Thanks to all for the valuable insight!! Much appreciated. I’ll keep listening and figure something out.
It’s only a matter of time before ASR "reviews" more high-end gear...perhaps even some of the gear mentioned in this discussion.
My point is that measurements only matter regarding what we can hear. If we can’t hear already low THD levels, what’s the point of making them even lower?
I believe the application of advanced technology, or at least stable/reliable tech is far more important than a bunch of audio measurements. The gear I auditioned had much worse specs vs the headphone dongles/headphone amps I bought before...and yet they performed in a much superior way.
On that note, ASR does not perform measurements with an oscilloscope or do null tests for the output of DACs/Amplifiers. If they did, with the same test track, the differences would be indisputible. I once asked Amir why not, and he said that his standard measurements are more than sufficient.
He was banned on more than a handful of audio forums. For example, on WhatsBestForum - with over 15k posts. If you read some of these, it gives you the impression that the guy has no chill...he always needs to be right or win an argument. I also found forums where others did independent measurements of some Chi-Fi gear and speakers he measured...found issues with 2nd and 3rd harmonics...and even distortion!
Unfortunately, this was only recently. If I had known, I never would have trusted those measurements on ASR.