FAQ Questions on Audio/ASR

[MacClintock]

How could it be that a very expensive hifi product reveives worse rating here than one maybe 1/100 of the cost and in which respect measurements allow me to tell why.

 

[MacClintock]

Why the often heard phrase "I trust my ears" is extremely misleading, often even plain wrong.

 

[craigenputtock]

Here is my question: Given that listening rooms are so different, and have frequency response discrepancies of their own, how much stock should we put in a speaker's frequency response specs so long as they are not outrageously off balance?

 

[Svend P]

Is vinyl better than CD

 

[WeekendWarrior]

Not sure if these have been posted, but:

• Is there any benefit in using a preamp (other than more inputs) or is a DACs volume control fine?
• Tips for room treatment and speaker positioning without needing to get a divorce
• Conventional wisdom used to be spend more on the source; is that still relevant with such high performing inexpensive DACs?
• Tips on system building and component matching.

Good luck!

 

[Timcognito]

Is vinyl better than CD

love to see the Wiki on that one .... or not

 

[sam_adams]

A wiki seems like a good idea until one looks for add-ons to the forum software, Xenforo, and the pickings are slim. While it would be nice to see something like keyword highlighting in discussions that point to a wiki, it would be a monumental task for our host to have to maintain an add-on that has more bugs than features with every 'upgrade'. Third-party products, like MediaWIKI, would also increase the maintenance workload for the site—not to mention the initial learning curve and implementation headaches for @amirm .

 

[xaviescacs]

What does "fidelity" mean?

 

[Multicore]

If I should trust myself to decide what's good music and what isn't, how come I should not trust myself to decide what's good music playback and what isn't?

 

[gsp1971]

Hi Amir,
Great idea, but it can quickly become a huge task given what has been suggested so far.
My input is based on what I wish I had known when I first discovered ASR, so here it goes:

ASR-related questions

• What is ASR all about?
• What is the "Science" behind Audio Science Review (ASR)?
• Why are measurements important / useful?
• Do measurements tell us the whole story about an audio component?
• Is there a video tutorial on how to read and interpret measurements?
• What are SINAD, Frequency Response, Spinorama, impedance, etc?
• When shopping for an audio component, should my decision be based only on measurements?
• Why not just walk into a hi-fi store and buy what sounds good to me?

General Audio questions

• Music is art but audio is science. Is that true?
• I want to buy my first audio set-up.
  • Where do I start?
  • How much money should I spend?
  • Does more money guarantee better performance?
  • How should I allocate my budget? Is it true that I should spend more on speakers?
  • How much should I spend on cables?
• Audio dilemmas:
  • Analog or digital?
  • LP or CD?
  • Pre-amp or not?
  • Integrated amplifier or Pre-amp + Power amp?
  • Bookshelf or floor-standing speakers?
• What is Dynamic Range and why does it matter?
• Why is room treatment important?
• Do I need a subwoofer?

Good luck Amir, I assume this project will probably keep you busy for a while.

GS

 

[Blumlein 88]

fidelity

1. honest or lasting support, or loyalty, especially to a sexual partner: 2…

dictionary.cambridge.org

the degree to which a copy of something shows the true character of the original:
The fidelity of the tape recording was so poor that you could not understand much of what was said.

 

[danadam]

Are measurements Everything or Nothing?
How can DAC's have a SOUND SIGNATURE if they measure as transparent?
Can you explain the vinyl renaissance?

 

[janbth]

What is the Schroeder frequency?

What is a Spinorama?

How do you compute the Olive score for loudspeakers from a Spinorama?

 

[bloodshoteyed]

Does not compute......Error......Invalid checksum......

interesting point, it's been awfully quiet about the Island lately, so there's my questions:

- when is it going public (c'mon, even Jared Leto had his cult followers party on an island)
- did the Savage take it over and banned even you guys from ever setting foot on it again?

 

[afinepoint]

Can you explain the vinyl renaissance?

Please let's not go there (again). That thread ended up a real dumpster fire.

 

[TemploAztlan]

What are some good 250 wpc Class D amps?
What're the best <$20,000/pair speakers?
Why aren't there more tower speakers with external active x-over and amps?
Why aren't there more large active speakers? They seems to be mainly monitors and bookshelfs.

 

[afinepoint]

Why if 1W can produce loud outputs do 300, 500, 1000W+ amps exist.

If we all hear the same frequencies why can the same loudspeaker sound differently to listeners standing side by side? Is a graph then meaningful or useful?

Explain "lossless" and it's effects on a system. Is Bluetooth lossless? Can it be? Is there an over the air signal that is?

Not arguing Class D vs A vs A/B etc but under what conditions might one be a better choice - budget, system design environmental.

Do loudspeakers wear out?

Is tape a viable source? When?

How not to build a system. Downfalls of choice and execution.

 

[Jimi Floyd]

Amir is regretting big time asking for FAQs from you guys. Instead of helping him you are just having fun.

 

[Nicolas]

- What is the difference between passive, active and powered speakers ?

Unless I have the wrong idea, it seems to me that the scope of possible/useful questions and answers is too big for a FAQ and would suggest a wiki or knowledge base as well.
Different endeavor, though.

 

[TemploAztlan]

What are the difficulties of measuring tall speakers with 4 or more drivers on the Klippel?
If a pair of speakers' frequency responses match closely, do they image better than those that are less well-matched?