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In Reply to: Measurements/Subjective Reviews posted by Jim Austin on May 24, 2004 at 07:49:08:
JIm Austin asked:
Here are my questions:
1. Do you read the measurements section?
2. If the measurements section is critical, and the subjective review is highly complementary, how do you respond? Do you dismiss the measurements? Dismiss the subjective review? Weigh them both? Dismiss them both?
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Answer 1. I do read it.
Answer 2. I don't believe the measurements tell me anything. This is not because John Atkinson does not know how to measure... it is because ALL the equipment ever tested has its measurement numbers in ranges that really make the parameters useless for predicting how the component will sound for me, in my setup, in my room, with my tastes. For example, the Total Harmonic Distortion paramter....how does knowing it's value is 0.0001% tell me it will sound better than an amp that measures 0.1%? Another example parameter would be flatness of frequency response in a speaker....how do i know a midrange hump may not be the best thng for me? What does it tell me about the fidelity to tone?
To summarize: the problem is that our science of music component measurement, with all its parameters, is really NOT ABLE to predict, or EVEN PROVIDE INSIGHTS into how a particular component will sound to me. Again, this is not anyone;s fault, this is just like expecting the "science" of economics to predict how the economy will do. Too many variables beyond the control of the "Scientist".So, let us accept that audiophile mags cater to what i call "haute audio" (see my post a few posts down on this) and it's more about appearance & "feeling good" than about real sonic excellence. This is where the "subjective reviews" and the superficially clever & flippant writing (Jim Austin excepted of course!) come in. I enjoy reading these as well, but i would NEVER give them any credence whatsoever.
-akhilesh
Follow Ups:
Isolated measurements tell you very little but taken as a whole they can be very very useful.
HI Hexenboden,
Your point is interesting. You are saying that a combination of the parameters gives us insight and / or predictability.
I would be interested to hear which combinations of parameters you like to consider for different components...in other words, what is your evaluation model. Are all of these parameters you consider equally weighted in your mind?
Remember, we are talking about predicting and or understanding how already excellent components (all of which measure pretty well) will perform in your system, and sound to you.Also, if you could share any examples of how you used a combination of parameters to make a decision, and how it turned out, would be very interesting to learn, at least from my perspective.
thanx
-akhilesh
Sorry the topic you refer to is quite broad and I really don't have the time (nor perhaps the skill) to write a well though piece. But I can say this, even if you are only moderately technically savvy, if you read JA's measurement comments carefully you will gradually develop a better understanding for what he is trying to convey, perhaps sometimes even develop independent thoughts about what the measurements are saying. And you'll see among other things that the trick is (particulalrly with speakers and amps) to look at measurements as a group rather than in isolation.
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