Let's see if I have this right, amir_asr has purely altruistic motives for reviewing and measuring equipment. He has no credentials that I have seen for test and measuring nor has he shown any type of equipment certification. If I am wrong, now is the time to show that. I'm calling nonsense on this. No one does something for nothing. Whether he is feeding his ego gaining notoriety through controversy or is making a good sum of cash, he has a motive. The fact that he himself admitted he would not report on a $20,000 DAC that he claims had a flaw seems to go against his very agenda. Are not all of his followers now at risk of spending their money on this flawed DAC? It would seem that his own moral standards have been compromised by accepting equipment from manufacturers to test at no cost. That is different from testing other peoples equipment for them that they own.
Amir_asr makes some generalizations about, "audiophiles" that is not correct.
1) He says that we audio hobbyists in general cannot hear the difference in sound of various gear. And he has test data to prove it. I call that nonsense.
The people in this hobby and on this forum can hear enough of a difference to be willing to invest their time and money into it. Many of the persons here benchmark their systems to live sound either/both outdoors and inside concert halls. Many of us play musical instruments and therefore look for recreating that live sound in our listening rooms. If generalizing that most stereo gear sounds the same albeit cables, DACs, speakers or amps across price points then musicians must be deluded to prefer a specific more expensive instrument over a more basic, cheaper alternative.
2) He seems to think that the people on this forum, with the exception of the trolls and flamers are naive and have too much money to spend on gear. I call that nonsense.
Most on this forum are well moneyed, motivated and successful people with a desire to reproduce music as accurately and enjoyably as possible. The idea that these type of people check their brains at the door and buy the most expensive, shiny noise making baubles they can afford is ludicrous. Most on these forums are skeptical and require verification of genuineness, value and reliability/customer support before buying.
The point of these forums is to help buyers beware. Plenty of accredited journals exist to review and assess the latest technology and offerings. Now and then a manufacturer comes along and tries to pull a fast one on the buying public. They don't last long. Enough people on these forums as well as the industry in general have the ability and influence to put a stop to shams.
Over the years I have seen a lot of "giant killer" companies come and go, or the ones that survive eventually improve and develop a reputation for their products. Reputation is everything in any business. Sure, many will always go for that promise of gold for the price of straw but those companies quickly run out of customers.
Amir_asr has the promise of uncovering bogus gear but falls short in terms of objectivity and fairness. Fairness in terms of accepting that people can hear more than that can be measured. Fairness in being able to counter a conclusion or debate it without a character assignation attack.
