Check out the photo of Amir's reference system. See any problems?
The Audio Science Review (ASR) approach to reviewing wines.
Imagine doing a wine review as follows - samples of wines are assessed by a reviewer who measures multiple variables including light transmission, specific gravity, residual sugar, salinity, boiling point etc. These tests are repeated while playing test tones through the samples at different frequencies.
The results are compiled and the winner selected based on those measurements and the reviewer concludes that the other wines can't possibly be as good based on their measured results.
At no point does the reviewer assess the bouquet of the wine nor taste it. He relies on the science of measured results and not the decidedly unscientific subjective experience of smell and taste.
That is the ASR approach to audio - drinking Kool Aid, not wine.
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@audition__audio do you have a link? |
There were two occasions. They were both some time ago. One was a few years ago when I was looking at processors, and I wanted to check out strictly measurements, so I can’t remember which one. I remember they flubbed one crucial metric, and it changed the ranking of that particular processor. I was floored, and I basically thought I can’t trust them for anything. |
I am neither an ASR hater nor lover. I think that objective measurements have a place in reviewing stereo equipment. Certainly JA adds objective measurements to the subjective review. But I think that the OP's analogy is particularly apt in demonstrating the role that subjective listening plays in audio equipment. I know that I have never bought or not bought something based on measurements rather than listening. I would imagine that it is not uncommon for something to have crappy measurements and not sound particularly good either, but ultimately, it is how something sounds in your system, and not strictly objective measurements. |
Guys, I think we need to all take a step back and realize 1 EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION. ASR DOES NOT represent nor speak for all of the audio science community. ASR = ASR ASR ≠ Measurement crowd An extremely important distinction. There are many people, both enthusiasts, and electrical engineers that do not align with how ASR do things and how ASR conclude data. You can still agree with science and measurement and still disagree with ASR. Sometimes we miss the too obvious. |
- 167 posts total