2. misc-audio
  3. 176850-3764

I don't want to beat a dead horse but I'm bugged.

I just can't clear my head of this. I don't want to start a measurements vs listening war and I'd appreciate it if you guys don't, but I bought a Rogue Sphinx V3 as some of you may remember and have been enjoying it quite a bit. So, I head over to AVS and read Amir's review and he just rips it apart. But that's OK, measurements are measurements, that is not what bugs me. I learned in the early 70s that distortion numbers, etc, may not be that important to me. Then I read that he didn't even bother listening to the darn thing. That is what really bugs me. If something measures so poorly, wouldn't you want to correlate the measurements with what you hear? Do people still buy gear on measurements alone? I learned that can be a big mistake. I just don't get it, never have. Can anybody provide some insight to why some people are stuck on audio measurements? Help me package that so I can at least understand what they are thinking without dismissing them completely as a bunch of mislead sheep. 

128x128russ69
russ69's avatar
russ69 OP
3,536 posts
 

we can simulate/model how that will change the frequency response. 

I seem to have an attraction to hard to drive loudspeakers. Some with wild impedance swings and nasty phase shifts. I had one amp that totally rejected one frequency with one loudspeaker and a switch to another amp proved there was not a speaker issue (other being hard to drive). Not sure you can simulate that without using the loudspeaker. 

pcrhkr's avatar
pcrhkr
276 posts
 

I am not stuck on audio measurements!  I am stuck on what it sounds like. That's all that matters. The bifrost DAC flunked the test measurement of an expert tester that is popular. Hey, it sounds great!  My ears tell the story. Tube equipment won't spec as well as transistor. My ears tell me it sounds better on my system. That's all that matters. 

russ69's avatar
russ69 OP
3,536 posts
 

Tube equipment won’t spec as well as transistor.

It seems Amir does not make any concessions to design type, where as Stereophile makes comparisons to similar designs, not chalk and cheese. If the piece under test doesn’t measure as well as an A/B Solid State amp with some solid feedback, it fails and doesn’t even deserve a listen. The vast number of high-end tube equipment on the market must suggest that many like the way tube gear sounds in no compromise systems.

jw944ts's avatar
jw944ts
327 posts
 

How about the concept of reserving the term audiophile for those interested in sound and music, while coining a new term such as

Audiospecophiles for those interested in the measurements of gear?!?

deludedaudiophile
493 posts
 

I have already coined Audiokarens. That’s for audiohiles who tie their self worth to their equipment purchaes and get bent out of shape when measurements show it’s not as perfect as they told everyone or it is of questionable benefit.

More to discover