2. tech-talk
  3. 179565-17492

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
ghasley
2,434 posts
 

Toastmasters? Perhaps a template for a filibuster.

nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,579 posts
 

ASR should rename themselves AMR (for Audio Measurement Review) and leave it at that. Hiding behind the escutcheon of "science" and using it as a bulwark to  promote their agenda while possibly hawking gear or reassuring others that they need not spend their hard earned cash on better sounding gear is getting old as it's now been made clear. 

The jig is up.

All the best,
Nonoise

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

"The contention is if you take a " less expensive " component with better measurements can you differentiate it from a more expensive boutique component with worse measurements or an SS one from tube using controlled testing."

I exclude pricing completely, it has nothing to do with sound quality. Why include it? It's just somebodies' opinion of a components worth. It's an opinion of value, not science. It has nothing to do with the sound I hear coming from the product. Pricing is a subject for Comsumer Reports, not equipment reviews. It certainly is not part of "Audio Science". Subjective reviews are the place to include value judgements. We all like a product that returns good value, but the "science" of audio quality should be devoid of any reference to price.  

djones51
4,947 posts
 

OK, I was just trying to explain my take on it. 

The measurement guys are convinced, that better measurements equal better sound

This is wrong, as a measurement guy "better sound "  is subjective and not anything I pay attention to. 

djones51
4,947 posts
 

The contention is if you take a " less expensive " component with better measurements can you differentiate it from a more expensive boutique component with worse measurements or an SS one from tube using controlled testing.

 I included it because the argument of "better sound" seems to boil down to how can you say your cheap Class D amp  that measures great "sound better" than my  expensive Class A  that doesn't measure as well? ASR's answer is you have no idea which "sounds better" or can you even make a distinction without controlled testing. It isn't about "sounds great" that's a throw away description. 

More to discover