The Audio Science Review (ASR) approach to reviewing wines.

Here’s my issue with ASR

Several years ago when building a stereo system I discovered ASR who strongly recommended the Benchmark line. I purchased their DAC, Pre and Amp. While I found I was mostly satisfied with the result. Then after a few years I became dissatisfied with how clinical the sound seemed. I particularly was not happy with how the upper mids and lower treble were presented and found them somewhat bright and up front. So eventually over several months I replaced the Benchmak units. When I posted on ASR that I found an amplifier that sounded much better to me than the Benchmark (the Accuphase P4600) I was told there was no way any amp would sound better than the Benchmark since it tested perfectly. I was imagining it. I had convinced myself it was better since I spent the money. I told them I had compared several amps to the Benchmark (Bryston, Mac, NAD) using my speakers and DAC and the Bryston and Accuphase were noticeably superior. They refused to believe it and basically told me I was delusional. Seemed pretty rigid in thinking. Refused to believe any amp would noticeably audibly perform better than the Benchmark in my system. Seemed a little cult like to me as there are some there that can be quite hardcore.

@hilde45 "Measurements" is too crude a word. @prof was pointing at this issue and this comment ignores it.

Some measurements are, say, 2nd harmonic distortions -- those may upset some at ASR, but the rest of us understand that those measurements are NOT aligned with "bad sound" as some of us experience that. (Others here do NOT like that 2nd harmonic. So, this varies.)

ASRs whole approach of anything that measures bad sounds bad, and the inability to describe how things sound or what people prefer sometimes - is a nonstarter for me. It all comes back to what people hear and what they enjoy most, and no metric tells us this very well. The human ear/brain is sophisticated, and enjoys a lot more than todays graphs demonstrate. I believe today’s sensors and tools fall short, by a lot.

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Tube amplifiers are known for their "euphonic" distortions, which can add a pleasant warmth and richness to the sound. Tube amplifiers tend to produce even-order harmonic distortion, which is more musical and pleasing to the ear.

Even-order harmonic distortion means that the distortion components are harmonically related to the original signal, creating a sound that is perceived as fuller and more natural. This type of distortion can enhance the listening experience, especially for musicians. I’d rather ask a musician what they prefer.

@hilde45   nice post.  Only thing I’d add @toronto416 is that, with respect to power conditioning products, I think one can make a much stronger case for a measurements-first mentality there than for virtually any other product.  The point is to “filter out noise” or “lower the noise floor”.  These are very easy to measure, and I would argue harder to objectively and consistently hear.  So it is precisely for these sorts of products that ASR is most useful, in my view, particularly as it’s an area of the industry most prone to fraud and misrepresentation.  If someone says their products filter the AC mains, why on god’s green earth wouldn’t you want someone to measure that for you before you spent a dime of your hard-earned money?  

While Amir is definitely aloud to have his opinion, it’s rarely shared by me, so I haven’t looked at his channel in years.

I’d ask the clown car that does freq domain snapshots to measure my violins or my piano....bet that would go well/swell...

"Bad violin", said the dingus dumbernicus...