John Atkinson measured the Border Patrol dac that Herb Reichert reviewed, who found it to sound magnificent. John found that it did not measure well. I’m not certain if he even gave it a listen. I believe he was bewildered as to what Herb heard. Anyhow, that is just one example. There are countless reviews both individual consumers and pro reviewers that found that the Sphinx integrated V1-V3 sounds terrific. So, unless lots and lots of people have awful hearing or frequently suffer hallucinations, then it must sound pretty darn good. I'm actually contemplating buying a V3, not that I need one. Herb mentions in his review of the V3, that it is destined to be a classic, just like the NAD 3020....
I don't want to beat a dead horse but I'm bugged.
I just can't clear my head of this. I don't want to start a measurements vs listening war and I'd appreciate it if you guys don't, but I bought a Rogue Sphinx V3 as some of you may remember and have been enjoying it quite a bit. So, I head over to AVS and read Amir's review and he just rips it apart. But that's OK, measurements are measurements, that is not what bugs me. I learned in the early 70s that distortion numbers, etc, may not be that important to me. Then I read that he didn't even bother listening to the darn thing. That is what really bugs me. If something measures so poorly, wouldn't you want to correlate the measurements with what you hear? Do people still buy gear on measurements alone? I learned that can be a big mistake. I just don't get it, never have. Can anybody provide some insight to why some people are stuck on audio measurements? Help me package that so I can at least understand what they are thinking without dismissing them completely as a bunch of mislead sheep.