Amir and Blind Testing


Let me start by saying I like watching Amir from ASR, so please let’s not get harsh or the thread will be deleted. Many times, Amir has noted that when we’re inserting a new component in our system, our brains go into (to paraphrase) “analytical mode” and we start hearing imaginary improvements. He has reiterated this many times, saying that when he switched to an expensive cable he heard improvements, but when he switched back to the cheap one, he also heard improvements because the brain switches from “music enjoyment mode” to “analytical mode.” Following this logic, which I agree with, wouldn’t blind testing, or any A/B testing be compromised because our brains are always in analytical mode and therefore feeding us inaccurate data? Seems to me you need to relax for a few hours at least and listen to a variety of music before your brain can accurately assess whether something is an actual improvement.  Perhaps A/B testing is a strawman argument, because the human brain is not a spectrum analyzer.  We are too affected by our biases to come up with any valid data.  Maybe. 

chayro

What a load of nonsense. Amir has no agenda. There are a wide variety of people who participate on the ASR forum from subjective tube amp users to nothing but the highest measurement users. I take that back there is an agenda exposing bull products like "audiophile switches, cables, fuses " and other highly questionable devices that serve no purpose . Get over yourselves and yeah, hopefully younger people getting into this hobby will have a bit of common sense and see BS $20K DACs and $10K cables for what they are jewelry.

i already said that multiple times....

These are my own words:

Then yes Amir, is interested by measuring gear, but the site is more than that...

The problem is not Amirm but some audiophiles fanatic disciples indeed here and there...

The first chief hobbyist is OK, nothing bad to say, but the bunch of disciples create a void around their guru ...

This is YOUR words:

What a load of nonsense. Amir has no agenda.

If you read my posts you will understand that borrowing INCONSCIOUSLY about an ideological position is NOT HAVING necessarily AN AGENDA... I just call Amir a measuring tool hobbyist chief, he is a digital engineer after all who worked at an important position at Google i think, entertaining what he like most for the PLEASURE of doing what he know already and giving his advices...This is OK...And useful...But Amir is not Google and corporation had agendas, in the case of Google, transhumanist agenda...Promoting google agenda is being a sleepwalker...

Some of his sleepwalking disciples like you are less innocent...They created a fanatical movement around him, instead of thinking by themselves...this is a sad agenda...

Your sleepwalking " agenda" here in this thread seems to be distorting post and presenting NO ARGUMENT to mine , my 2 posts here are supposed to be just "nonsense"...prove it answer them...I made many points in these 2 posts...For example a point about the meaning of acoustic/psycho-acoustic science in audio being more important than simple direct electronical measures of the gear In itself...

Is it not a strawman argument of the worst kind by you which illustrate my point about the sleepwalking disciples: ?

 

Conclude yourself...or do you need help ?

 

What a load of nonsense. Amir has no agenda. There are a wide variety of people who participate on the ASR forum from subjective tube amp users to nothing but the highest measurement users. I take that back there is an agenda exposing bull products like "audiophile switches, cables, fuses " and other highly questionable devices that serve no purpose . Get over yourselves and yeah, hopefully younger people getting into this hobby will have a bit of common sense and see BS $20K DACs and $10K cables for what they are jewelry.

 

So true.  The amount of nonsense, strawmen and misunderstanding spewed about ASR could fill libraries at this point.

Some posts here amount to "why can't we just go on letting young audiophiles be duped by manufacturer and dubious audiophile claims like the rest of us?"

Some of the claims in high end audio are a balloon, ASR is the pin, and some people see their own beliefs being burst and don't like that feeling.

Why are you beeing so UNILATERAL?

For you it is " subjective gear fetichists audiophiles" against "objective tool measuring fetichists pseudo scientist" ?

 

For me it is more SERIOUSLY acoustic/psycho-acoustic method who always correlated measures of ALL KIND, to subjective impressions...These 2 groups war is RIDICULOUS.... But at least one use his ears even if they succomb sometimes alas! to gear marketing ploy...

The danger posed to beginners here by ignorant technocrats advocating their tools of choices is not less disastrous than the danger posed by those who has been conditioned by marketting tasting gear audiophiles...

Between these two sleepwalkers warring groups, only acoustic and psycho-acoustic research is serious science ABOUT SOUND perception and the value of perception over electrical chosen sheets numbers only...Standard electronic design verification is good, but sound experience does not emerge only from a good chip...

Sound is not the result of an electronic design first and last, but of acoustic and psycho-acoustic experience first and last ..The gear convey information not sound experience...

Spewing numbers without correlation to listenings experiments is meaningless...

I dont attack Amir verification of products, i attack some of his sleepwalking zealots who haunted audiophile threads mocking anyone using his ears.... At least subjective audiophiles, even if they dont use acoustic and psycho acoustic experiments dont throw their EARS in a garbage bin...

The main science in music and sound is acoustic and psycho-acoustic... Digital engineering profitted and emerged from acoustic and psycho-acoustic research and cannot replace them by bits and numbers on a dial....Listening experiments protocols, not necessarily and ONLY blind one are the key...I dont need blind test in my room tuning because it is NOT PRACTICAL nor useful...

 

 

 

Some posts here amount to "why can’t we just go on letting young audiophiles be duped by manufacturer and dubious audiophile claims like the rest of us?"

Some of the claims in high end audio are a balloon, ASR is the pin, and some people see their own beliefs being burst and don’t like that feeling.

 

There are price points in every hobby, I'm glad there are $50 DAC's all the way up to $150,000 DAC's.  Just because there are expensive audio equipment doesn't mean you have to buy it.