Not true of many car publications. For example, Edmonds and Consumer Reports buys them from dealers. A better analogy is expecting your local Chevy dealer to test every car on the lot on a dynamometer to ensure the engine produces the exact HP listed on the window. Doesn't happen anywhere.Cars sent out to reviewers are usually selected and tested thoroughly before doing so, so sorry but poor analogy, even for a car one.
In this case the analogy would be that your car has 30+% less than the official spec power measured at a dyno, almost nobody would accept that, in my country when gone to court deviation of more then 10% was decided as a valid reason for returning the car.
And nobody needs to accept that. That is not the issue. The issue is are we expecting the car manufacturer run every single car on a dyno before delivery?
If you like analogies with cars, you also have the biggest scandal in the automotive industry, which cost the Volkswagen group several billion for misleading specifications on the pollutant emissions of their cars.
It doesn't need to a be a dyno test but a good quality control that minimises such issues. For example for a decent amp I would personally expect at least a quick sine measurement in comparison to a golden sample with a tolerance band like it is performed on my many even medium price loudspeakers. Manufacturers who spend this extra minute do themselves actually also a favour, namely avoiding such issues which can harm the brand image and additionally having some documentation like its also recommended from internationally accepted quality management norms like the ISO 9001.
Is that something people would be willing to pay for?
Agreed, but again every little bit of manufacturing cost in markets such as low end receivers and AVR's can effect their sales position in an extremely
Isn't it very much a case of "I want it all, I want it now, and I want it cheap!" these days?
I wasn't specifically referring to Buckeye but speaking more generally. However, since many end manufacturers assemble amplifiers using modules from other manufacturers, the responsibility for ensuring accurate specifications often falls on the end manufacturer rather than the module producer. In such cases, relying solely on copying peak maximum power and distortion specifications from a module’s data sheet might not fully capture the nuances of implementation. The data sheets themselves note that the expected power output depends on thermal management. So, what is, for example, the actual expected power output of the mentioned amplifier? The answer depends on the specific implementation. Therefore, the power- and distortion ratings from the data sheet may not always be a straightforward reference.
More accurately, 30+% less than "spec" on a POSSIBLY FAULTY (cause we don't KNOW YET) car that WASN'T SOLD to anyone.
This guy is running analog signals from his DAC to his amp over CAT6 per AES72. OTOH, I don't really believe the wiring is at fault but was just grasping at straws to possibly account for the very brief hum/noise at the beginning of play with the BuckEye amps and not with the M23 or the Benchmarks.
So did you try moving the DAC and amp closer together and using a different interconnect to see if that eliminates this brief hum/noise?
Based on what protocol? Testing done by me won't match testing done by module or manufacturer unless we all use the same equipment and same script. Even then you have to allow for some variation such as input voltage, room temp, variation in parts, etc. This is why if I measure 170 watt and manufacturer spec is 200, I don't make a big deal about it.
This doesn't go with the rest of your post. Listen, you are getting ultra low cost implementation of these amplifiers. You can't take that and then demand that they do this and that to perfection. That doesn't come for free. Are you willing to pay 50 to 100% more for the product? If so, I am sure Dylan can have amps that are fully tested by virgins in a tropical island.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know.
If nothing else, this particular miss does give another of those elusive reasons why we might pay more for a product from a mainstream company, assuming QA of course.
