Voluntary amp builders?

[mwl168]

At the risk of stating the obvious regarding measurements; there is a key factor of “correlation”. I remember more than 20 years ago I read an article to the effect of the three legs of measurements- “What do you measure? How you measure it? How do you interpret the measurements?”. 

As an example, it’s obvious that measurements of an amp’s physical dimensions have no direct correlation to how it sounds. I always wonder, much like many research in medicine, if some day someone(s) will eventually figure out a comprehensive set of measurements that truly have a direct correlation to how a device sounds to human ears (if that’s even possible). 

[EdipisReks1]

18 minutes ago, mwl168 said:

At the risk of stating the obvious regarding measurements; there is a key factor of “correlation”. I remember more than 20 years ago I read an article to the effect of the three legs of measurements- “What do you measure? How you measure it? How do you interpret the measurements?”. 

As an example, it’s obvious that measurements of an amp’s physical dimensions have no direct correlation to how it sounds. I always wonder, much like many research in medicine, if some day someone(s) will eventually figure out a comprehensive set of measurements that truly have a direct correlation to how a device sounds to human ears (if that’s even possible). 

Human ears aren't the issue. Human ears are a relatively easy things to model.  But our ears aren't how we hear.  We hear with our brains, and the brain is entirely manipulatable. Deaf people can experience sounds, just as blind people can experience sight. Limbs that aren't there can be felt. 

Only an ignoramus would worry about tiny fractions of THD when it comes to an inherently fuzzy and subconsciously (I don't believe in tue consciousness, as an emergent property, and I think FMRI studies back me up on that*, but we sort of act like we are truly conscious) subjective input-analysis system like the human brain.

* of course there are easier things to demonstrate this: try to remember what you were doing 50 miles behind you on a road-trip when you were driving in corn-country.  I bet you can't, but you also didn't crash your car!

Edited September 16, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[gepardcv]

NwAvGuy did add a lot of value to the consumer audio world, though I would dispute some of his measurements and claims.

I have no substantive comments on his O2 (except that it was one of the first amps I built myself, and I quickly stopped using it because it produced the awful DC thump on turn-on and turn-off common in annoying-fi — which none of the significantly better amps I built later did). However, the ODAC is a piece of junk. With Mac system volume set above 50%, it produces nasty and extremely audible clipping. Perhaps my unit is defective. ??‍♂️ I certainly don't intend to buy another one just to find out. Not a single other DAC ever performed so poorly in my system.

[EdipisReks1]

33 minutes ago, gepardcv said:

NwAvGuy did add a lot of value to the consumer audio world

Incorrect.  The opposite, in fact. 

[soundwave]

^ How so? Both NwAvGuy and now ASR have exposed for example several Schiit models to be very poor. Now Schiit has started to improve their products and they also add measurement data for their products. This lack of detailed product information is and has been a clear handicap of the hifi industry definetly NOT in favor of the consumer. I really can’t see any arguments against this positive change.

[EdipisReks1]

5 hours ago, soundwave said:

^ How so? Both NwAvGuy and now ASR have exposed for example several Schiit models to be very poor

Oh, did they?  Anybody with two-thirds of a brain has known that since the brand started. If I wrote a long, boring blog-post about Hitler being bad, would I be exposing Hitler as being bad?

Edited September 17, 2019 by EdipisReks1