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How much can be measured -- and how much cannot?

There has been a lot of discussion over the years on Audiogon regarding the measurement of components and other audio products. Some people claim everything is either measurable now or will one day become measurable with more sophisticated measuring equipment. But others say there are things in high end audio that will never me measurable and that measurements are really not that important.

Here is a typical example -- a quote taken from the Stereophile forum regarding their review of the Playback Designs MPS-5:

"JA 2/17/10 Review Measurements of Playback Designs MPS-5
Posted: April 13, 2011 - 8:42am

John Atkinson's 2/17/10 review measurements of the Playback Designs MPS-5 revealed less than stellar technical performance even though Michael Fremer really liked the player. I've included JA's closing measurement remarks below followed by the manufacturer's comments.

To my knowledge there was never any followup in Stereophile regarding the manufacturers reply the MPS-5 could not be adequately measured with traditional measurement techniques.

I believe Stereophile should respond to this reply in the interests of its own measurements credibility.

Len"

How important do you think measurements are? Are the ears really the only true arbiter?
sabai
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
I find this quote from Kevin Hayes of VAC very interesting:

"We require that all VAC components sound superb and measure at least reasonably well. Careful attention is paid to sound engineering principles, but we recognize that theory is just that."
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
More from Kevin Hayes of VAC:

"During this time, [voicing for the 70/70 amplifier] small changes in the physical arrangement of the parts were tested, different types of capacitors and wires were auditioned, and even various chassis materials tried. The differences often eluded the linear test bench instrumentation but were plainly audible to the human ear. This often frustrating work and attention to detail is required to bring a design to its peak of performance, and is the deciding factor between mere hi-fi and music."
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
And here is John Dunlavy:
"Oh, no. Listening comes later. Because if you stop to think about it, no loudspeaker can sound more accurate than it measures."
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
More from JohnDunlavy:
"So we try to get the greatest accuracy we can achieve from measurements. Then we begin doing what some people might call "voicing," because the best set of measurements are still open to interpretation."
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Finally, from John Dunlavy:
"So, to those who like to call us "technocrats" or whatever, we would suggest that those who design by "voicing" loudspeakers are working with an enormous number of perturbations."
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