio designers listen to the equipment they build before putting it on the market, could it be because measurements don't tell the whole story.

@hifi59

Having lived with the V now for well over 6 months, and prior to it almost 2 years with Rics excellent EVS1200, both require repositioning of the speakers and my listening position. It sounds to me like you need to be closer to the speakers. I’ve played CSN, The Eagles, Trio: Dolly, Linda, and Emily and all are properly positioned and in the room with me

Why do audio designers listen to the equipment they build before putting it on the market, could it be because measurements don't tell the whole story.

Measurements do tell the whole story- the objective story. Designers listen for the same reason chefs taste their food before serving, despite having used a recipe for years- final qc- does the sound/taste meet their standards.

Peoples tastes differ. An amp that performs well objectively will not suit everyone's taste- some like certain kinds of distortion. Some listeners aren't as descriminating, etc. Some amps don't play well with all ancillary equipment.

The only one who can judge the subjective quality of a meal or amp is the end user and the reason people don't all agree is simple- tastes differ. This endless debate measurements vs ears is really quite meaningless on an end user basis. Some people simply want an amp with state of the art measured performance, others want an effects box. To each his own.

The trouble with this kind of thinking is there is no reality to it. What you are saying is that if an amp measures great then it is neutral and if it does not measure great it is colored.....this is pure BS. The objective measurements just show numbers.....they have little to do with the sound of an amp. You can take a great measuring amplifier and put it on a rubbery feet and it sounds rubbery......and still measures the same. You can put a junk power cord on it and it sounds junky. You can change the output connector to some junk connector (or maybe it already has junk ones on there) and you get the junk sound of the connector. None or these things or a million other things inside the amp that make audible differences, including damping are measureable......this is the flaw in your thinking. Objectivists say things like what you did because they do not listen to components.....let alone to footers, cables, jacks, wires, solder, resistors, caps, damping, etc. into infinity. They just look at numbers on a machine and call it a day. It certainly simplifies buying equipment. But you will not get the best sound that way. You have to listen to things and compare. Once you realize that "everything makes a sonic difference" then that kind of black and white mentality is seen for what it is.......words meaning nothing. Most people in high end audio are subjectivists.....we listen and decide what flavors we want....but a small minority do the opposite....they do not listen and just buy stuff for specs......they worship specs.....sorry...specs are not sound. However, some of these objectivists go around to forums and threads and tell everyone their "truth".....and to not be fooled by all this "snake oil". They wave their engineering 101 bible in the air and claim to know something. The only thing in audio to know is how something sounds.....this is real knowledge. If you are not willing to listen and find out the SONIC TRUTH then you have your head in a hole in the sand. The real fun is discovering some little tweak that cost you nothing or practically nothing that improves your sound. This is the biggest rush of all. For instance...getting all your cables off the floor.....and you can use cardboard to do it.....way better imaging and purity.....and costs practically zero unless you buy expensive risers. Of course, there is no measured improvement with this tweak.

Happy listening, you holy beautiful beings. Heaven is now....Breath it in.

I certainly understand that some people are subjectivists but draw a line at trying certain things.....their brain just cannot get a handle on why a footer or whatever would make a difference.....but they do listen to components and compare the sound......so, it is not a black and white objectivists versus subjectivists game....there are infinite shades of it.......just like we all want to love and to be loved and be happy but we go about it in different ways. Follow YOUR highest excitement.....not someone elses.