2. misc-audio
  3. 185168-1635

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
rja's avatar
rja
2,386 posts
 

I don't mind reading reviews based on measurements but I would never rely on them exclusively.

However, I don't like the superior snobbish attitude on that particular site.

laoman's avatar
laoman
504 posts
 

"And the same measurements are just as good as Mola Mola Tambaqui on other, way cheaper, DACs, like various Topping. Have you seen the point ranking system he has? So why in the world would you be happy spending $16,000+ in a DAC, when you can get the same measurements and points, and even more points, with a DAC costing a few hundred bucks, a small fraction of your Mola Mola"

Yes, the measurements are the same, BUT the Mola Mola 1) sounds a lot better 2) has far better build quality and is not likely to fail in a short period of time like on particular piece of Chinese crap touted by the minion master. (Does he get a cut?)

kennyc
2,123 posts
 

No, there’s a poor correlation between measurements and subjective sonic preferences.

ossicle2brain's avatar
ossicle2brain
130 posts
 

"I am curious, what cables were those two? Brand & model?"

 

Well, big surprise, there is no name on them, and I can’t find them in my order history on Amazon. They look more like brass than gold.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
14,017 posts
 

Electronic measurements of gear did not correlate linearly and perfectly  well with listenings impressions...

Paradoxically, any designer must use very precise set of recognized standards measurements as general starting point but they use after that their alchemical electrical art... But it is an art, a craft, not a mere learned technological recipe .... They learned to put  complex parameters together and figure out by experience how playing with them  to make miracles happen..

Nelson Pass or Atmasphere for example  are artists too not just engineers..

 

 But there is a more exact  correlation between acoustic and psycho-acoustic measurements and subjective experience... Exemple : Smyth realizer or virtual room acoustic with Dr. Choueri are based on  acoustic and psycho-acoustic  measurements ...

Then subjectivist and objectivist see half of the truth and are blind to the other half... They forget that the gear components must be acoustically embedded in a room to be LISTENED TO OPTIMALLY...

More to discover