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The criticisms that people have of this site are ridiculous. People can be a little worrisome.

Hypnotoad

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However, my new PC has a SSD, and that has changed. I'd advise anyone to get one of those, if their motherboard can accept it.

My wife has a Toshiba i3 laptop, it was as slow as a slug to boot up, I put in a WD SSD, it's like a scolded cat now, SSD's are the way to go.
 

Totoro

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Agreed, unity blows.
Unity has been dead since 18.04 came out. I used xubuntu (Ubuntu with xfce) for years in order to avoid unity. These days I have Ubuntu with gnome on my personal desktop and laptop and xubuntu on my workstation, and the way I have them set up they feel about the same.
 

Totoro

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I have 18.04 installed on a desktop, and I thought the desktop was Unity. It certainly looks and feels like Unity, but it in fact is GNOME 3.
Yeah, they added their own dockbar. I still like Xfce a little better, but figure The system76 laptops have all the correct drivers, and they even go to sleep and wake up perfectly. My Lenovo at work with xubuntu doesn’t.
 

Totoro

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I have 18.04 installed on a desktop, and I thought the desktop was Unity. It certainly looks and feels like Unity, but it in fact is GNOME 3.
If you don’t like that version of gnome, you might like xfce better, I think the multiple workspace management is a lot better in xfce (more old fashioned), but otherwise I’m pretty agnostic. A few people I know like mint a lot too.
 

Totoro

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I don't know. I've not tried it on my 2006 Dell laptop with 32-bit Intel T2400 CPU, integrated graphics, and 2GB of RAM. I'm using LXLE, which is a very complete and elegant LXDE/Ubuntu-based distro for older computers. LXLE seems to have been on hiatus since Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, but it still runs well and gets security updates. LXQt- or Enlightenment-based versions of LXLE may be coming in the future.
Oh, I didn’t even know about that one. I worked with somebody who swore by Lubuntu, which used to have lxde.
 
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Zerimas

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I hate people.

Ironic that they fool themselves into thinking that Amir does what he does just out of the goodness of his heart. Don’t be fooled, faithful Amir followers, it’s all about the money. He’s interested in building a site to make money. Always follow the money, it’s what motivates action. All review sites start off giving the impression of good intentions, but they all end up serving themselves in the end. He’s already proposed the idea of Amazon product links, manufacturer sponsorship, advertiser endorsement, etc. It’s only a matter of time. And when you current regulars complain that he’s sold out, or changed direction, he’ll just label you a troll and have you censored and banned. Then, a new group of loyal followers will replace you. It happens the same way, every time.
Some highlights:

My eyes just glaze over when I see frequency graphs. I couldn't care less what a machine *hears*. I'd rather read some arrogant "audiophile's" impressions, then ignore them and buy what I think I'll like.

Yeah, because what you "hear" is total unrelated to any sort physical phenomena, or external factors at all. I guess audio equipment works on the principle of magic or something. You put on a record and the sounds magically appear inside your head. All the electricity, speakers vibrating et cetera is irrelevant. It is actually magic. And everyone knows that belt-driven turntables from Europe have the most power magic of all which is why they sound better. The magic doesn't work on machines I guess, so whatever it is they are recording is totally irrelevant. :rolleyes:

I'd reconsider the 'doesn't shill' part considering how much he tries to push those ****** topping dacs.

Those DACs that measure well and seem to do what they are supposed to? I've never used one, but I see no reason to conclude that they are "******". I've never heard a NOS filterless DAC, but I am pretty sure they are ******. They flagrantly disregard the theoretical basis for the construction of the such a device. Even it sounded "fine" I would still call it a POS. Aside: I am only going to refer to NOS DACs as "POS DACs". I am pretty stupid and know nothing about signal processing. I don't pretend to understand how oversampling works. I am reasonably sure that it provides many benefits without downside—unless you are too lazy/cheap to implement it.

Go check out the D50 drop discussion, a bunch of “let me drop an audioscience link and leave.” ive noticed that too. I have no clue what he using to measure the topping dacs (like the D50) but he pretty much trashes anything when compared against Topping. Even the SMSL SU8.

Yeah, taking measurements and then posting them is "trashing" another product. It is 100% Amir's fault that some products have measurements that aren't as objectively good as other products.

Yes, he said that exact quote about AP guys when they contradicted his methods. He said he knows their machines better than they do. I also strongly suspect there’s some relationship between Amir and Topping. Their products have far more fault — safety, reliability, etc. — than anything of Schiit’s, yet there are rarely detailed nitpicking tear downs of Topping products looking for solder splatter, etc. The funny part, though, is that all of the Topping threads on ASR are full of people with faulty units, yet none of them seem to detect the pattern. Amir recommended it, so it must be good

I'm going to look at the Topping DAC reviews, but I am pretty fairly sure this is BS. I guess I am part of the "cult". I don't even think this forum exhibits a high degree of "group think"—unless "reasoning from evidence" and logic are now somehow highly ideological.

I hate people.
 

Hugo9000

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I hate people.





Yeah, because what you "hear" is total unrelated to any sort physical phenomena, or external factors at all. I guess audio equipment works on the principle of magic or something. You put on a record and the sounds magically appear inside your head. All the electricity, speakers vibrating et cetera is irrelevant. It is actually magic. And everyone knows that belt-driven turntables from Europe have the most power magic of all which is why they sound better. The magic doesn't work on machines I guess, so whatever it is they are recording is totally irrelevant. :rolleyes:



Those DACs that measure well and seem to do what they are supposed to? I've never used one, but I see no reason to conclude that they are "******". I've never heard a NOS filterless DAC, but I am pretty sure they are ******. They flagrantly disregard the theoretical basis for the construction of the such a device. Even it sounded "fine" I would still call it a POS. Aside: I am only going to refer to NOS DACs as "POS DACs". I am pretty stupid and know nothing about signal processing. I don't pretend to understand how oversampling works. I am reasonably sure that it provides many benefits without downside—unless you are too lazy/cheap to implement it.



Yeah, taking measurements and then posting them is "trashing" another product. It is 100% Amir's fault that some products have measurements that aren't as objectively good as other products.



I'm going to look at the Topping DAC reviews, but I am pretty fairly sure this is BS. I guess I am part of the "cult". I don't even think this forum exhibits a high degree of "group think"—unless "reasoning from evidence" and logic are now somehow highly ideological.

I hate people.
At least someone in the comments there kindly shared that nice pic of Amir with his Emmy! (Hmm, I was going to use a "heart eyes" emoji, but just noticed there isn't one available! What the heck. haha!) Don't worry, I swear I'm not a stalker! :D
Amir with his Emmy Award.jpg


Here is my other favorite pic of a Microsoft alum:

Bill Gates sm.png
 
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Zerimas

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At least someone in the comments there kindly shared that nice pic of Amir with his Emmy! (Hmm, I was going to use a "heart eyes" emoji, but just noticed there isn't one available! What the heck. haha!) Don't worry, I swear I'm not a stalker! :D
View attachment 31250

Here is my other favorite pic of a Microsoft alum:

View attachment 31252

I was unaware of Amir's background. I was just too lazy to look into it. I never really had any doubts about his credibility. I mean he is one of the very few people that bothers to take measurements period and he doesn't work for a hi-fi magazine—that makes him more credible than just about everyone else.
 
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Zerimas

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I would also react angrily if someone made me look that silly.

Except the popular narrative is that Amir with his "scientific method" is the "silly" out of the two parties. The ones who are reacting angrily seem to be pretty successful at convincing everyone else that they are not the foolish ones.
 

AndrewDavis

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I missed Bill Gates' sleepy eyed teenage heartthrob phase. Wow! He's like a smart James Dean.

When's Amir's glamour shot coming out?
 

AndrewDavis

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Except the popular narrative is that Amir with his "scientific method" is the "silly" out of the two parties. The ones who are reacting angrily seem to be pretty successful at convincing everyone else that they are not the foolish ones.

Philistines!

Looking for a meme I googled "can't fix stupid" and look what I found! It seems that careful study and has actually already shown that you indeed can't fix stupid.

Rutter: Science finally proves you can't fix stupid
 
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Zerimas

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Jorj

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I hate people.

Aww, it's not all that bad. Yes, there is a planet full of idiots out there who will through ignorance and\or willful self-delusion happily trash all that has gone before. Try explaining to your average audiophile that without a basic mathematical intuition of how FFT works, they simply are too uneducated to speak rationally about the validity of established audio test metrics. It will not go well. All that aside, Amir is doing the job that had been lacking for so long. We needed the data, and for those of us who understand how the tests work and that they are more than sufficient to wring out the objective performance characteristics of an audio component, this site is just delightful. Haters gonna hate.
 
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Zerimas

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Aww, it's not all that bad. Yes, there is a planet full of idiots out there who will through ignorance and\or willful self-delusion happily trash all that has gone before. Try explaining to your average audiophile that without a basic mathematical intuition of how FFT works, they simply are too uneducated to speak rationally about the validity of established audio test metrics. It will not go well. All that aside, Amir is doing the job that had been lacking for so long. We needed the data, and for those of us who understand how the tests work and that they are more than sufficient to wring out the objective performance characteristics of an audio component, this site is just delightful. Haters gonna hate.

Maybe I am just a "naive cultist". After all I can't do the math myself to verify how FFT works. I guess audiophiles would think me a simpleton for blindly trusting in the numerous devices (like, I don't know, a musical synthesizer or something) and applications that make use of FFT.

Yep totally naive for believing that when Nyquist and Shannon stated that a 44.1kHz sampling rate is sufficient to capture and reproduce all audible frequencies. I am basically a "sheep" for believing that my personal (subjective) experience with the technology based on that idea (the CD player) was meaningful. Obviously 192kHz is a more biggerer number and therefore better. What am I supposed to do? People keep telling me to "trust my ears", but my ears are obviously "wrong" for thinking that a CD player actually works. o_O
 

Pluto

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Those [Topping] DACs that measure well and seem to do what they are supposed to? I've never used one
Well, I have both a DX7s and D70 and can confirm –

i) that they are both amongst the nicest DACs I have ever heard, and that includes two at 15 - 20 times the price of the Topping units and one considerably more expensive still. All of the units I refer to here were so very similar that any distinction between them was all but instantly forgettable, and certainly not worth the additional thousands being asked for them.

ii) that when I perform a silent level-matched switch between the DX7s and D70 there is, sometimes, a minute audible difference between them, but it is truly minute and entirely irrelevant in the real world (and, in any case, not audible on all recordings).

It appears to me that there are some so-called audiopiles who simply cannot accept that DAC technology is more or less cooked to the point where a few hundred dollars can bring home a unit that vastly exceeds the aural capability of most homo sapiens. I dare say that it hurts even more if that individual has "invested" many thousands in a sound that can now be bought for a few hundred. And…

I shall attempt to explain this next point as concisely as I am able – I get rather concerned about all the self-styled experts who try this, that or the other DAC in their system and promptly shout-off about its qualities, good or bad, without considering the impact that the rest of their system (mainly the speakers and the room they're in) has on the apparent result. As a crude example – if you have sharp, toppy speakers you may well perceive a dull DAC as correct and a flat, neutral DAC as harsh. Those who shout the loudest about what bits of kit they believe to be right or wrong, based purely on theirs or their mate's listening, are those who should be the least believed.
 

daftcombo

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I was in a HiFi store yesterday. The seller was trying to sell a guy a 3.000 $ "theater bar".

When I got back home, the idea struck me that ASR is a public sanity website.
 
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