Sometimes they measure what is a great product. The RME adi2 DAC was the darling of ASR until it's measurements were surpassed by some Chi Fi DAC which of course they loved.
Who is "they?" Countless people have RME DACs and love them with no intention to replace. My own everyday DAC on my desktop is RME ADI-2 Pro. It gets many hours of use per day and brings me much joy. I have a stack of 120+ DACs which I could use but I use RME because I like its features in addition to its performance.
Really, if folks complaining about ASR actually spent some time there, they would know most of their criticism comes from the point of not knowing than facts. Here are some of those facts:
1. I listen to large number of audio products in my reviews. Every speaker, headphone, headphone amp and even audio tweaks like power, cables, etc. often get listening tests.
2. I perform null tests of cables with real music.
3. Measurements are provided in the context of audio engineering/science. They are not just numbers. Audibility is routinely assessed with psychoacoustics research which is entirely based on listening tests.
4. I am open minded enough to test anything sent to me regardless of how implausible it might be to sound different. I tested three JPS labs cables last week for example. And all three included listening tests.
5. I bring more information to that table than you had the day before. You can use it to be better informed, or not. You don't have to pay to see any of it. Whether you donate or not, you get to see the same content. Youtube channel likewise has zero advertising or sponsorship.
6. I have liked plenty of devices that don't measure well. Wilson TuneTot ($12K) speaker was one example. I am not afraid of going against the grain of objectivity when it is merited.
7. What we are doing is resonating with many. For every one example of one of you saying a well measured product sounded cold to you, I can show you a dozen people who are amazed what money spent on things that didn't matter, or performed horrible. Perso who had bought $30K worth of Chord products replaced it all with a Topping DAC for a fraction of it and is happier for it.
8. We love listening tests. We love them more than measurements. If you want to prove something using your ears, do so where only your ears are involved and we will come with you 1000%.
9. Major industry players read and participate in the forum. For some it is daily reads as a way to keep tabs on what the rest of the industry is doing and to get more data about the products in the marketplace. Major companies like Genelec, Neumann, Denon, TAD, etc. have sent and continue to send me products for review. Yes, a lot of chinese companies do as well because they have done their homework to produce truly high fidelity products with vanishingly low distortion and noise, providing utmost transparency. This way, we get to enjoy the music and not stress over whether the audio system itself is deficient.
