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

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.

@chenry 

Thanks for your response, but I'm aware that he's using Spinorama.  My question isn't HOW he produces the pretty pictures, it's how he decides what is important.

Forgive me if I'm incorrect in assuming your response is out of ignorance, but all of the speakers you listed are boxes.  I'd say traditional, but Klipsch (horns, founded 1946), Magnepan (planars, original design 1969), and MartinLogan (electrostats, founded 1979) are all US companies with very high profiles in the audiophile community for 46-79 years, long enough to considered traditional in their own right.

There are also newer designs, many using the sort of drivers you would recognize, that are configured to produce dipolar or bipolar radiation patterns.  There are even omnidirectional speakers on the market now.  All of these designs have advantages & disadvantages, proponents & detractors, and will measure very different "on paper".  It may well be that Amir avoids all of these issues by sticking to domes & cones in a box, though.

I did find a thread on ASR entitled "Dipole vs Box speakers" - 5 pages long, nothing from Amir, some skeptics, some converts.  I'm not suggesting any one design concept is superior, but if this is all new to you, you might want to explore listening "out of the box".  It could change your life (or at least, sound system)!

I say what I said above because I see too many people equate

ASR = Data & Science & Facts.

Sinad and THD do not represent the entirety of science nor audio.

ASR most praised products do not sound good.

I can tell you exactly why the Topping D90SE is a mediocre product. Clearly distinguishable in a blind test.

Keep in mind the D90SE is the best measurement DAC of all time. There’s a clear disconnect here.

While on the topic of the best measured dac ever. Benchmark designer made the Benchmark Dac 1 and for years he insisted it's the best dac. It cannot be improved further.

But people did not like the Dac 1. Some years later, the Dac 2 was released.

While on the topic of the best measured dac ever. Benchmark designer made the Benchmark Dac 1 and for years he insisted it’s the best dac. It cannot be improved further.

But people did not like the Dac 1. Some years later, the Dac 2 was released.

Been there, done that. Had DAC3B. One of the least engaging DACs I’ve owned. My prior two dacs and subsequent two dacs after the Benchmark DAC3B all measured worse, and they all sounded more engaging, more fun to listen to. What’s being measured and what is being suppressed and filtered out does not always correlate for me in translation to good sound,