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Master Thread: Are measurements Everything or Nothing?

Mikig

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Measured performance between two devices will never be identical.

The reason the sound is different is almost certainly because you aren't using any means to control for bias.

Sounding familiar yet?
I add a piece, to give a more concrete example: there are some preamplifiers that have the possibility of using solid/tubes or solid/passive. Same component, why two choices? or the possibility of using different tubes? where do they want to go?
 

BDWoody

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I add a piece, to give a more concrete example: there are some preamplifiers that have the possibility of using solid/tubes or solid/passive. Same component, why two choices? or the possibility of using different tubes? where do they want to go?

To people who buy stories about how distortion sounds better than a clean signal. That mid-fi is better than hi-fi.

At some point, you'll have enough noise and/or distortion (usually noise... Distortion in music is pretty tough to hear until it's pretty high) that it's identifiable, but mostly people hear what they want and expect and paid good money to hear (dammit!). ;)
 

JustJones

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I add a piece, to give a more concrete example: there are some preamplifiers that have the possibility of using solid/tubes or solid/passive. Same component, why two choices? or the possibility of using different tubes? where do they want to go?
What brand and model of preamplifier is this where you switch between tubes and solid state? This must be another translation mistake.
 

Mikig

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Schiit Freya+ , once again the phone with its tiny buttons….and the keyboard corrector in Italian, do not make the task easy!!!
 

DonR

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I had a dentist who waffled on about how great Schiit tube gear was and how some things simply couldn't be measured. He is no longer my dentist.
 

IAtaman

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question,
which however requires a very specific answer. so, only objective answers!!!

Why is one component different from another? for the shape, the materials used and because inside we will find a mix of parts different from each other.

could this composition of circuit parts lead to measurements equal to those of another circuit with different parts? I would say yes, we have also seen them in the reviews of this site.

and, if so, how do these internal parts affect the final sound?

usual example: two engines with the same power and the same torque, but one with 4 cylinders and one with 6. There is, even if the measurement data are the same, a difference between the two engines, they will never be identical in terms of response, noise, promptness.

I'm asking you this because it's a doubt I've had for some time. Does the set of parts that make up an electronic board give a precise sound to a componenti?
if the board layouts are totally different, will the sound at given plate sizes always be the same?

Thanks to those who want to respond!!!

PS I hope you understand the questions, it's not too easy to translate them punctually from another language... not even with a translator:)
If two engines behave the same, you can measure the difference in behavior. If their responsiveness is different, you can probably see that in their rpm vs torque graphs. If they sound different, you can see this difference in spectral analysis. If two people race two indistinguishable cars that perform 0.1% within each other, and one finished ahead of another, you'd attribute that to the driver, not to one of the cam shafts being 0.02mm wider than the other, wouldn't you?
 

HarmonicTHD

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Sorry!!!

misleading translator help and poorly asked question! I'll rephrase...

I meant: I have two different layouts, which measure the same, is the sound I get different because the layout is different? or the same because the measured performances are identical?
If they measure the same in all aspects they will sound the same.

However most devices measure a bit differently, BUT if these differences are below human hearing abilities, they will sound the same.

As someone wrote before. Everything what can be heard can be measured (as we by now have measuring capabilities orders of magnitude beyond human senses) but not everything that can be measured can be heard.
 

Galliardist

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If they measure the same in all aspects they will sound the same.

However most devices measure a bit differently, BUT if these differences are below human hearing abilities, they will sound the same.

As someone wrote before. Everything what can be heard can be measured (as we by now have measuring capabilities orders of magnitude beyond human senses) but not everything that can be measured can be heard.
I'd still use the tighter definition - if we control for all audible differences, the devices will sound the same.

In fact we have to control for all perceivable differences to cover the loose definition that they won't sound different to a human listener. Even though we cover to the extent that the sound waves in the room are the same beyond the point of audibility, the other differences can still be internalised and therefore devices "sound different".

That is to say, we can measure soundwaves all day, but we don't actually know how our brains will modify our perception using all the other information we've received.
 

ahofer

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I had a dentist who waffled on about how great Schiit tube gear was and how some things simply couldn't be measured. He is no longer my dentist.
People who are really solid in one domain becoming all superstitious or non-scientific in another is a common phenomenon (I have no opinion on your dentist). Linus Pauling is a good example. There are examples in my own extended family. Anthony Cordesman (RIP) had distinctly different approaches to his profession and his reviewing.

This is why Ad Hominem and Argument to Authority (muh auditioning experience! muh engineering degree! muh mastering experience!) is pointless. Even a stuck clock is right twice a day. You have to argue the specific facts and probabilities.
 

DonR

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People who are really solid in one domain becoming all superstitious or non-scientific in another is a common phenomenon (I have no opinion on your dentist). Linus Pauling is a good example. There are examples in my own extended family. Anthony Cordesman (RIP) had distinctly different approaches to his profession and his reviewing.

This is why Ad Hominem and Argument to Authority (muh auditioning experience! muh engineering degree! muh mastering experience!) is pointless. Even a stuck clock is right twice a day. You have to argue the specific facts and probabilities.
Everybody seems to be an expert in everything these days and all opinions seem to demand equal weight. The very fact that someone in a medical profession doesn't follow the basic principles of science is a red flag to me.
 

ahofer

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Everybody seems to be an expert in everything these days and all opinions seem to demand equal weight.
True. It's always worth listening to someone with specific relevant experience. If Sean Olive or Floyd Toole weigh in on speaker preferences, I'm listening, whereas I might triage my attention if it is someone without specific expertise who has promoted nonsense. But once you've done the attention triage, the specific arguments still need to be judged on relevant evidence.
 

Blumlein 88

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I've avoided this issue personally by being an expert at nothing. Therefore I can talk with equal credibility about almost anything. Then of course no one should listen to me.
 

Anton D

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Saw this awesome measuring all in one at a flea market!

IMG_1415-L.jpg


:eek:
 

Blumlein 88

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P.M.P.O is I guess Peak Music Power Output. Or as I refer to it Peak Malarky Power Output.
 
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