Audio measurement gear

[amirm]

Indeed. My wrist watch has both. I used the digital part for other time zones and rely on analog for everyday time.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I still rock one of these Simpsons in addition to digital meters. Mine is from the mid 1970's and I have had it since the mid 1980's.

 

[amirm]

The simpson is where it is (was) at.

 

[watchnerd]

I still rock one of these Simpsons in addition to digital meters. Mine is from the mid 1970's and I have had it since the mid 1980's.

OMG!

 

[fas42]

DIY Distortion Measurement - a very interesting presentation just posted, from Burning Amp,

 

[watchnerd]

DIY Distortion Measurement - a very interesting presentation just posted, from Burning Amp,

Who is Burning Amp and what's the premise?

(sorry, but I don't really have an hour to waste on some rando's theory....)

 

[amirm]

Looks like it is a yearly get together in Bay Area: http://www.burningamp.org/

 

[Blumlein 88]

Who is Burning Amp and what's the premise?

(sorry, but I don't really have an hour to waste on some rando's theory....)

The emphasis is on DIY gear. Which is why DIY measurement presentation.

I seem to remember they have an annual amp contest too. Lots of high end designers take part. Like Demian Martin of Spectral and Nelson Pass.

 

[fas42]

The other chap, Jonathan Novick, is/was the head sales guy for Audio Precision, and at one point describes how his biggest competitor is ebay - why buy the latest AP unit, when early models from his company come up for sale, at excellent prices?

It's really about the mindset when measuring - how to understand what you're measuring, and the significance of the numbers; also history of measurement gear, how techniques have changed, the qualities of older devices.

In the context of what this thread has been about, it was a natural fit.

 

[amirm]

DIY Distortion Measurement - a very interesting presentation just posted, from Burning Amp,

That was an excellent video for this audio measurement junkie. While I was aware of some of the history, the gray haired guy explained the full story and was an enjoyable watch. For anyone thinking to get into measurements on the cheap, this is a must watch (on why you may not want to!).

 

[Superdad]

(sorry, but I don't really have an hour to waste on some rando's theory....)

Do you seriously not know who Demian Martin is? Spectral, Monster, Constellation, and on an on. The man has close to two dozen patents to his name. Sheesh...

 

[RayDunzl]

Do you seriously not know who Demian Martin is?

I don't.

The man has close to two dozen patents to his name.

Hmm...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prolific_inventors

 

[amirm]

I don't.

I don't either.

 

[Superdad]

I don't either.

Well then surely you have heard of at least some of the companies he has founded or served as chief engineer for:
Spectral
Monster
Entec
Rockport
Sound Technology
Constellation Audio
NuForce
Crosby Audio Works

Here is a link to pages of patents with his name on them: https://patents.justia.com/inventor/demian-martin

 

[amirm]

Well then surely you have heard of at least some of the companies he has founded or served as chief engineer for:
Spectral
Monster
Entec
Rockport
Sound Technology
Constellation Audio
NuForce
Crosby Audio Works

Sure heard a lot of them. Just that it is not unusual to not know the people behind them.

 

[RayDunzl]

The names unfamiliar to me are Entec, Sound Technology, and Crosby.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I too am surprised you fellows didn't know who Demian Martin was. I first became aware of him way back when as the designer of early Spectral gear. The preamps and amps were extraordinarily good. Owned one of the DMA50's for some years. Was loaned one of his Spectral pre's by Jim Smith for a time (which I would have purchased in a second if I had the money at the time).

 

[watchnerd]

Do you seriously not know who Demian Martin is? Spectral, Monster, Constellation, and on an on. The man has close to two dozen patents to his name. Sheesh...

Nope, never heard of him.

I've heard of most of those companies you listed. I'd only consider a few (Spectral) to be particularly noteworthy.

I'd be much more interested to hear from someone who worked for Crown or IcePower.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Nope, never heard of him.

I've heard of most of those companies you listed. I'd only consider a few (Spectral) to be particularly noteworthy.

I'd be much more interested to hear from someone who worked for Crown or IcePower.

Well that might indicate Spectral's advertising worked exactly as desired.

Oh, they didn't do advertising. It was word of mouth and seeing/hearing them in select dealers. Though sometimes mentioned in the Stereophile and TAS, they attempted to prevent reviews of their gear early on. I think perhaps when they made a CD player is when they first cooperated with having it reviewed. They thought it very important to use only their gear in a system, and also later agreed to let one of their complete systems be reviewed. One reason for their insistence on this was both the pre and power amp had more than a megahertz of flat bandwidth. One might need care (especially with the power amp and connecting interconnects) not to let some spurious signals smoke some downstream gear.

 

[dallasjustice]

Is the Averlab comparable to AP? I believe this is Jonathan Novick’s new product. $3,000 seems like a reasonable price for high performance test gear.
https://www.avermetrics.com/products/averlab/