What items have you NOT purchased as a result of ASR?

[JSmith]

Something beyond the understanding of science is going on here!

Nah it just means that DAC potentially been deliberately designed to have a coloured sound... which is fine if you like that sound. All I am suggesting is with a transparent DAC and a DSP you can create the same sound you are after or even something you prefer more. It means the control is in your hands rather than going through device after device to find what you like. In fact you may be able to actually isolate the fundamental changes needed to get to that point rather than believing in the mystery of not learning.



JSmith

 

[snapcrackle]

Very nice sounding DAC this Audio Note - to be fair I haven't yet heard a Topping (the ASR Chinese fave) - but I do have a few other DACs including a Musical Fidelity V90 which 'measures' acceptably well - and the AN really does run rings around it. I'm dead chuffed with this. And it goes to show that your lugs either side of you face are what matters the most and not a wiggly line going across a screen.

I still find this forum really useful because you get a balanced perspective of measurements and reviews - then you can make your decision based on a number of factors. This forum has also uncovered some unsafe engineering.

But please - all of you out there - ASR is not gospel albeit a useful place to come find things out. On this forum you are going to get the 'just add a DSP' type and/or your 'perceptual biases blind listening' types - but through all this - just have a listen in your own home where you are very familiar and comfortable. If it sounds better for whatever reason, then it sound better .

You also need a good pair of speakers to reveal your upstream changes.

 

[DonH56]

I sent a pair of Crown amplifiers back unopened based on Amir's (@amirm ) review and picked up a nice new Buckeye Amps (@Buckeye Amps ) unit instead. The Crowns certainly had the power, and I doubt their distortion level would have been an issue, but was a bit worried about their noise floor (and fan noise). I got four channels in less than the volume of two with much better specs from Buckeye Amps.

 

[raistlin65]

But please - all of you out there - ASR is not gospel albeit a useful place to come find things out. On this forum you are going to get the 'just add a DSP' type and/or your 'perceptual biases blind listening' types - but through all this - just have a listen in your own home where you are very familiar and comfortable. If it sounds better for whatever reason, then it sound better .

Sure, people are certainly welcome to make purchase decisions based upon sighted comparisons in their own home.

But then don't go claiming what you experience is the inherent audio properties of the device. That is what ASR teaches us: that individual subjective reviews of how dacs and amps sound are highly unreliable.

 

[snapcrackle]

Sure, people are certainly welcome to make purchase decisions based upon sighted comparisons in their own home.

But then don't go claiming what you experience is the inherent audio properties of the device. That is what ASR teaches us: that individual subjective reviews of how dacs and amps sound are highly unreliable.

Yes I agree - the only thing reliable is evidence to your ears - and what you like. This might not be what other people like becasue it is all subjective. But what I am trying to say is try not to use measurements as your only guide because if I did that I would miss out on the Audio Note - so use those far more sophisticated devices on the side of your head instead.

 

[PingWine]

I didn't buy the Sennheiser HD560S because of ASR. And only because Amirm wasn't fast enough with his reviews I had to rely on oratory1990's measurements.

 

[SnoopKatt]

Nelson Pass First Watt amps. Ended up getting the Audiophonics MPA-S250NC amp instead!

 

[celroid]

SVS SB-2000 Pro. As subwoofers are hader to get in get in Europe, some were recommending the Arendal subs as alternative, like the 1961 S. Me and my SO problem with the Arendal is that we wanted the woofer to be forward facing, and if we turned the arendal around for that, then the cables would be visible on the right side, which is a big NO for us. The SVS also has a nice app that can connect to the sub through bluetooth.

I would have actually liked to get the Rythmik L1, but I could not find them anywhere. It's sad that the best products are not available worldwide.

 

[ctakim]

Anthem AVM70 and my AVR upgrade plans are currently on hold. Also Erin's measurements made me less interested in Klipsch Heresy IV's. During my medical residency, my roommate who played the violin got a pair of Heresy speakers because he liked the way string instruments sounded on them. They were much better than the nondescript speakers I was using. It was my first exposure to higher quality speakers (but obviously not the highest quality!)

 

[Racheski]

Darkvoice 336SE

 

[hdspeakerman]

Ice Power 200ASC - 15 year old technology that tested badly!

 

[Golfx]

I retired recently and was reinvigorating my old hobby as an audiophile. I used to sell Scott, Fischer, McIntosh, Advent, KLH, etc back in the 70s while in college. The religion at the time and seemingly now is that separates are better based on their superior SINAD. I had a Marantz SR8012 and was going to upgrade to the Marantz AV8805. But then Amir measured it and my religion of “separates are better” was shattered. Sigh. I was holding out hope that Marantz would produce it’s AV8806 2.1 replacement for the 8805 that would measure well or that the Anthem AVM 70/90 would likewise inspire me. But COVID and detached company arrogance happened. So I eventually bought Denon’s AVR A110 which I use as just a prepro until such a time that Amir measures a separate that will measure considerably better than the A110 .

 

[Cahudson42]

ASR is responsible for my decision 'never,' to buy any headphone priced over $300.(And yes, this includes Sundara - until granted a possible exception if Amir's review is 'Golfing Panther).

Given that you can PEQ a large number of < $300 HP to sound enjoyable, and that the manufacturing cost for ANY headphone likely is < $150, paying more - is to me - a Piggy Bank Panther..

For perspective, my HP are:
N90Q $299. Unique. Currently my B phone in any A/B comparison
HE5XX/Deva $220. Even without EQ, sounds great via Liquid Spark driving
HE400i (2016) $160 + Qudelix balanced, Amir EQ. Still sounds a bit 'thinner' than HE5XX
K371 - $120. Had to listen to see what the fuss was about. Too hot after 2 hours.
SHP9500 - $75. Easily my most comfortable HP. Used daily for TV listening via bt $27 receiver.
MDR-ZX110 - car passenger HP. Not quite junk. Not really listenable w/o EQ.

 

[celroid]

SVS SB-2000 Pro. As subwoofers are hader to get in get in Europe, some were recommending the Arendal subs as alternative, like the 1961 S. Me and my SO problem with the Arendal is that we wanted the woofer to be forward facing, and if we turned the arendal around for that, then the cables would be visible on the right side, which is a big NO for us. The SVS also has a nice app that can connect to the sub through bluetooth.

I would have actually liked to get the Rythmik L1, but I could not find them anywhere. It's sad that the best products are not available worldwide.

Looks like I read the title of the thread wrong.