AUDIO SCIENCE REVIEW and $50 to spend.........

@ozzy

I have noticed there has not been any new ASR videos on the site for several months. What’s the deal? Banana rotten?

More like rotten software.  I use OBS for my videos. I recorded a near 1 hour tutorial on how to read DAC measurements.  Hit finish and realize it had only recorded 10 seconds of the video!  I check everything, record a sample and all works.  So I repeat my long tutorial again.  Hit finish and the same darn result!  Just a few seconds recorded. :( :( :(

I go and get Camtasia to try.  What awful product.  Terrible quality, no control over settings, and just unusable.  Not sure how this product has gotten so popular.  Anyway, by then it was 2 in the morning so I stopped in disgust.

Above was about two months ago.  Have not had time to go back and troubleshoot what happened all of a sudden with OBS.  Do have a few topics to cover though so will definitely post new ones, one way or the other.

@andy2

Hi Amir,

How would you propose we measure the LessLoss BlackGround 10x Power Base :-)?

Five ways:

1. Measure the sound waves coming out of different audio products. Contrary to their marketing attempts, we don’t listen to ground, power, etc. We listen to what comes out of our audio gear. If there is an effect against not using the tweak, it better show up somewhere across suite of measurements. Sometimes these products actually make the output worse so don’t assume that there is always no difference.

2. Perform a null test with music. Record the output of a DAC, amp, etc. twice. One with the thing in the loop and once without. Perform automatic analysis using Deltawave. If there is a difference, we can see if it is below threshold of noise. Otherwise, this ends the argument of "but how does it work with music."

3. Perform a blind test if we have to. I usually publish the files for #2 above and advocates of the device can listen and provide their outcomes using a proper ABX tool.

4. Perform engineering analysis of whether the claims made make sense and could possibly change circuit performance. For example, if I sold you red socks that would warm up the sound of your DAC, we both know that is not possible. We can perform the same analysis but now with engineering knowledge of design of audio gear.

5. Ask the company to back their claims with measurements, or controlled listening tests if they disagree with above. For example, the page above has this at the end: "The reason more and more BlackGrounds (and Blackbodies) are effective is that with every additional unit we are lowering and lowering this impedance path, so the results in terms of sonic purity are better and better as statistically less and less intermodulation occurs."

Well, we can easily measure intermodulation. We can also measure impedance. Let’s have them show the difference before and after on these measurement centric claims. We don’t need 100 different analogies as they have peppered in that page. Give the data to back that such effects exist. And then proof of sonic purity.

@amir_asr

Do have a few topics to cover though so will definitely post new ones, one way or the other.

Good to hear. I'd like to see you cover more headphones in future.

Particularly portable ones with or without Bluetooth.

There are something that is difficult to measure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0sANL6BamY

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. @amir_asr 

Thank you Amir !!!! SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE.

i am very happy that you posted this. since audiophiles here are all about mumbo jumbo. even my wife said so. we had a argument yesterday about my hobby and now we will NOT get divorced. You sir are a true professional. i read your website reviews --- audio science review a few times every week. You wrote about a amplifier in CLASS D that you said was excellent in some ways. It looks really nice too.

@ozzy 

buy USA bananas not from PERU or PHILLIPINES. if you need new bananas, go the grocery store. my god. talking about bananas on a audio website. unbelieveable. well thats my 2 cents for you....