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Did Amir Change Your Mind About Anything?

It’s easy to make snide remarks like “yes- I do the opposite of what he says.”  And in some respects I agree, but if you do that, this is just going to be taken down. So I’m asking a serious question. Has ASR actually changed your opinion on anything?  For me, I would say 2 things. I am a conservatory-trained musician and I do trust my ears. But ASR has reminded me to double check my opinions on a piece of gear to make sure I’m not imagining improvements. Not to get into double blind testing, but just to keep in mind that the brain can be fooled and make doubly sure that I’m hearing what I think I’m hearing. The second is power conditioning. I went from an expensive box back to my wiremold and I really don’t think I can hear a difference. I think that now that I understand the engineering behind AC use in an audio component, I am not convinced that power conditioning affects the component output. I think. 
So please resist the urge to pile on. I think this could be a worthwhile discussion if that’s possible anymore. I hope it is. 

chayro
cd318
2,636 posts
 

ASR hasn't just changed my mind on things such as the importance of measurements, the respect for the science of audio (Toole, Olive, Choueri, Barton, Shaw etc), the acknowledgment of the work done by professional broadcasting manufacturers (Genelec, KEF, Neumann etc) it's also changed the way more and more reviewers are now recognising the increasing need to back up their subjective opinions with hard science.

 

@gosta 

Most I think he should get some thanks for fighting the industry.

 

Absolutely he should.

Unlike almost virtually every other reviewer he relies almost solely upon the goodwill and kind donations of his readers. The ASR forum has certainly changed the way we look at audio and there's no going back now.

Of course some manufacturers and dealers will always be less than pleased with his conclusions, and we should expect that as they are trying to push product. Selling is their business - numbers, units, turnover, dollars, pounds etc.

However, for us the potential consumer, it's all good news. Highly detailed and backed up with a generous presentation courtesy of the Klippel NFS technology. Technology that the likes of Ascend Acoustics are now employing in the development of future loudspeakers

 

Lastly, lest we forget, Amir nearly always includes his own listening impressions at the end of each review.

 

What's not to like?

Post removed 
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,922 posts
 

Name dropping leaders in their audio fields with Amir does a disservice to them. They used measurements to create and ensure great audio products whereas Amir uses measurements to tear them down. Not even close to the same thing.

It's like citing the science and work behind the internet and saying Elmo is a genius.

All the best,
Nonoise

Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
6,011 posts
 

cd318

The ASR forum has certainly changed the way we look at audio and there’s no going back now.

Who is "we"? How has ASR changed audio? Do you think he was the first to take measurements?

Amir nearly always includes his own listening impressions at the end of each review.

If you’re not listening to every piece you measure, you have no way of correlating measurements with sonic results. That he can’t be bothered to listen to everything he measures speaks volumes about him, and his opinion of himself.

mitch2
4,084 posts
 

It’s just data, so my answer is no.

No different than other reviewers, Amir has his own bias.  Yet, some here seem to freak out at the mention of his name.  Earlier this year, Amir gave a positive review to the Hypex NCx500 Class D Amplifier.  This is likely to cause at least a few cases of internal consternation in people who have been waiting for a good-sounding, lower priced, class D amplifier, yet can’t bring themselves to purchase anything recommended by Amir.

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