Why HiFi Gear Measurements Are Misleading (yes ASR talking to you…)

There are transient events that can only be capture in time domain such as overshoot or undershoot or ringing or more .,.. It is fine if you only use frequency domain but it won’t be a complete test.

Can you give examples of these transient non periodic events that would occur during playback?

but with non-sinusoidal waveform (which is more akin to music), it’s better to use time domain.

We use non sinusoidal waveforms all the time, though they may be made up of a multitude of sine waves. I already talked about transient testing.

@kenjit , fair point. But I don’t think we can treat all subjective experiences equally. We can be more certain of some subjective experiences than others. If I were to see a person in front of me I wouldn’t question if that person was there (an extreme example). In my example above, there is little chance I was imagining the longer USB cable sounding better than the shorter one when I was biased to thinking the opposite. 25 years ago, I also knew that when I heard the meteors sizzling, I knew that I really heard them. Even though when I immediately checked the internet, all researchers had said this was in my head. I’ve learned when to trust my senses. And also, just as importantly, when not to!

OK, I'll bite -- who or what is ASR and why should I care?

In my example above, there is little chance I was imagining the longer USB cable sounding better than the shorter one when I was biased to thinking the opposite.

Unless your bias against the longer one caused you to listen with more focus that allowed you to hear detail that you missed before?  You cannot say with complete confidence that that was not the case.

I did not note what differences you perceived between the longer and shorter cable. I am not saying this is the case for your test, but it is common that the differences reported between two components are simply impossible with the change that was made. I do understand your point with the meteor, often there are unintended consequences, we see that in product design all the time. But there are some fundamental facts of how things work that cannot be ignored either.

@assetmgrsc

 

OK, I’ll bite -- who or what is ASR and why should I care?

ASR = Audio Science Review:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php

It’s a forum that looks to more objective or reliable ways of evaluating audio gear, essentially taking the lessons from science as to the importance of controlling for variables, seeking more reliable results, etc.

Basically, if an audio manufacturer makes some claims for their product, the ASR approach is to not simply rely on the subjective anecdotes of audiophiles, but to look to measurements first of all to see if they claims are plausible or justified, and also when possible to control for sighted bias for listening tests (blind testing).

The site founder, Amir, is highly technically qualified and knowledgeable, owns some of the best measurement tools you can get, and has produced a huge number of gear reviews - speakers, amps, dacs, phono stages, cables, you name it. ASR has made huge waves in the audiophile community and Amir’s video reviews are filled with appreciative comments for the knowledge and gear evluation he is putting out.

Why should you care?

Well, depends on what you care about. How much do you care whether a claim about a piece of gear is true or not? If you are in the "if I think I (or someone else) hears a difference, that’s all I need" camp, then ASR won’t be for you.

But if you care more deeply about what is really going on with audio gear, to understand it, and use that knowledge to make decisions, then it can be very helpful.

For instance Amir has reviewed expensive cables (USB for instance) from Nordost and other companies, and shown they don’t improve the signal at all, certainly not in any audible way, over readily available cheaper cables. It would be up to you what you do with such information. Some audiophiles will always stick with "what I think I hear" and discard such evaluations. Others (like myself) will use this information to learn what to worry about or not in audio, and I’ll prefer to put my money to gear that is more likely to improve the sound.