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

@esarhaddon I have not seen this extensive a critique of ASR and I’ve been an Audiogon member for more than a decade. I am relating my experience and note others including the @thyname’s theft of his personal information by an ASR member with numerous identities. What you refer to as nonsense and cancel culture is exactly what I am attempting to reverse. You are free to disagree but somehow I find your attitude opposite to mine. I DO NOT want anyone to put words in my mouth (that we can agree on) which is exactly what about two dozen ASR members did to my posts, render them opposite to what I intended and clearly stated.

esarhaddon,Has it occurred to you that some people are more sensitive to timing and rhythm that others?That we do not all hear the same?Some people have very poor sense of rhythm.They are bad dancers.They are not the people you would want to play in the rhythm section in your band.Or be audio reviewers.Or perhaps ridicule others for whom such things are heard and are important.

I own many speakers but will always keep a pair of Gale 401 speakers because they excel at rhythm and timing.If you search the web for opinions and reviews of these classic speakers that facet of their sound is very frequently mentioned.They boogie.Or perhaps all the people who own and love them are suffering from some sort of mass delusion?

 

 

@jtgofish "They boogie. Or perhaps all the people who own and love them are suffering from some sort of mass delusion?"

 Yeah, same point I've made about Klipsch Heresy IV... they dance.  They're addictive.  I'm a long-time "linear sound" kind of guy, but I like 'em, as do obviously many others... and I've gotten grief from oh-so-wise audiophiles for liking 'em (particularly on ASR)...!  So, your question applies...

@esarhaddon

Is it "cancel culture" that I was thrown off ASR for asking whether a tested piece of equipment was listened to and whether it sounded good?

I don’t now why there should be such an insistence put on tests, charts and measurements when expressing an opinion about audio equipment on Audiogon. This website is comprised mainly of hobbyist who can listen seriously and verbally communicate what they hear, as a means of discourse with others who are doing the same. Sure, there are likely plenty of members who understand the science behind what ASR is doing (but may still disagree with their conclusions). But there are members who are more like myself. Those who have studied harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, arranging, conducting and music history to a certain degree. Who grew up playing an instrument and joined a band in their adolescence. Who attend concerts and recitals whenever possible. These types of personal life experiences are why I comprehend a listening review more than the triangulating of frequencies and mathematical charts. I’ve built sound waves and used charts to incorporate percussion rate, fall rate, attack rate, etc.. before interfacing them with an electronic polyphonic keyboard, so I know a little but my listening preferences are primarily based on what I hear, or what someone else describes hearing.

My father used to build cars before he got a job building aircraft engines. He can explain every part in a car and evaluate whether or not there’s a better or more economical way of engineering it. Today, people like him are usually involved in research. But despite his knowledge, he has terrible taste in cars and I don’t need to know what he knows to choose a better car than he would. Also, he’s always been a pretty bad driver. This of course may not be the best analogy but I’ve personally developed a way of evaluating based on listening reviews relevant to both equipment and recordings. And regardless of what I find in online publications, the best way for me to audition audio equipment is to actually hear it. I’d make the radical assumption that most people who are involved in this hobby can make sound purchasing decisions based on listening evaluations.