Audio Science Review = "The better the measurement, the better the sound" philosophy

esarhaddon,Has it occurred to you that some people are more sensitive to timing and rhythm that others?That we do not all hear the same?Some people have very poor sense of rhythm.They are bad dancers.They are not the people you would want to play in the rhythm section in your band.Or be audio reviewers.Or perhaps ridicule others for whom such things are heard and are important.

I own many speakers but will always keep a pair of Gale 401 speakers because they excel at rhythm and timing.If you search the web for opinions and reviews of these classic speakers that facet of their sound is very frequently mentioned.They boogie.Or perhaps all the people who own and love them are suffering from some sort of mass delusion?

@jtgofish "They boogie. Or perhaps all the people who own and love them are suffering from some sort of mass delusion?"

 Yeah, same point I've made about Klipsch Heresy IV... they dance.  They're addictive.  I'm a long-time "linear sound" kind of guy, but I like 'em, as do obviously many others... and I've gotten grief from oh-so-wise audiophiles for liking 'em (particularly on ASR)...!  So, your question applies...

@esarhaddon

Is it "cancel culture" that I was thrown off ASR for asking whether a tested piece of equipment was listened to and whether it sounded good?

I don’t now why there should be such an insistence put on tests, charts and measurements when expressing an opinion about audio equipment on Audiogon. This website is comprised mainly of hobbyist who can listen seriously and verbally communicate what they hear, as a means of discourse with others who are doing the same. Sure, there are likely plenty of members who understand the science behind what ASR is doing (but may still disagree with their conclusions). But there are members who are more like myself. Those who have studied harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, arranging, conducting and music history to a certain degree. Who grew up playing an instrument and joined a band in their adolescence. Who attend concerts and recitals whenever possible. These types of personal life experiences are why I comprehend a listening review more than the triangulating of frequencies and mathematical charts. I’ve built sound waves and used charts to incorporate percussion rate, fall rate, attack rate, etc.. before interfacing them with an electronic polyphonic keyboard, so I know a little but my listening preferences are primarily based on what I hear, or what someone else describes hearing.

My father used to build cars before he got a job building aircraft engines. He can explain every part in a car and evaluate whether or not there’s a better or more economical way of engineering it. Today, people like him are usually involved in research. But despite his knowledge, he has terrible taste in cars and I don’t need to know what he knows to choose a better car than he would. Also, he’s always been a pretty bad driver. This of course may not be the best analogy but I’ve personally developed a way of evaluating based on listening reviews relevant to both equipment and recordings. And regardless of what I find in online publications, the best way for me to audition audio equipment is to actually hear it. I’d make the radical assumption that most people who are involved in this hobby can make sound purchasing decisions based on listening evaluations.

ASR reviewed the Benchmark AHB2 power amp and gave it a huge recommendation because it was the best measuring amp they had tested.

Chris Bryant in Hi Fi Critic also reviewed and measured it and although it measured very well gave it a very low rating for sound quality.He said-"For me,when variations in timing patterns or rhythmic drumming are encountered,the musical flow is compromised." and "but it failed to impress in terms of musical involvement,attaining an overall score of just 45 points’.

A lot people[naive objectivists]I guess] bought those amps based on the ASR review and if you follow posts about that amplifier in this forum and others you will see a lot of people saying they bought it but sold it later because it was extremely boring sounding.Some others say they like it but my take on that is they are probably listeners who do not hear timing and rhythm patterns very well so have not, nor may not ever ,become aware of what is not right about it.Even many who have moved on were probably not fully aware of the exact nature of what is wrong but knew something was not right.

This is where subjective reviews by experienced reviewers like Chris Bryant become invaluable and should be taken into consideration by any buyer.