Did Amir Change Your Mind About Anything?

"Absolute rubbish Amir. You have no idea how many here actually do listen to a variety of equipment without knowing what the equipment is or what the cost is. Again you push the line that you are the omnipotent guru."

What I talk about is elementary in audio science. So no, stating the need for a controlled test is not any attempt at looking like a guru. However, it is trivial to show that your understanding of such tests is faulty. "Without knowing what equipment is" constitutes just one aspect of such tests. I explained all of that in my video but it is clear you didn’t watch it. So here it is again:

1. Levels must be matched. This applies to active devices like electronics and passives like speakers/headphones. If you don’t match levels, you better not bother.

2. Testing must be repeated to rule out chance. This is an extremely common failing of people who claim to have done "blind tests." I can predict a coin being a head, flip it and get that. I can even do that 4 or 5 times in a row. That doesn’t mean I have super powers to predict a coin toss. It just means I got lucky. You need to conduct the test at least 10 times and get 9 out of 10 right. Typical audiophile trying once or twice just generates "noise, " not data.

3. The test needs to truly be blind. No "tells." For this reason, you need to have a proper protocol to conduct the test.

All of this takes less time and effort by the way that some of you put up by posting here. The truth is there for you.

"There are and for what its worth Goldenone knows far more than you, but when he challenged your measurements you threw him out."

There is no truth to this at all. His unprofessional/unethical conduct is what got him banned on ASR. He has been doing measurements for a year or so with no background in audio engineering or science. If that makes him more qualified than me, fine. Post measurements of his that back your claims in audio. As it is, they don’t match his own subjective claims!

I must apologize if I hurt your feelings. I thought this forum was for grown-ups.

No substance, no factual claims, no information. Another great example.

"For me Amir, with all due respect, part of the problem for me is your manner. I want be open minded to what you say, and the points/facts/information you are attempting to impart, but for me it's about manner and delivery. Somebody else mentioned Erin's Audio Corner; I could listen to him all day; firstly he has humility, and he doesn't stop dead at the measurements he displays."

Give Erin some audio cables to test and then we can talk.  Until then, there is no one as open minded as me, searching for any hint to truth in products that don't have any efficacy.  I spend incredible time and expense teasing out their performance, way beyond any reasonableness.  I test them for example up to 1 Mhz or 20X the audio band.  I search for changes in noise and distortion 100 to 1000 times lower than threshold of hearing.  I don't use works like "snake oil, rip off, etc."  I measure, evaluate and present the data in the most professional way possible. 

Ultimately though, I am here to provide a service to audio community by examining the performance of audio systems.  I am not here to win an election or be liked by everyone.  If you have no use for such data then whether I am polite or not is not going to make a difference.  I am pretty sure if Erin presented the same data I have you would hate him with passion as well.  

Really, what I keep hearing is a cry to keep your fellow audiophiles from knowing more about audio products they have purchased.  To what end?  To validate someone else's lay and causal opinion about audio?  Well, that is not going to work.  Incredible number of your peers like what I do.  And if as you say it is not because of my delivery, then it must be the power of the data presented.

"At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, when I or anyone else switches on their system and presses play, it becomes an entirely subjective activity; after all, for me anyway it's about the music and love/passion for music. If it sounds good/I enjoy the presentation my system gives me, nothing else matters - not measurements, cost, brand, none of it. I want to get lost in the music, end of."

This frequently stated talking point is entirely fallacious.  That audio gear didn't manifest itself subjectively.  It came about by using science and engineering.  Some companies are great at this; others not so much.  Measurements are your best friend when it comes to figuring this out.

Plenty of gear sounds excellent.  You could buy an AVR from a big box store for $250, hook up a pair of $250 speakers and get great enjoyment.  But that is not what some of you do, are you?  You go and buy a $2000 USB cable and convince yourself it must be improving fidelity because it lowers "jitter" or "noise."  What does have to do with what you claim?  Nothing.  It is a purely technical and objective assumption.  My role is to test that manufacturer claim.  I can test for Jitter.  I can test for noise.  When those tests don't show a difference, there goes your reason for buying said cable. Take this JPS Superconductor V USB Cable Review.  They have already got you with that "superconductor" term as if such a thing exists in a $1000 cable at room temperature.  Here is its noise and jitter compared to a $9 Amazon cable:

See how the two graphs land identically on top of each other?  Your threshold of hearing is at -115 dB and here I am measuring down to whopping -160 dB!  Still no difference.

Of course that cable transfers USB bits just the same and with right system and content, it can sound superb.  That is not the issue and I have no doubt you would enjoy the sound of a system with this cable.  So would I.  Difference between us is the knowledge I have that this cable does nothing for the sound coming out of your audio equipment.  That you perceive any difference is due to improper listening tests and nothing more.  Since you are not willing to engage in such controlled tests, then measurements better be your friend, not your enemy.