Nearly all manufacturers do not advertise/exhibit their product measurements? Why?


After my Audio Science Review review forum, it became apparent that nearly the only way one can determine the measurements of an audio product is wait for a review on line or in a publication.  Most equipment is never reviewed or is given a subjective analysis rather than a measurement oriented review.  One would think that manufacturers used tests and measurements to design and construct their products. 

Manufacturers routinely give the performance characteristics of their products as Specifications.  Those are not test measurements.

I searched the Revel speaker site for measurements of any of their speakers and could not find any.  Revels are universally lauded for their exceptional reviewed measurements.  Lack of published manufacturer measurements is true for nearly every speaker manufacturer I've searched for on line, perhaps several hundred.   Same is true for amps, pre-amps, DACs, transports, turntables, well you get the picture.  Do they have something to hide?   I doubt the good quality products have anything to hide but poor quality products do.  

ASR prides itself in providing "true" measurements that will aid in purchase decisions.   Why don't the manufacturers provide these measurements so that reviewers can test if they are truthful or not?

Then there are the cables and tweaks for which I suspect that there are inadequate tests available to measure sonically perceived differences but which objectivists believe don't exist or are "snake oil."  

Well, please chime in if you have some illuminating thoughts on the subject.   

I would have loved to see manufacturers measurements on my equipment and especially those that I rejected.  

fleschler

OK, @amir_asr , this site has a virtual system page. Would you please attach a "virtual system" to your own profile? You can see how it has a list of components, a text box to describe your system, and then you can upload some pics, measurements, whatever. I am sincerely interested.

Thank you.

@fleschler 

@coralkong  Really?  Or course!  That's why I tell non-audiophiles not to purchase expensive cables or tweaks because they won't hear a difference if the rest of their system is below mid-fi.  

How are you judging their system to be "mid-fi?"  Just looking at the price?  Who says you are right?  Do you not care that you are being condescending to them in that manner?

Fortunately that is the right thing to tell them because none of these tweaks have been shown to make a difference to sound when only the ear is involved.  So no harm is done....

 

@fleschler 

Imagine,  my neighbor's $1/2 million system and he was strangling the sound using Pangea power cables (he has high end speaker, ICs and digital cabling).  Once he replaced them with superior design and manufactured cables, he (and I) now enjoy great sound.  

So half a million dollar didn't get him great sound?  All the money went toward what exactly in those components?  Produce mediocre sound?  Did he think that before you showed up?  Did he apologize for how poor the system sounded before you introduced him to these cables?

Or... did he think he had assembled an amazing system?  That improper listening test made him think new cables did anything?  Go back to his home and do a blind test of the new cables vs Pangea.  Repeat 10 times and let's see if he can tell them apart 8 out of 10 times.  Otherwise, let's leave fantastical stories involving one's imagination out of a thread discussing measurements....

@amir_asr 

Otherwise, let's leave fantastical stories involving one's imagination out of a thread discussing measurements....

OK, let's get back to basics then, soon as your post your system, the pics, the measurements we can discuss. 

OK, let’s get back to basics then, soon as your post your system, the pics, the measurements we can discuss.

For what point? Gear shaming? Or some other strawman argument?

 

Maybe we should just stick to factual things?

For instance the highly linear Purifi motors that their drivers use have lower measured distortion.
And the Vandersteen drivers, and some of Accuton and other drivers, have cones that are more pistonic and don’t have breakup modes happening as easily.

Some may not like their sound, and may prefer more distortion if their ears like that better… but let’s not fool ourselves as some important things can be measured.

We cannot measure synergy, and we cannot easily measure bias. Those are two thing that have a huge impact on how good we perceive the system to be.

Whether a 110dB SINAD is better than a 120dB SINAD is able to be discerned is largely objective, and whether one likes distortion is largely subjective and also in a known objective thing that shows that people like it... they like the sound of some types of distortion.

There is no point in arguing about it or denying it… but it is not what most would call “higher fidelity”.

Lower fidelity make be preferred… OK… so what?