Is ASR for real, or is it only for those sub $1k or even sub $2K?

No reason to go down that path. Stereotyping is a dangerous and ignorant exercise. 

Fair enough.  

Interesting thread on ASR.  I follow a lot of the online stereo sites including most that have been mentioned.  I appreciate the testing you see on most of their reviews.  They provide additional data points to add to research.  Some of the comments can be a bit much which is why I tend to read instead of post.  To my mind Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  Some people take differing opinions personally.  Unfortunately civility seems to be in short supply online and even in person lately.  

I don't have a problem with Amir or with ASR in general. They perform tests on equipment. Equipment designers do the same thing. I believe, however, that personal listening tests are an important part of any buying decision. 

ASR really shouldn’t be using the word "Science" in their name. They are being grandiose and over claiming here.

There’s a lot more to science than just measurement. Also, their dogmatic attitude doesn’t sit well with its enquiring nature.

@dynacohum 

While I agree with your assertion of an anti science bias in society at present, I don’t agree with your assertions on the whole. Despite the data posted on the site, many of the participants behave in a very cultish manner. From a psychological perspective, it appears to be a self enclosed bubble wherein members display an imagined sense of smug superiority based upon a "hive mind" conviction that anyone who accords the least credence to subjective considerations is a fool or worse.  One need not spend much time perusing threads to become aware of the pervasiveness of this mindset on that site. Science is based upon openness to possibilities and the denizens of that closed-loop display quite the opposite. This sort of dynamic is observed in many types of groups -- it’s not limited to audio. My sense is that many on the A'gon forum value measurements for that portion of the audio experience they address; we simply don’t find they tell the whole story. This does not mean we are anti-science.