Agree or disagree with the following statement.


Trying to get some input on an issue that a few of us are debating.

Statement:

If you have never listened to any particular component, you can't have an opinion on how it sounds.

Answer:

I don't agree with that. Measurements provide a fairly good indication of how something will sound. That's the beauty of science -- it's not necessary to have first hand experience to make reasonable judgments. You likely disagree and that could be a difference in our background and education."

So, the issue at hand is, can tell how a component sounds without listening to it, and just go on specs? Or, do you have to listen to it, as well, because the specs don't tell the whole story?
zd542

All equipment reviews should have full test measurements, otherwise your at the mercy of reviewers bias and or poetic babble and if the reviewed piece was matched or mismatched to the rest of the system.

By reading and "understanding" all the review "measurements tests" on Stereophile, one can "usually" gauge what a component will do or sound like when it's matched or mismatched with other components.

All reviews should be this informative, and it would be nice for Stereophile to bring back "capacitive stability load testing" of amps into 1k and 10k square waves, which they drop 20 odd years ago, as this told a lot of what an amp was designed like.

I asked JA why this "stability test" was dropped, was it because it taking out too many unstable amps on the test bench, the answer was a coy yes, I thought this is a good test as then the consumer would stay away from such a poor design. I remember if the early Naim 250 was even in the same room as a pair of Quad57's it would blow up. That's how unstable it was.

Cheers George
"02-19-15: Tls49

Totally agree with Al on this one, and for those that rely heavily on specs,
here's some for you,"

Is that braille, or is there something wrong with my monitor?
Al as usual spot on. I pitty the fool who buys on specs without using his own ears as the final factor. Now one understands why so much used equipment is for sale.
Not being able to understand specs worth a tinker's fart I have this ball made of crystal which allows me to see and hear things. Really.

All the best,
Nonoise