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

@kota1 

@amir_asr , I did the "blind test" as you posted, that’s it. The $250 is refundable, no risk:

Folks sell ointments online to grow hair with money back guarantee.  That doesn't mean I am going to go and buy them to try and I hope you are not either.  They are hoping that you procrastinate and get stuck with the thing whether it performs or not.  It is the oldest trick in the book for mail order/online selling.  

And it is not free either.  You are not only responsible for return shipping, you must also insure it and go through the hassle of boxing and sending it back.  On top of that, they could complain about it not getting to them, being damaged, etc.:

" We strongly encourage customers to send product returns using a shipping method that is both trackable and fully insured.   It is your responsibility to ensure the returned item arrives to us undamaged.  Mapleshade will not accept responsibility for returned items that are lost or damaged during shipping.  Once received, we will process your return promptly.  Then we will issue your refund or credit -- or ship your exchange item as has been prearranged."

Really, stop acting as PR person for companies and start to advocate for consumer rights here.  Demand that they provide measurements of two audio gear, one with their cable and one with a generic one.  See if the output of your audio system actually changes.  Don't fall for empty claims for the cable.  You don't stick a digital cable into your ear and listen.  You listen to the output of your system. 

And to be clear, there is no way, no how that digital cable improves the sound of your system -- with or without break in.  I will donate $1,000 to your favorite charity if you can properly demonstrate otherwise.

I have added my main listening room components and front and back walls of that room. I have a small amount of reverb, corner echo which the center cloth absorber eliminated. My room isn’t as near perfect like the two @Kota 1 examples show but it’s pretty close.  I feel sorry for Mike for letting Amir in.  In all of the systems I've heard, no one wanted to give me measurements of their room/system/performance and I didn't ask them either.  No one cares, only Amir/ASR members.  Mike is too nice.  

Amir is so full of it... I tried six digital cables and they all sounded very different. Not just to me, but to five other listeners, two golden ear friends. My wife who is not an audiophile but has a very keen sense of sound gave me her comments. The SR Atmosphere X Euphoria was the obviously best cable with no apparent colorations/neutral sounding, bested or equaled all other cables in every sonic aspect. Well worth the money/$1500. However, Grover Huffman’s very inexpensive digital cables $200? are quite good and came in second, mostly lacking in depth, it’s forward sounding. For $10, Monster Cable’s digital cable was rather bland but neutral, lacking dynamics mostly, okay resolution and okay, not great ambiance/depth/width perseption.

@amir_asr , you raise an interesting point about risk. As you are a dealer I respect the fact you might not like when a manufacturer or dealer assumes all the risk in a transaction by offering a 30 or 60 day return policy. The manufacturer or dealer likely feels the return rates are low enough that the policy is profitable since it attracts new customers that otherwise might not try their products..

As a customer I prefer to deal with these types of companies, YMMV.

Just for you @amir_asr you are as much science as the wagon peddlers in the old west.

 

 

@kota1 

@amir_asr , you raise an interesting point about risk. As you are a dealer I respect the fact you might not like when a manufacturer or dealer assumes all the risk in a transaction by offering a 30 or 60 day return policy.

Once more, they don't assume all risks.  You have to pay for return shipping and hassle of boxing and shipping it back to them.  Then you sit there waiting for a refund which may or may not come.  And that burn-in period requirement is a sure way to make sure you don't immediately send the thing back.

You are a perfect victim of their marketing if you fall for this scheme.  Here is the wiki for you: 

"The use of money back guarantees has grown significantly over the last few years and has become standard practice in direct marketing across all media. Very often, unreliable businesses use it as a tactic to reel the customer into a false sense of safety....Issues relating to false guarantees have become so common in the United States that the Federal Trade Commission has specifically addressed the issue in the Code of Federal Regulations Handbook (§ 239.1)."

I suggest not being such a gullible consumer.  It is folks like you who let these companies get away with empty and false claims for their products.  Instead of being an advocate of audiophile buyers, you have joined the sellers in promoting junk audio products with zero benefit to fidelity of your system.