Michael Fremer Leaving Stereophile?

[mhardy6647]

Costello seems happy enough.

Declan McManus?
Well -- she probably tickles his ivories well enough, I would think.

 

[Sal1950]

What does 'sounded like' mean and how is that arrived at? Blind switching to see if they could be told apart?

Nope, you know how that goes. LOL
But for sure I have read a number of remembrances from engineers of the time stating that when digital recording came to their studio, it was the first time they heard the recording sound "just like" the live mike feed. Noting how superior digital was to analog tape in capturing the live event, contrary to much of what is written in the subjective audio media.

 

[board]

Nope, you know how that goes. LOL
But for sure I have read a number of remembrances from engineers of the time stating that when digital recording came to their studio, it was the first time they heard the recording sound "just like" the live mike feed. Noting how superior digital was to analog tape in capturing the live event, contrary to much of what is written in the subjective audio media.

Although he doesn't provide a link (but maybe we can ask him for one), Ethan Winer mentions this on his website about a loop-back test:

"I had read an account of a test where, even after ten generations, a roomful of professional recording engineers was unable to reliably identify the quality loss with very high quality converters."

Then there's also a very early account on David Carlstrom's website, where he arranged an ABX test with 160 trials, and 10 people, including various engineers, participated:

ABX Double Blind Test Results: Digital

Lastly, a perhaps more famous account is Ivor Tiefenbaum, the head of Linn, who was anti-digital at the time, participating in an ABX test with Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy:

The Digital Challenge A Report By Stanley P. Lipshitz

The Digital Challenge A Report By Stanley P. Lipshitz, Enjoy the Music.com Review Magazine

www.enjoythemusic.com

So, although all these examples don't exactly show "sounds just like the mic feed", then they show the same result.

 

[thegeton]

Although he doesn't provide a link (but maybe we can ask him for one), Ethan Winer mentions this on his website about a loop-back test:

"I had read an account of a test where, even after ten generations, a roomful of professional recording engineers was unable to reliably identify the quality loss with very high quality converters."

Then there's also a very early account on David Carlstrom's website, where he arranged an ABX test with 160 trials, and 10 people, including various engineers, participated:

ABX Double Blind Test Results: Digital

Lastly, a perhaps more famous account is Ivor Tiefenbaum, the head of Linn, who was anti-digital at the time, participating in an ABX test with Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy:

The Digital Challenge A Report By Stanley P. Lipshitz

The Digital Challenge A Report By Stanley P. Lipshitz, Enjoy the Music.com Review Magazine

www.enjoythemusic.com

So, although all these examples don't exactly show "sounds just like the mic feed", then they show the same result.

The Lipshitz piece was really fun, thanks for that!

 

[Sal1950]

"I had read an account of a test where, even after ten generations, a roomful of professional recording engineers was unable to reliably identify the quality loss with very high quality converters."

One of our members had posted a similar test at another site with the same results.
It was quite a while ago and I can no longer find the post, maybe removed now?

 

[DonH56]

Listen and choose the 8th generation digital copy.

Each of these zip files will open into three wav files. One is labeled Reference, one is A and one is B. These are 30 second snippets of full songs. The originals were from CD so all 44.1 khz and 16 bit. Either A or B has been thru 8 generations of DA to AD copying. The other is identical...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[board]

The Lipshitz piece was really fun, thanks for that!

Sure thing .

 

[krabapple]

Stanley Lipshitz should be on every 'scientific' audiophile's hero list. He was among those spearheading the first pushback in the JAES against Bob (Meridian) Stuart's dubious claim therein of the 'need' for consumer high resolution audio, back in the late 1980s.

 

[Sal1950]

Listen and choose the 8th generation digital copy.

Each of these zip files will open into three wav files. One is labeled Reference, one is A and one is B. These are 30 second snippets of full songs. The originals were from CD so all 44.1 khz and 16 bit. Either A or B has been thru 8 generations of DA to AD copying. The other is identical...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks Don, I forgot he posted it here too.

 

[Deleted member 21114]

Bob (Meridian) Stuart

Bless his heart

 

[Sal1950]

Bless his heart

In the southern meaning of the phrase.

 

[Deleted member 21114]

In the southern meaning of the phrase.

 

[lashto]

.. misogynistic slurs towards Chris Connaker..

Fremer is not exactly my kind of reviewer but did Mr. Connaker have a sex-change op lately ?!
(misogynistic = hatred or prejudice against women)

 

[Sal1950]

I worked with him once when I was in charge of the Turntables Guide at Wirecutter, and then I made it a practice to never work with him again. No one I talked to was ever more concerned with how they were going to be credited in an article and how often, and his misogynistic slurs towards Chris Connaker (https://www.analogplanet.com/content/show-newport-2015-wrap) among many other public spats made it easy to find other expert sources to talk to for guides. Hopefully Stereophile finds someone much better to replace him.

That's even nastier than a few of the things Mikey said to me at CA/AS some years back.
Too bad Chris deleted the whole conversation, it was fun.

 

[board]

Fremer is not exactly my kind of reviewer but did Mr. Connaker have a sex-change op lately ?!
(misogynistic = hatred or prejudice against women)

Framer wrote something along the lines of "maybe mr. Connaker was having that time of the month".

 

[FrantzM]

Methinks, we give MF too much weight, if I am to go by this thread.
Most reviews posts here [edit:] on ASR, can lead you to better results, audibly, repeatably, verifiably.
His reviews, OTOH will not steer you in the correct direction. Following him cannot make your system sound better. As simple as that.
I am sorry to go ad hominem, in some ways, but this is verifiable truth.

Off this thread.

Peace

 

[ahofer]

Methinks, we give MF too much weight, if I am to go by this thread.
Most reviews posts here can lead you to better results, audibly, repeatably , verifiably.
His reviews, OTOH will not steer you in the correct direction. Following him cannot make your system sound better. As simple as that.
I am sorry to go ad hominem, in some ways, but this is verifiable truth.

Off this thread.

Peace

Perhaps. He has claimed, on multiple occasions, to have identified, in blind listening, amps and cables that NOBODY else could. But he is unwilling to replicate these feats that almost nobody witnessed. For this disservice to science, and the likely dishonesty that goes with it, we condemn him.

 

[Tom C]

Methinks, we give MF too much weight, if I am to go by this thread.
Most reviews posts here [edit:] on ASR, can lead you to better results, audibly, repeatably, verifiably.
His reviews, OTOH will not steer you in the correct direction. Following him cannot make your system sound better. As simple as that.
I am sorry to go ad hominem, in some ways, but this is verifiable truth.

Off this thread.

Peace

My friend, you are SO RIGHT!

 

[Sal1950]

Most reviews posts here [edit:] on ASR, can lead you to better results, audibly, repeatably, verifiably.
His reviews, OTOH will not steer you in the correct direction. Following him cannot make your system sound better.

They can sure steer you into spending one whole hell of a lot of money on useless products.

 

[MattHooper]

Perhaps. He has claimed, on multiple occasions, to have identified amps and cables that NOBODY else claimed. But he is unwilling to replicate this feat that almost nobody witnessed. For this disservice to science, and the likely dishonesty that goes with it, we condemn him.

Yup. Just another anecdote until he backs that up.