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

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!

@richopp +1 "Measurements are nice, but, as Duane asked, "How (does) it SOUND?”"

I’ve seen many very expensive installations, sounding so-so, despite perfect measurements of some components in it. “Measurement” is focused on single component, and it is done using ideal source + loading, which “improves” component performance significantly over real life scenario.  

@westcoastaudiophile +10

@westcoastaudiophile @fleschler Thanks, guys. As I wrote, it was an experience I will never forget, and we had the opportunity to play with many other "famous" bands over the few years we were together. (I was in college and learned over time that the best way to put a band together was to go to the music department and put up a sign. Duh!)

Anyway, when I opened my store (1976), I had the opportunity to LISTEN to pretty much all the "good" stuff out in those days. After the store closed for the day, we hooked up everything to everything just to see what was what. TRULY an education I would never have gotten in any other way.

The ARC-Maggie systems were SO FAR superior to everything else that we were quite surprised to say the least. ALL the boxes distorted in some way--I know they have improved since then--and, also surprisingly, many are 6’ tall now...wonder where they got THAT idea? Hmmmm...

Anyway, how it SOUNDS IN YOUR ROOM was our watchword. We sold many brands and of course, not every room was appropriate nor could every customer afford that combo, thus we sold what the customer liked, naturally. (Best box back then was the Fulton 100, by the way. Small, but really good!)

I have been out of the business for many years, but still have an ARC-Maggie system (not the newest stuff--I am retired now on a fixed income), but I dare say that I seldom hear systems that are more realistic (closest to how the music sounds live) than that combo if your room is amenable. I don’t know why anyone would spend ANY money on a system that they did not like the SOUND of in their room regardless of the brand or price.

Cheers!

I could have chosen a CD player instead of separates if I could have heard them.  I live in Los Angeles area yet could not listen for example to the highly regarded Luxman D-03x player in my home.  I read that many Luxman owners sold/traded in their more expensive older players for it.  The three dealers within 150 miles told me I could hear it at their store only or purchase it.   Retail it's $4000.   I just didn't want to shell out that much.  I noticed a few nearly new units sold for $2800.  I didn't want to lose at least $1600 (w/tax) on a new unit just to try it.   Another dealer of a $14,000 VAC IQ 200 amp would let me try it for a $1,000 fee, included in the sale price if I purchased it.  Percentage-wise, that was fair, especially since it is a much more expensive, heavy (100+lbs shipped), delicate unit (tubed) and included insured shipping cost to me.   I've gotten to the point that I want to check out equipment in my room with my system before purchasing unless it is inexpensive.  After nearly a dozen units, I finally found a great sounding transport so I lost interest in purchasing an all in one player.