AVS Thread: Does anyone base there [sic] buys off audiosciencereview?

[Deleted member 23982]

yea, the topping d10 review here on ASR made me buy it a while ago measurements really help to "quantify" but they are unfortunaly not everything/the whole story

 

[Spkrdctr]

Due to the testing Amir does, I am doing a clean sweep of my entire system. It is all going up for sale and I will be starting over. So, yes I'm making decisions on Amir's information he provides for free!

 

[H-713]

I look at Amir's measurements, but choose to form my own conclusions based on those measurements. The measurements (assuming they are honest and not tampered with) will be unbiased, and are a useful tool in deciding if a particular piece of equipment is suitable for an application.

Amir's subjective impressions and his interpretation of the measurements is naturally going to cary some bias, which can range from "my favorite team is losing today and my dog chewed on my expensive Asian rug" to "their marketing rubbed me the wrong way" to "my best friend is the lead engineer at this company". This is true of any human in this position, so unless Amir is a bot then he isn't going to be unbiased.

ASR measurements are a useful tool and are very interesting to look at for analog nerds like myself, but some people seem to worship Amir as a god.

One thing that I have noticed is that the default assumption around here seems to be that any equipment that measures poorly must be built and sold by science-denying scammers, so I can see why there are some adverse reactions to this forum.

 

[enioentity]

Im relative new here but i definitely search here for information about wanted purchases and will do so in the future! I bought polk r200, and topping e50/l50 stack when i read the experiences/measurements here. i also im following other audio related sources!

 

[LightninBoy]

I wouldn't blame him. If my real name was J. Atkinson, I would use it and be rightly pissed if people asked me to change MY name because some other dude shares it. And, in the current context (see recent threads), I am not sure J. Atkinson's name rhymes with unadulterated objectivity

 

[jsrtheta]

It’s hardly unprecedented. Doesn’t SAG have a rule that only one actor may perform under a given name?

SAG-AFTRA does, so does Actor's Equity. Hence "William H. Macy" instead of "Bill Macy", which is what we all called him in Chicago.

 

[jsrtheta]

This site has been incredibly informative to me. Especially since there are WAY more manufacturers than when audio components were bigger and the computer was in another room and attached only to a printer.

For anyone navigating the bazillion Chinese makers, this site is essential.

 

[acetogen]

I bought the AIYIMA A07 TPA3255 directly from Amir's review. SO helpful the measurements, to sort out what is good amongst this liar-full category. Sounds fine!

The cheapaudioman reviewed the AIYIMA A08 on the 30th. The next day the price jumped 40% from $116 to $160 (that's right overnight). I wonder whether ASR has that level of "pull". I regret not ordering it but January is going to be a tight month for me.

 

[audio2design]

I have a feeling that by volume of purchases ASR is the most influential site with "audiophiles" and certainly for DACs.

 

[RichB]

I have a feeling that by volume of purchases ASR is the most influential site with "audiophiles" and certainly for DACs.

It is a sea change when audiophiles embrace measurements.

—Rich

 

[audio2design]

It is a sea change when audiophiles embrace measurements.

—Rich

It's a return to normal really. Manufacturers used to supply them even.

 

[RichB]

It's a return to normal really. Manufacturers used to supply them even.

The author of "AVS Thread: Does anyone base there [sic] buys off audiosciencereview?" shows disdain, if not ignorance, for measurements.
I suspect that this position is designed to gain favor with advertisers, many of which, consider measurements as risky.

Still, I hope that manufacturers return to providing SOTA baseline performance.

- Rich

 

[CtheArgie]

The title tells you they are ignorant of grammar too. They seem to confuse there and their....

 

[tvrgeek]

I have recently purchased Gustard X16 based on ASR's recommendation and couldn't be happier with both the accuracy of the review and the experienced sound quality of this product.

That was next on my list, but happy with JDS for a lot less.

 

[Xulonn]

The title tells you they are ignorant of grammar too. They seem to confuse there and their....

Indeed. There is also a misuse of "off" vs "on". I indeed do sometimes make decisions based "on" what I read at ASR.

Although I do not ridicule people for such carelessness or sloppiness with ad hominem attacks, basic grammatical errors like that tell me that the writer is not rigorous and disciplined in their thinking.

 

[Descartes]

Also Amir has no incentive to falsify outside the very narrow range of products that Madrona Digital distributes and which he clearly discloses. I would say that ASR is similar to the Kelley Blue Book.

I think that making a purchase decision of audio equipment without looking for the product review on this site is not a smart decision. You can trim your purchase list down pretty quickly once independent measurements are included.

Erin also seems unbiased using scientific data! Having multiple independent scientific reviews are the only way, then of course personal opinions come in play!
But at least Amir and Erin reviews help narrowing down the list of what to experience for yourself!

The problem with most other reviewers is they have huge conflict of interest with advertising and especially all the rags pushing products!

A lot of them are not going to bites the hand that feed them!

 

[Descartes]

Due to the testing Amir does, I am doing a clean sweep of my entire system. It is all going up for sale and I will be starting over. So, yes I'm making decisions on Amir's information he provides for free!

I sold all my B&W speakers

 

[acetogen]

Erin also seems unbiased using scientific data! Having multiple independent scientific reviews are the only way, then of course personal opinions come in play!
But at least Amir and Erin reviews help narrowing down the list of what to experience for yourself!

The problem with most other reviewers is they have huge conflict of interest with advertising and especially all the rags pushing products!

A lot of them are not going to bites the hand that feed them!

Exactly, what is needed is a system of knowledge generation about audio equipment reviews, sort of similar to the scientific journals. If several "labs" review the same equipment and model (even exchange the exact unit that was evaluated) then a type of consensus can be achieved on what is "progress", in the sense that at some point developing a DAC with better SNR becomes insignificant, or developing a scale of performance/price like ASR does. Unfortunately no one else is pursuing those goals outside ASR and Erin. The "labs" will have to be self-funded, such as pay-to-test, or via donations, in order to guarantee independence. One problem will be a lot of audio companies will have to go belly up. This happens all the time both in the academic and industrial scientific research areas due to lack of productivity.

 

[Descartes]

Exactly, what is needed is a system of knowledge generation about audio equipment reviews, sort of similar to the scientific journals. If several "labs" review the same equipment and model (even exchange the exact unit that was evaluated) then a type of consensus can be achieved on what is "progress", in the sense that at some point developing a DAC with better SNR becomes insignificant, or developing a scale of performance/price like ASR does. Unfortunately no one else is pursuing those goals outside ASR and Erin. The "labs" will have to be self-funded, such as pay-to-test, or via donations, in order to guarantee independence. One problem will be a lot of audio companies will have to go belly up. This happens all the time both in the academic and industrial scientific research areas due to lack of productivity.

Instead of going bust, audio companies may improve their products and consumers will win!

 

[acetogen]

Instead of going bust, audio companies may improve their products and consumers will win!

And the companies will win too. This is how the Korean and Japanese electronics became successful.