Today's measurement tools, as advanced as they may be, often fail to fully capture the subjective listening experience. In my view, the most reliable way to evaluate audio equipment is through actual listening. While ASR and its measurements can be interesting and entertaining, I consider them more of a pastime when I have the time to spare. Ultimately, our own ears and personal experiences hold the key to determining what sounds good to us. So, while measurements have their place, I prioritize the subjective listening experience as the ultimate judge of audio quality.
Did Amir Change Your Mind About Anything?
It’s easy to make snide remarks like “yes- I do the opposite of what he says.” And in some respects I agree, but if you do that, this is just going to be taken down. So I’m asking a serious question. Has ASR actually changed your opinion on anything? For me, I would say 2 things. I am a conservatory-trained musician and I do trust my ears. But ASR has reminded me to double check my opinions on a piece of gear to make sure I’m not imagining improvements. Not to get into double blind testing, but just to keep in mind that the brain can be fooled and make doubly sure that I’m hearing what I think I’m hearing. The second is power conditioning. I went from an expensive box back to my wiremold and I really don’t think I can hear a difference. I think that now that I understand the engineering behind AC use in an audio component, I am not convinced that power conditioning affects the component output. I think.
So please resist the urge to pile on. I think this could be a worthwhile discussion if that’s possible anymore. I hope it is.