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

@soundfield 

Exactly! There was a perfect opportunity to clearly state that most of your measurements fall well below audibility thresholds AND, even if they are perceptible, there is no clear evidence one is preferred over another.

And how do you know if some product falls in the "most" category or the other?  By measuring!!!  You don't just sniff the box, look at the price or reputation and decide that.  You measure.  Then you know.

Of course you are just waiving your hand on that "most" bit.  You have no background in psychoacousts, measurements or even electronic design.  You have never participated in a single blind test presented to you.  So what you are spitting out are just claims.

Here is the good news though: superlative measured results cost next to nothing.  So if you are purchasing something new, there is no reason to settle for "just enough fidelity."  You can get to what I call provably transparent.  There, we compare the measurements to threshold of hearing (which is determined by listening tests).  If the equipment has less noise and distortion than this, then those factors are simply not in play and we can prove it!

The moment you go above that level, then it becomes shades of gray which requires interpretation.  A skill that our soundfield friend does not remotely have.

You do ZERO valid listening tests. Yet you not only "Rank', but routinely "Not recommend" products based solely on measurements with zero listening test correlation.

I have post numerous blind tests that I have passed.  We ask people to run blind, level matched tests.  And when they do, backed by training and skill they have, across countless such challenges, you jump up and down claiming they must have cheated.  Well, you are dead wrong and have no proof of it.  In the video I post on listener training, I actually explained how I passed Archimago high res challenge.  Ah, you don't like the fact that I knew what impairment to look for.  Well, that is how a proper listening test is done.  We want listeners to know what to listen for.  We don't want to stick our head in the sand by removing that skill and hoping to get negative outcome, the reality be damned.

Yes, it is inconvenient for likes of you to see someone like me disprove your ideas of inaudibility.  Tough.  Next time learn the topic itself and not just repeat talking points that nothing can sound better than something else.

Finally, I looked at your website.  There is no measurements of any speakers except for one random one with no documentation.  Surely you don't claim that speaker measurements are of no use, are you?  You are not that deep into subjectivity, are you? 

Then I saw this bit of absurdity on your home page:

"Our products reflect the philosophy that loudspeakers should strive to sound like the real thing. "Hi Fidelity" once meant exactly that. If you know what live acoustic music sounds like, you will appreciate our products."

Oh really?  How does a speaker convert a microphone recorded content into the sound of the real thing?  Magic?  You have some scientific research to link to that states anything remotely like this?  Or is it that when it comes to selling speakers, you are just as bad as the next guy in ignoring audio science and engineering?

Distortion level detection is not what the human ears do well ...We do not perceive distortion in itself we perceive natural and musical sounds WE RECOGNiZE...

This is precisely the problem...

You use blind test to confirm your linear measuring tool and design in the symmetrical time domain... The problem is human hearing dont work in this way and in this time dimension, human hearing is non linear and time dependant  , he is sensible to natural sounds, and music not to distorsion "per se" as an electrical measuring tool ...We dont listen sine wave function in real life...

We dont speak the same language...

The physicist Hans Van Maanen explain it completely i dont expect you will read it... You are on your technological blind crusade...

 

They were no mere "tweaks" as you sarcastically claim..

They were mostly a balance between absorbtion/reflection/and diffusion materials for my room..

I used a grid of Helmholtz resonators of my own making and my own method to increase and inmprove my speakers soundfield performance ... It was not perfect but there was no comparison between before and after...

Then instead of mocking my experiments successful for me in acoustic at no costs, why not answering me about the Magnasco and Oppenheim experiments about hearing and the uncertainty limit and his implication for audio improvement...

Why not answering the articles and video of Dr, Hans Van Maanen?

You resort to ad hominem mocking me as arguments ? Do you think when i post these photos that i was afraid of idiots mocking me on apperance ? 😊

my room was unesthetical but very revelatory about the power of acoustic treatment and control...

other interesting post of you ?

Loosing my house and room, i was sad but i modified akg K340 headphone and i am very happy listening music again thanks to Dr.Gorike for this amazin successful hybrid headphone..

 

@mahgister

 

I’m curious: what happened to the photos of your virtual system on Audiogon?

The...uh...very interesting layout of your tweaks?

 

@amir_asr You continue to ignore my questions surrounding why Erin’s video thread was closed and locked? Please don’t reply with you didn’t take down the video. I never insinuated that. I want to know why you closed a thread you detailed yourself.

As for the monetizing your business, my point was when I first found your website and liked the reviews I found Madrona and saw that you carry them. If I’ve done that others have. You mean to tell me you have never earned a single penny from a commercial or residential contract for your brick and mortar business that was referred by ASR. I find that highly improbable.

If you don’t care about money which I again don’t believe or one millisecond, and it’s not a motivator then why do you care if a video from YouTube is on your website. It only gives you more users and traffic. Puzzling.

 

@mahgister 

I'm sorry to hear of the circumstances that led to the change in your system!

I'm glad you can still enjoy audio.