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Nearly all manufacturers do not advertise/exhibit their product measurements? Why?

After my Audio Science Review review forum, it became apparent that nearly the only way one can determine the measurements of an audio product is wait for a review on line or in a publication.  Most equipment is never reviewed or is given a subjective analysis rather than a measurement oriented review.  One would think that manufacturers used tests and measurements to design and construct their products. 

Manufacturers routinely give the performance characteristics of their products as Specifications.  Those are not test measurements.

I searched the Revel speaker site for measurements of any of their speakers and could not find any.  Revels are universally lauded for their exceptional reviewed measurements.  Lack of published manufacturer measurements is true for nearly every speaker manufacturer I've searched for on line, perhaps several hundred.   Same is true for amps, pre-amps, DACs, transports, turntables, well you get the picture.  Do they have something to hide?   I doubt the good quality products have anything to hide but poor quality products do.  

ASR prides itself in providing "true" measurements that will aid in purchase decisions.   Why don't the manufacturers provide these measurements so that reviewers can test if they are truthful or not?

Then there are the cables and tweaks for which I suspect that there are inadequate tests available to measure sonically perceived differences but which objectivists believe don't exist or are "snake oil."  

Well, please chime in if you have some illuminating thoughts on the subject.   

I would have loved to see manufacturers measurements on my equipment and especially those that I rejected.  

fleschler
fleschler OP
2,041 posts
 

I know nothing about GR Research and never heard of the company. 

I cannot recommend GroverHuffman or SR power cables to you because they don't come with Australian style angled three prong plugs.  

kota1
2,706 posts
 

@russ69 , contact The Audio Tailor , a dealer in Australia, and see if they carry products you can audition:

 

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

Maybe start with a entry level power product they carry for proof of concept, look at the reviews here on Audiolabs DC Block:

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

at 3:00 in, "just ridiculous, I have had speaker upgrades that made less of a difference".

@russ69 if that Australian dealer lets you audition one please let us know how it works out.

 

richopp
760 posts
 

My 2 cents:

In 1972, my band, One Nite Stand (I was going for "cheap trick" but did not think of it) was playing in Bristol (VA/TENN) at a college music fest. We were "second" to another band called The Allman Brothers Band. (We played a set, they played a set, etc.)

Naturally, we knew who they were, but they only had two albums out at that time and were basically popular regionally. Anyway, we are sitting in our motel room at the Holiday Inn around 4:00 PM with the door open and a guy with long, blonde hair walks by. Back then, anyone who had long hair was considered a "hippie" and disdained by people in small towns like this, to say the least.

We looked at each other and someone said, "Hey, I think that’s Barry Oakley from the Allman Brothers." I walked out and called, "Hey, man." He stopped, we introduced ourselves to each other, and he invited us up to their room (fellow "longhairs."). Needless to say for a bunch of 20-year-old college guys, we were thrilled. We went up to their room and met them. Our lead guitar player, David, was talking to Duane and after a while asked him, "So, man, what was it like to play with Clapton?" (Clapton had just recorded and released "Layla," and since Clapton could not play slide as well as Duane, he asked him to come to England and play that part on the record.) SO, back to the conversation:

DAVID: "Hey, man, what was it like to play with Clapton?"

DUANE: "Well, man, how did it sound?"

Kind of like my take on systems today. Measurements are nice, but, as Duane asked, "How (does) it SOUND?"

In my shop, which I opened a few years later, Magneplaner’s hooked to Audio Research gear SOUNDED the most realistic. The measurements were interesting, but to me, and many of our customers, we wanted the reproduced music to sound most like it did when we played it live. This was the combo that accomplished that goal.

Lots more to the story--watching Duane and Dickey play while standing on the side of the stage after our set was an experience I will never forget. They were "in the zone" and suffice it to say, it was magic.

So, as I asked my customers, "How does it SOUND to you?"

Cheers!

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