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amir makes splash on reddit
- Thread starter Chocomel
- Start date
Hadn't seen anything on this here.
Apparently Amir has riled the headphone faithful on reddit with his reviews.
iono, seems like beef to me.
Frankly, I enjoy Amir's reviews and ASR, which seem to be underfire for its "objectivist" stance.
I've learned a whooole lot here that makes sense my sense of logic.
Here's the opening screed.
"
This hobby drama write-up is centered around Audio Science Review (henceforth referred to as “ASR” for short). ASR is run by Amir, a well-known objectivist reviewer.
Now, for those who might not be familiar with audio, one of the most polarizing, fascinating subjects in the hobby is that of the subjective and the objective. The landscape of the audio world has shifted at an alarming rate in recent years. Widespread (relative) accessibility to measuring equipment has brought the latter - the objective - to increasing importance, and at the forefront of this charge is none other than ASR and Amir.
Amir started out measuring sources (so DACs, amps, and DAPs) and was met with open arms by r/headphones. Many saw him as the second coming of NwAvGuy, a respected objectivist who unfortunately went MIA years ago (his last post was in 2012!) to many readers’ dismay. The impact of Amir’s work here cannot be understated, as much of the industry has essentially been forced to shift to designs that measure well and can fare under the rigorous standards that compose an ASR source review. Case in point, forcing popular maker Schitt’s (yes, that’s their actual company name) hand with the company’s Magni 3 Heresy headphone amp. The “Heresy” part is tongue-in-cheek as the amp does not meet the company’s intended sound despite measuring well to appease the measurement crowd.
Nonetheless, for a while things were good. I mean, I certainly can’t hear the difference between 0.001 and 0.002 percent SINAD (distortion), but hey, if we’re getting things that measure better - that should objectively be better - why not? But then roughly five months ago, it happened: Amir decided to get into measuring headphones. This is where things started going downhill, and quick at that. A quick look at some more recent ASR reviews on the r/headphones subreddit will show that many of these posts sit with ~60% upvotes and no shortage of controversy in the comments. Most all have failed to make the front page altogether. As for the reasons why? Well...".
This goes into more detail(um).
I just posted this because I read it this morning on my news feeds and thought, well now.
Apparently Amir has riled the headphone faithful on reddit with his reviews.
iono, seems like beef to me.
Frankly, I enjoy Amir's reviews and ASR, which seem to be underfire for its "objectivist" stance.
I've learned a whooole lot here that makes sense my sense of logic.
Here's the opening screed.
"
This hobby drama write-up is centered around Audio Science Review (henceforth referred to as “ASR” for short). ASR is run by Amir, a well-known objectivist reviewer.
Now, for those who might not be familiar with audio, one of the most polarizing, fascinating subjects in the hobby is that of the subjective and the objective. The landscape of the audio world has shifted at an alarming rate in recent years. Widespread (relative) accessibility to measuring equipment has brought the latter - the objective - to increasing importance, and at the forefront of this charge is none other than ASR and Amir.
Amir started out measuring sources (so DACs, amps, and DAPs) and was met with open arms by r/headphones. Many saw him as the second coming of NwAvGuy, a respected objectivist who unfortunately went MIA years ago (his last post was in 2012!) to many readers’ dismay. The impact of Amir’s work here cannot be understated, as much of the industry has essentially been forced to shift to designs that measure well and can fare under the rigorous standards that compose an ASR source review. Case in point, forcing popular maker Schitt’s (yes, that’s their actual company name) hand with the company’s Magni 3 Heresy headphone amp. The “Heresy” part is tongue-in-cheek as the amp does not meet the company’s intended sound despite measuring well to appease the measurement crowd.
Nonetheless, for a while things were good. I mean, I certainly can’t hear the difference between 0.001 and 0.002 percent SINAD (distortion), but hey, if we’re getting things that measure better - that should objectively be better - why not? But then roughly five months ago, it happened: Amir decided to get into measuring headphones. This is where things started going downhill, and quick at that. A quick look at some more recent ASR reviews on the r/headphones subreddit will show that many of these posts sit with ~60% upvotes and no shortage of controversy in the comments. Most all have failed to make the front page altogether. As for the reasons why? Well...".
This goes into more detail(um).
I just posted this because I read it this morning on my news feeds and thought, well now.
D
Deleted member 27694
Guest
Names are hollow words. Arguments should matter. Just because somebody is nobody that doesn’t make arguments invalid. Einstein was pretty much a nobody when he published some of his groundbreaking works. So was Mendel...
Did some housekeeping to keep these helpful posts in one place.
Wow this guy spent a lot of time writing about amirm, maybe @amirm should find him and send him a signed photo or something.
I read through some of the monologue but felt my life was slipping through my hands like dry sand through a desperate stranded sailors fingers .
Never before have so many written so much about so little ..
I read through some of the monologue but felt my life was slipping through my hands like dry sand through a desperate stranded sailors fingers .
Never before have so many written so much about so little ..
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What I see/read is the majority of possibly paid reviewers having their laundry hung out in public by Amir’s measurements and this casts doubt on their paid/endorsed/incentivized reviews. Expected nothing less. They must try to discredit ASR to make themselves look better. Notice all the personal attacks and precious little actual measurements put up as opposing scientific evidence. Actually I saw zero science in their attempt to refute what ASR/Amir does!
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Well, in a market where quality and price are decorrelated, consistent measurements are very difficult and, rabid fans of specific brands are many, that was expected, no?
I remain unimpressed by headphones' measurements tbh. The only thing that strikes me is the near-random mix of FR responses that have been posted, randomness that could explain the decorrelation mentioned above...
I remain unimpressed by headphones' measurements tbh. The only thing that strikes me is the near-random mix of FR responses that have been posted, randomness that could explain the decorrelation mentioned above...
Fair enough, I take the “nobody” back. No name calling. My main point was the “armchair commentary”, that one stays. Nobody seems offended by it.
What it makes clear for me is that the measurements and reviews comes with enourmous responsibilty.
Amir is in a position that he cannot allow a mistake, for the critics with their axes are ready to slash him and ASR credibility.
So that is one of an achievement and a precarious position to be in.
Amir is in a position that he cannot allow a mistake, for the critics with their axes are ready to slash him and ASR credibility.
So that is one of an achievement and a precarious position to be in.
Hit! Must be striking the nerves. Revealing Pigs in lipstick to be Pigs was always going to bring the heat. The more heat the closer to the mark. Keep exposing inferior products as they measure. That is what ASR is about. Did anyone notice the Complete lack of opposing Measurements?
I got a shout out!
Yep...pretty famous now.
Apparently...
I will repeat here for posterity that there is zero evidence that @Resolve had anything to do with the weird shenanigans. That doesn't mean there weren't some weird shenanigans that were dealt with. I also sent a private note to @Resolve , who handled the situation with class.
Now...
OP
Chocomel
Active Member
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- Thread Starter
- #16
The criticism from the reviewers i saw in the ananda thread was all quite valid from what i recall. I think all of them posted or referred to Measurements to back up their points (crin/resolve/antdroid). But maybe you're referring to another thread?
Antdroid posting Measurements https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...man-ananda-review-headphone.22281/post-739884
Resolve posting Measurements including in-ear ones
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...man-ananda-review-headphone.22281/post-740115
Crinnacle referring to his Measurements
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...man-ananda-review-headphone.22281/post-739005
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Sorry, mang. I thought I was posting new.
ahhhh
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It's okay to have some debate, and buried in amongst a bunch of gripes on matters of style, a couple of valid questions were raised, such as whether channel matching on the Dan Clark Aeon RTs was acceptable, and why the variance from Oratory1990's measurements, apparently done with GRAS 43AG.
I think that's all over-the-top really, it doesn't warrant a hoo-ha. When there are differences between measurements of the same headphone you gotta make your choice as to which is the most accurate or reflecting of reality.....in my experiences with a headphone that Amir has measured (the NAD HP50) I found the measurement of Oratory's to be more accurate in terms of basing EQ off that one rather than Amir's, so I actually have a bit more faith in Oratory's measurements than Amir's (as well having more affinity for Oratory's measurement methodology of averages of multiple measurements), but I still value Amir's measurements and certainly his other more detailed measurements beyond frequency response which is not seen in Oratory's work which is "just" a frequency response & EQ. I appreciate Amir's analytical/audio scientific ability in delving into headphone measurements & drawing conclusions from the measurements (combined with listening parallels), but currently I see Oratory's measurements as more relevant for EQ purposes. I don't think it's a big deal that there can be some differences in measurements between different people taking the measurements, and that reddit article is turning it into a soap opera, it's just not that big of a deal.
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