Did Amir Change Your Mind About Anything?

Yes.

Amir has reinforced some of my views for sure. Mainly about the absolute absurdity of exotic power cables and the mind boggling pricing of them. He's also confirmed some opinions held by people I trust, specifically sound engineers.

Most importantly he's opened my eyes to some new products that I otherwise would have ignored.

I work in an industry that is parallel to the world of sound recording and reproduction. In my field, there is raging debate as to what camera is best, what lens is sharper and what format is most appropriate. All of these factors can be measured but choices are guided by having a good overall understanding of all the parameters including the perception of others. It's not that different in the audio world.

I've been interested in audiophilia for most of my life. I love the exotic engineering excesses of it. But I am acutely aware of the spurious claims made by some manufacturers and the "law of diminishing returns" with regard to some engineering approaches.

He is a thoughtful and interesting person who just provides objective, comparative test results of equipment, based on relevant criteria. That he attracts so much vitriol is baffling to me. I get he might ruffles feathers, but that is why he is interesting.

I'll continue to read ASR with considerable interest.

I find this hostility toward Amir more than shocking. Some of the accusations here border on the libelous and certainly do not reflect reality.

This is becoming akin to a forum for those seeking to prove that, despite measurements and ample evidence, the wold is indeed flat because, well, because...

Objective testing to a given set of criteria does not indicate whether that piece of equipment will be "to your taste". I have the exact same issue with colleagues in the motion picture industry that judge lenses purely on the basis of measured performance using specific techniques. While this is very useful in understanding how a lens might look, the data is a guide to understanding what you might prefer. The same is true of audio.

I've spent enough time in the best recording studios on the planet to know that even these carefully calibrated environments have their own sonic signatures. The speakers I use at home had a former life sitting in a mastering suite at Abbey Road and are the exact speakers so many recordings I love were mastered on. But I am foolish to think they sound exactly the same as they did in the environment they were made and calibrated for. 

Still, I'd be very interested in seeing what the results would be in him testing them, if they didn't weight 140lbs each, I'd ship them to him to find out. But it wouldn't really alter the fact that I like the way they sound, in the space I have them working.

I had no idea "true-believer" Audiophiles were so thin-skinned.

@somethingsomethingaudio - I have read with great interest this entire thread. I find it very hard to understand how Amir is being so consistently attacked when he appears to be offering a perspective with very clearly marked boundaries. Many accusations here are without any merit or grace.

I have no personal connection with Amir. We emailed once over a year ago with regard to a Phono pre-amp he reviewed. I suggested he re-examine it using the fully balanced signal path offered, not the single ended in and balanced out which was the method used in the review. Our discussion was respectful and informative. Which is precisely my opinion of his responses here.

He is clearly touching a nerve with some. But he does not deserve some of the pig-headed badgering here. It’s undignified.

@somethingsomethingaudio  I wasn't calling you thin skinned. You don't seem to be. You seem measured and rational to me. Unlike some other commenters here that prefer badgering to discussion.

We certainly have a difference of opinion, and I didn't mean to disrespect you if it came across that way.

I too am more than a little jaded by the audiophile community. I thought it's woo-woo extremes were just a funny oddity. Though this lately has become a form of impassioned belief that defies logic.

Oh well. I'm off to walk the dog. Wish I could ask him about his opinion about the upper frequencies of my speakers I can no longer hear. I'd value his opinion on it. Though all he want is treats and a scratch. I envy him.

@somethingsomethingaudio

I have a rare L-C-R set of ATC SCM100ASL active mid-field studio monitors as my fronts, made originally for Abbey Road. Three subs, two in stereo supporting the L&R with one 16" sub dedicated to LFE for DSD and Video content. Rears are Harbeth 40.2’s and 6 overhead ceiling mounted Definitive Audio 3-way monitors for height/Atmos. I have dedicated 2-channel path that bypasses the AVR I use for video.

@mahgister 

"It is impossible to discuss with you Amir...

You are here to recruit?

I am here to discuss..."

You are patently not. I've followed your discussion with Amir. And while you make some interesting points, your rush to express your opinion betrays your interest in trying to comprehend what Amir is saying. So, instead you badger him for answers to questions he has adequately answered more than once.

I'd try a new approach. Because you sound very frustrated. And from my perspective, that frustration is born out of a lack of comprehension.