Amir and Blind Testing

Sdl4, for the record I had some Adcom amps that were designed with Nelson Pass involved and always thought they were excellent, not to mention reasonably priced. I had one for 20 years. 

At least presumably the function of good audio components is to reproduce as accurately as possible any given sound, especially music. So measurements are a way of estimating the efficacy of the equipment. The performance of any given unit must relate to these measurements for it to be considered accurate. 
Now if you don’t like that accurate sound and find it disagreeable does that mean that measurements are bad? Of course not. Tube equipment has a very distinctive sound due to distortion. If you like that sound, which plenty of people do, well and fine. The fact that most people like various degrees of distortion doesn’t invalidate Amir and his measurements. Personally I like the components recommended by Amir, Purifi amp and RME DAC, so in my case the measurements were good criteria to follow. Additionally, Amir has effectively debunked the market for extravagantly expensive cables whose manufacturers falsely claim bear measurable improvements yet they are identical to a $5 Amazon cable. But, if one has spent thousands on cables one may well be hostile to Amir and measurements, and insist that one hears auditory phantasms. 

I think Amir is excellent and had an ideal methodology. I wouldn’t buy anything that didn’t pass muster with him. ASR is an outstanding site. But, if you like million dollar cables and hyped up rubbish it isn’t the place for you.

I am really tired of reading criticism of Amir who very capably and generously reviews audio equipment. Basically his detractors are saying that they like various types of distortion. There is nothing wrong with enjoying what appeals to you, but it is absurd to find fault with scientific objectivity. Yes, your $1,000 USB cable is very cool, but admit that there isn’t any scientific evidence that it sounds audibly better than Amazon’s $5 cable. All these savants lining up against Amir reminds me of Mussolini’s famous quote, “Many enemies, much honor.”