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

@fleschler

Sure you’re professional to a point. Your testing isn’t up to par for many products including speakers and DACs you have reviewed. If you read all this forum’s posts you would know of other review sites with much more extensive testing and testing parameters. I want more data, not less.

Oh yes, there are people who push a button on batch script in the audio analyzer and produce 100 graphs. I call them measurebators: measuring for the sake of measuring. Measurements that don’t provide additional insight into the performance of a product are of no value to me. I much rather test 100 speakers than to test 10 and produce 10 times more graphs just to impress folks like you.

I test some 150 speakers a year. Full anechoic response together with distortion and listening tests. The data is state of the art and verified for accuracy by a number of major companies. If this is not good enough for you, no problem. Just know that without me doing this work, you wouldn’t have any data on most of them.

Finally, what is your reference? Both Soundstage and Stereophile produce a subset of my tests. Their speakers tests are much less accurate and non-standard compliant to boot.

@kota1

@amir_asr the militia is not nonsense, ASR is not what I call a forum, non conformrity is flamed, shamed, and banned, it is a firing squad. I think you allow it because if the people paying your bills get good information from other sources it won’t be profitable for you, what do you have to say?

Non-comformity is in play every minute on ASR Forum. As I mentioned, look at every review I do and see the volume of complaints about my review. Heck we have entire threads dedicated to people just complaining about us:

As for my "bills," they don't need paying. I retired after 40 years in technology and can pay for my own bills thank you very much. I do this work because I enjoy it and gives me something rewarding to do.  Members donate money because they like the enormous amount of data and information they get on the site. Unlikely many other youtubers, I am not reliant on any incoming.  This is why there are no ads, or sponsorships on ASR forum or audio science review youtube channel.

People get themselves banned because they jump into a thread and claim to know this and that is true without an ounce of back up. "Oh my ears tell me this." Great.  Keep them to yourself. If you want to convince us, you better come with some understanding of how your ears and perception work. Then folks will listen.

And oh, don't get insulting and personal and make false accusations like what I am responding to. This, will earn a temporary or permanent ban.

@kota1

@amir_asr, welcome to the forum, will you reciprocate and allow members here to post on your forum without instant bans because we have a wide range of opinions that may not be popular on asr as long as we are respectful?

You know, your members simply lose it if anyone likes a component that they have 0 personal experience with, but is simply popular to bash. Is this a dialogue that goes two ways or did you just come here to tell us that you are right and we are all wrong?

The idea objective analysis of the performance of a product is that it no longer requires personal touch. An amplifier producing 10 watts vs 200 watts that another produces is a fact. You don't need to be present, own the amp, run it, etc. to know if that is a fact or not.  You look at measurements and see the data.  So the notion that only people who can have an opinion about a product are those that own or used one is no sequitur. 

You seem to be used to people making up imaginary characteristics for audio which only they can experience by playing with such gear.  To the extent the facts like this cannot be verified or depended on, then there is no there there. 

BTW, the above attitude did not seem to matter to you signed up into ASR to say that the Audioquest Go-4 cable is too old to sound good even though you had not heard it.  And the fact that the cable was introduced 7 years ago.

You went on to say that there has been amazing advancements on cable technology as to make that obsolete.  And that I and others should abuse return privileges from dealers to keep borrowing cables and returning them. I responded to you that none of this made sense and that it would violate my ethical standard to borrow cables like this.

You then kept posting and posting with nary a single back up research, engineering, etc.  Folks eventually got tired of wasting time and ban came.  You are welcome to show up and lecture us but make sure you are sharing reliable knowledge and not just claims and chatter. 

Finally, if getting banned is a loss to you, then I suggest next time not jumping into a review thread and lecturing how the world turns when it comes to cables.  And keep at it for 22 posts straight.  If it is no big deal, then move along.  We are not shedding a tear and neither should you.

@amir_asr Well spoken amir. Although, banning someone for stating an opinion is quite harsh, could such in future maybe be solved via discussion or a PM?

OK ... so ... someone claims he/she has a nicer ’soundstage’ after installing an expensive ethernet cable, while if we measure this cable there’s no difference at all in the transfer of the bits and bytes. Or someone else claims more bass extension after upgrading to an expensive power cord ... while it’s inexplicable? These people enjoy their purchase, while others may say they are scammed. How can we live peacefully together?

I have no solution, other than please stay calm. There’s no reason for quarrel between objectivists who solely rely on facts and measurements and subjectivists who don’t discard the measurements but also rely on their feelings. If he/she hears a difference, who am I to deny this is even possible?

It’s like wine tasting ... we can objectively measure acidity and spectrum analyze the exact chemical composition, still people will smell and taste different things.

As long as measurements are not brought upon us as better or worse ’sound quality’ and as long as subjective hearing is not brought upon us as a fact, maybe we can all appreciate each others measurements and opinions and live peacefully together? Without bans?

@amir_asr

Let me ask you this.

Have you purchased Topping equipment yourself of the shelf and compared the insides to what is sent to you for testing to ensure they are the same?

Why did you not speak up when 39% of the purchasers of the DS90 owners experienced problems - this of a Dac that you highly recommended? Should recommendations not take reliability into account as well?

Do you think it is reasonable that John Yang comes on your site to rubbish the products of other manufacturers, but runs away at the first sign of a problem.

If your site is not a cult, why have you thrown out members who have differing opinions to products and to measurement than you and your members? This site allows all opinions and views.