Did You Buy Based On Amir's Review?

[Seeker-Smith]

No and I wish I had. Yes and I'm glad.

 

[Gary Raspberry]

Yes.

Revel M16 and Topping E30.

 

[symphara]

I bought the THX Onyx following the review here on ASR. Not because of the review - I wanted a DAC for my new iPad and I had my eye on it anyway - but a bad review would have given me pause.

 

[Drengur]

I was influenced by the measurements he made when I decided to buy the Topping D30Pro. Tens of other DACs would have been enough, but there is no high like chasing the SINAD-dragon.

 

[Teyry]

Benchmark AHB2

 

[NYfan2]

Sennheiser HD600

 

[Skifaster]

Topping E30 dac, returned it
SMSL M500. Returned it.
Topping D70 s. Love it, a keeper
Next purchase JDS atom headphone amp

 

[Timcognito]

I did buy after some convincing by ASR bloggers based on Amir's review and value of new NODE. I own the Vault2, Node2 and a cheap used Node1 in the garage. My reference system consists of ARC CA50 amp, Thiel S2.4 speakers, and VPI HW19 tt all purchased in the early 2000's with a MSB Link Dac III which I stopped using when I bought the Bluesound Vault2 in 2017 to store my 1000+ CDs. So I don't spend money on gear very often but have the means to buy stuff (based on auditions, and reading sites like this). I did buy Topping E30 which was a modest improvement in sound on the BS V2 dac after reading reviews and test specs here. I did feel that the exhaustive dialog about the value of Node was interesting, with strong defenders of BluOS UI mile wide and deep features, lifetime curatorship and varied connectivity while others would not touch it with such underwhelming dac at the price $550. Also, I felt somewhat shamed by the Bluesounds mediocre dac performance in spite of advertising to the contrary, unnoticed by me coming from the 20 yr old Link Dac. I still think the value is there with the overall architecture, ID, UI, connectivity and simplicity of Bluesound stuff that goes unmatched at the price even with the recent upgrade of $150. It is a North American Company employing many that also important to me. Thanks to all that gave input, for or against, to that discussion because I benefited from it and Amir for reviewing it.

 

[thr1ll]

I've bought an SMSL M300, SMSL Sanskrit 10th Mk II, JDS Atom, Topping L30, Tempotec Sonata HD, Audioengine A5+, and AIYIMA A07 because of his measurements. And I've SOLD my O2+SDAC, Topping PA3, and Schiit Magni 3 because of his measurements.

 

[Pdxwayne]

AKG K371
Gustard X16
KTB
Sabaj A10h
Topping E30
Topping d30pro (returned)
Topping L30

All within one year of joining ASR....

 

[Nibelungen]

Yes, Topping D30

 

[Destination: Moon]

Elac DBR 62

 

[woof!]

Topping E30, A50s, A90, D90se, Gustard X16, Singxer SA-1, and HiFiMan HE6SE v2

 

[RogerBoii64]

(Before I continue, I just want to say that I'm completely new here and have near zero experience and knowledge, so there's that.)

I bought my Topping E30/L30 stack based on amir's reviews, but also on youtube reviews in order to combine the best of both worlds (objectivist and elements of subjectivist).

First, I use the youtube reviews (which may either lean objectivist or subjectivist) to find recurring/similar patterns in what the reviewers are saying about a certain product, and then use those patterns to create a general idea of what said product is like. As I go, I eventually find out if it fits my needs, and if it doesn't, I'm (obviously) not buying it regardless of how it objectively measures.

If it does seem to fit my needs, I look at the objective measurements to see if it's within a certain range I can consider to be good, or at least acceptable. If it is, I deem it as a qualified candidate, and repeat this with multiple products until I have a fair amount of candidates in a similar price range.

Finally, while taking into account both the objective measurements, as well as my subjective needs, I compare the candidates and eventually pick the winner(s). It's all about striking a balance for me.

In short, if the people's subjective experience of a certain product is exceptionally well and it fits (or even exceeds) my needs, I'm willing to compromise a bit on objective measurements, but to a point.

This is how I got my Topping stack. They measure very well (pretty up there among the top of the class, apparently), have all the features I personally ever want, have a neutral sound signature, have plenty of power to drive my DT 1990 Pro's, all at a very attractive price point. A no-brainer that ticks all my boxes.

...And now let's hope that what I typed in this comment doesn't sound weird or a bit stupid.

 

[Koloth]

Yes, Sabaj D5
It's awesome.

Not because I can claim any audible improvements compared to my previous Violectric DAC/preamp & Cavalli headamp stack, but because it allowed me to sell off and replace both with this one unit, still have some money left over and have certainty that its audibly transparent.

 

[Robin L]

The gear I'm now using the most was all recommended by Amirm. My Acer Aspire 5 has a mini flash drive holding 500gb of music. The laptop is connected to the Topping E/L30 mini stack, the headphone amp hooked up to Drop 6XX headphones. I was specifically interested in the L30 on account of it's SOTA noise and distortion measurements. Probably the best headphone gear I've owned, and I have owned the Stax Signature Pros with the dedicated SRM T1 hybrid tube amp.

 

[Wicky]

Yes - RME ADI-2 DAC FS
Yes - HIDIZS S9
No - Buchardt A500
No - Sennheiser HD660S

However, in all cases I did read comments on this forum about these products from other members and these were factored into my research prior to purchase. This forum is an amazing fount of useful information, of course underpinned by Amir's excellent reviews.

 

[TheWalkman]

I did: Niles 2150, Denon 3600, a couple of Aiyima amps, etc. and frankly Amir is beginning to piss me off. He needs to stop reviewing and recommending all this great gear, damnit.

 

[keebz28]

No - Topping E30/L30 (Bought before the reviews dropped)
No- Sabaj A10h (Bought before the review dropped)
No - Sennheiser HD560s (bought based on Crinacle' review)
No- Fostex T50rp MK3 (bought solely on personal intuition)

DAC/AMP stack have been justified by the measurements alone and the headphones though not measured on ASR to me have been justified by Oratory and Crinacle' measurements.

 

[london_r]

I confess, the Topping D90SE was a purchase heavily influenced by the testing/review on here (and an eBay bargain price too!).