ASR Audio Equipment Review #1

[@fwabble]

I am not involved in the audio scene at this moment (due to money as usual) but I never ever stop appreciating what wonderful work Amir does, he is a HERO for us abused, mislead and plain LIED to consumers, and NOTHING SHORT.. Amir even spent quite some time helping me with an old amp problem on the forum a couple of years back. I don't quite understand what disgusting algorithm is keeping this channel down... Something fishy because this man, is doing OUTSTANDING work

[@Audfile]

Yes the outright lies to your face in audio are about the worst of any industry. Not talking high end vs low end, that is real, nobody is fleecing you there for the most part.

[@sergeysmelnik]

Ive been into audio since I was a kid. No hobby has this amount of snake oil. There is nothing close

[@teachonlywhatiseasy]

1) the algorithm rewards well produced reviews. 2) veritasium has a video 'click bait is unreasonably effective'

[@dangerzone007]

And you don't need to spend much money to enjoy audio. For example the drop X4 are really good budget headphones especially if you know how to EQ. They often go on sale for under $100.

[@realitykicksin8755]

Amir’s testing and reviews are essential in the audio world, which is filled with con artists.

[@edgar9651]

And it seems lots of people like those con artist because they believe they have golden ears and hear something which Amir shows isn't there.

[@ConsecDesign]

hahaha, Amir AKA Mr. Measure First/Listen Later has his head up his ass, so i don't even know how he can wear headphones!

[@fwabble]

THIS

[@marks.2909]

Lol 😫😭

[@CinemaSynesthesia]

Hi Amir, enjoyed this format video. It might help if you add the timecodes in this format, then KZbin will add the chapter headings to the video playback bar: 00:00 - Introduction
 00:52 - ART USB Phono Plus Review 13:09 - Avantone CLA-10 Speaker Review 32:52 - Cayin Mini-CD MKII and LINN MIMIK CD Player Review 43:59 - Tice TPT Enhanced Line Conditioner Review 49:58 - Tice Power Conductor 2 Vintage AC Cable Review

[@AudioScienceReview]

Thanks so much for doing that! Will add.

[@zapador]

I really like this format! If you feel like it works for you then by all means please continue. Also thank you for everything you do for the community, much appreciated!

[@carlosarques]

One nice hour of audio technical entertainment. Always learning something. Thanks Amir.

[@redgopnik2227]

this video was a lot of fun to watch, even with the length. please make more roundups like this

[@budsmoker4201120]

Been watching your videos all day. I must say keep up the great job. You are doing such a good for people! Thank you for your hard work.

[@JesusMartinez-mk6fc]

Well done video Amir that demonstrates the kind of superstitions that we encounter in the audiophile market. It's perplexing that in this day and age with all the resources and knowledge available on the Internet that many audiophiles choose to believe so many superstitions that are based on anecdotal and unproven information. Perhaps it's a consequence of the failure of the educational systems with regards to teaching the basic principles of the scientific method.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

It's because 99% of reviewers refuse to do bad reviews, so everything they review is "the best" apparently. Even though last week's review was "the best" So in order for these people to make a living they have to resort to 1. Clickbait titles 2. Every product being the best Wouldn't want companies to stop sending them their shit products now would they! They're not reviewers either they're salesman, they don't do bad reviews because they're not going to get any $ from an affiliate link of a bad review, so they're not interested in genuinely reviewing a product, they're interested in making $ Try giving constructive feedback/criticism to these "reviewers" and see how defensive and aggressive they quickly become, I had one tell me he's only interested in "positive comments" and said my "negativity isn't welcome on his channel" If you ask a tough question they see it as "negative". I won't mention his name Andrew Robinson

[@LynnXternal]

ASR is a gift and a boon to the audio hobby. The hobby and the industry is still rife with science-deniers who are the intellectual equivalent of anti-vaxxers. Before ASR, it was even worse - it was the dark ages, except for maybe an island of sanity in Tyll Hertsens's measurement database and HydrogenAudio. So thank you sincerely for everything you have done, do, and will continue to do. Without the trend ASR has started, honesty in the hobby just wouldn't be possible for people who aren't savvy audio engineers.

[@sergeysmelnik]

Dont equate them to anti vaxxers. Thats your stupid opinion.

[@astheworldburns3590]

All audio equipment these days beyond a dongle and galaxy ear buds is a luxury good that no one needs unless they produce music. I worry more about drug companies using crooked means to maintain patents on life saving drugs ... i am not sure which ones but I know they do it.

[@DearSX]

Awesome video! You're work has helped me a lot in my audiophile journey, I now know I am not crazy when I can't here a difference between a lot of my equipment.

[@HansDelbruck53]

hear, not here

[@edgar9651]

Thanks Amir. I think it would be better if you would have a couple of shorter videos instead of one long one. Or at least there could be some timestamps to easily go to the sections. It's interesting to hear what you think about any equipment. But after I watched a few minutes of the phono device I thought: Why do I do that? I will never ever use anything like that. Thanks for all your great work!

[@matijatatomirovic3351]

Playing devils advocate, NS10 were used to double check how mix would translate on a lousy home speaker back in the day. Similarly how people nowdays double check a mix on a phone speaker or earbuds. Not that you would make any significant corrections based on what you get on NS10. CLA actually uses a Sony boombox hidden somewhere in the back for same purpose. IIRC the engineer who made them popular picked them in a store because they were worst sounding of the bunch. So if a mix sounded good on monitors, but also decent on NS10, that would be it.

[@34332]

Lol 👍

[@Grommet2007]

I remember hearing that "Auratone" speakers were used as well, for exactly the same reason...

[@matijatatomirovic3351]

Exactly, whatever diametrically different speaker you use it will reveal something that isn't obvious on a flat monitor. Depending on range the speaker accentuates. Even a 10$ bookshelf can seem like a fresh breath of air after listening to flat one for hours, and hours.

[@34332]

Really enjoyed this format, the lenght, the diversity of (some oddball, lol) products, twist of humor and based tech info. Appreciated!

[@Patrick-vl2gx]

I remember reading articles from renowned reviewers in high-end audio magazines describing the wonderful effects of the Tice products.

[@nomoredamnnamestouse]

Something don't something bite something hand something feed something something

[@nicoras8803]

Long but still entertaining and informative. Thank mate always enjoy your cometary.

[@Adam.NavyVet]

Truly enjoyed this Weekly Roundup Series. I learn so many things from every video you produce Amir. Thank you kindly for your dedication to revealing the truth about Audio devices. The service you provide is priceless and demonstrates a personal integrity to commend and respect. Bravo Zulu Sir.

[@hdmoviesource]

Great video, I'd love to see more like this. I really enjoyed seeing more reviews like this.

[@relicthominin9864]

Thanks, I enjoyed this summary. I don't always get time to log on to the ASR page so I found this weekly digest very useful. More please.

[@relicthominin9864]

p.s. I don't mind the length of the video. If I'm not interested in a particular review item, I can just fast forward to the next.

[@davidmiller1534]

As a suggestion, I'd encourage you to consider producing videos of products you have recommended within categories. For example, 'DACs costing less than $1,000' or 'passive bookshelf speakers'. You have reviewed a lot of gear and it would be good to get your perspective on competitive products within a category. Some of the equipment in this particular video, while interesting, are more geared towards 'the museum of AV equipment' and not terribly relevant to today's marketplace.

[@AudioScienceReview]

It is a good suggestion. Alas, I review so much stuff that it is hard for me to keep track of what is what! When something really stands out, I sometimes do a video on them. But I hear you and will think about how to do it.

[@jimfarrell4635]

I enjoyed that a lot, Amir. Thanks for the effort of making it. The long format is fine. Folks can always dip in and out as they want. There is a lot of interest in cd playback again, especially in cd transports. Shanling have just brought out the ET3 transport which outputs a digital stream via USB and I2S, and upsamples to hi res pcm or dsd if you want. Seems a bit of a new idea and measurements would be very interesting.

[@skip1835]

I fully enjoyed the long format - thanks.

[@johnminassian4887]

Great! More please!

[@zachansen8293]

chapters would be awesome. Also, I'd say these should be shorter per device, as the full review is in text. I'd love if these videos were more commentary and stories on performance, since that would add to the text review, instead of just mostly reading the reviews.

[@Phoenix_1991]

Amir, what do YOU personally use? I would like to know. Like speakers, amp etc. for your own personal music listening.

[@Audfile]

He has like a $50,000 system.

[@AudioScienceReview]

I have multiple systems for different uses. My desktop where I spent the most time listening has an RME ADI-2 Pro audio interface driving usually the Dan Clark Stealth headphones. My main audio system is constantly torn up testing products but when it is not, it has Revel Salon 2 speakers. Amps are Mark Levinson. DAC is Topping D90. Streamer is a silent custom PC I built. Interconnects (balanced) are Mogami Gold mainly because they are so reliable (low cost ones tend to break). I also have an Otari Reel to Reel deck that I play once in a while to bring fond memories when that was the highest fidelity source you could have. We also have a 7.2 theater powered by Trinnov Altitude 16 processor. Amplification is through a 5 channel Proceed amp (120 pound beast!) and Hypex stereo to drive the rear channels. Speakers are Revel C52 all around which is a very unique configuration. Projector is Sony ES6000. Note that I never preach people use what I have. To wit, you would do much better than buying the amps I have at far lower cost. I just happen to have some gear so use it.

[@crtgamer2355]

@@AudioScienceReview If you have the space, you should try setting up a vintage Japanese amp and speakers, something like the Kenwood KA-9800 with some Sansui speakers from the late 60's early 70's etc. People who have never owned a vintage Japanese system have no idea what they are missing out on. It may not measure well, but man it's so musical and enjoyable to listen to.

[@Phoenix_1991]

@@AudioScienceReview thank you for taking the time to respond Amir! I really appreciate it. I have also had all kinds of systems from very expensive to very cheap. Currently I am out of the hifi game so to say and use the JVC wood cone speakers as pc speakers with some cheap amplification and the Topping DX3 DAC. I also have a pair of Wharfedale Evo 4.1 sitting around doing nothing since they were too big for my desk. Love Wharfedale, loved the Linton Ann speakers! Think audiolab is a good amp to pair with them. One day I will get back into it.

[@AudioScienceReview]

@@crtgamer2355 I actually got into "serious" hifi with a Sansui stereo amplifier! We are talking 1970s. I still have an Optonica amplifier circa 1980s which I need to make time to test. I do test vintage stuff as members send them. Occasionally I have gone looking for them on used market but seems if it has a silver front, the cost has gone through the roof!

[@okanaganmedia]

Ok Amir, would you please suggest an Integrated amplifier, Streamer, DAC and speakers for a complete system? Essentially, what would you buy/build for a 2 channel home audio system

[@gaurd3]

46:04 ridiculous, Had this playing in the background. nice work

[@artysanmobile]

Analyzing the Yamaha NS-10, to understand its appeal to mix engineers you need to know how and why we used it. We only used it to present a narrow band of the midrange, and, counterintuitively, the response DIDN’T MATTER. The speaker’s appeal to us was that bass and extreme highs were NOT audible, NOT interfering with the desired midrange which is literally where the music is, as we say. With low distortion and fast dynamic response, the NS-10 let us make mix adjustments specifically to the midrange sources which can be impossible with a full range transducer. Try it and you will become immediately familiar with the principle and how wonderfully it works. There are dozens of other speakers that can accomplish this but we can be a little conservative. Remember, the response is NOT important, which sounds like complete nonsense. We achieve the separation of our closely overlapping vocals, guitars, keyboards, strings, etc, etc,… by using an intentionally limited response. I hope this explanation serves to help explain the seemingly odd choice.

[@luca12957]

Good idea, happy to see more of these videos

[@michaelsk87]

What about I2s out of Cayin cd player, What about the two filter options on the cd player? Incomplete test

[@ceannairereibiliunach8133]

Welcome back , i love reading (and watching ) your reviews on hifi equipment but i was wondering if you or anyone else from Audio Science Review could do a re-review on some of the equipment? as some ( especially Topping devices ) seem to have long term issues of reliability or do you think that the reliability question is overstated and perhaps driven by the 'hifi snobs ' more than fact?

[@AudioScienceReview]

Thanks for the kind words. It is very hard for me to test issues I don't see. I don't know what I could say about stuff that fails for others without me having any insight into it.

[@ceannairereibiliunach8133]

@@AudioScienceReview Ah yes of course i forgot that the vast majority of your review gear comes from other members , we need a brave distributor to provide equipment for you xD .

[@lurkersmith810]

One claim made by Tice and other such companies is that you can hear things that can't be measured, and I believe that is absolutely true. I am confident that no amount of instrumentation used to test my headphones would detect my tinnitus, nor can it show the voices in my head that say "This sounds good!" when I plug a power cord into a socket. I've found out that the handful of picofarads that exist at the end of a standard IEC computer power cord provide the same line conditioning ability as immersing the cord in black potting material, and I get the same performance at a fraction of the cost! (You can even hear the difference on a wind-up Victor V2-60!) Send me just $49.99 and I will send you instructions on how to plug a standard computer power cable into an available socket and get amazing results that can't be measured! None of my claims can be proven, which is how you KNOW they're true! (Disclaimer: Nonbelievers may have difficulty hearing any differences.)

[@mustafa0319]

thanks for these amir!

[@thegroove2000]

You and Ethan Winer. Thanks.

[@ConsecDesign]

ASR: It's like UserBenchmark, but for audio!

[@andysummersthxcinemaandmyc7748]

yeah new , ASR on the science of audio 1:04 art i have few other models myself passive , active powered for certain and use passive level ones on my HF JBL horns for tiny fraction dB trim alignment as the amplifiers levels are bit fraction out of alignment so i use the passive to make necessary trim that snake oil power cable should be in the hall of headless panther fame

[@CaveyMoth]

Wow, the Yamaha NS-10M is like the Grado of loudspeakers.

[@AudioScienceReview]

Good analogy! :)

[@StringerNews1]

I remember auditioning a pair of NS10 speakers in 1978 or 1979, at Audio Consultants in Evanston, IL. and being thoroughly unimpressed. I remember the salesman saying something nonspecific about "recording engineers" liking this speaker, but even in my short tenure as a hi-fi lover and live sound mixer, I didn't see anything to justify the lofty $1000 (over $4200 in today's money) price tag. The NS10 had no bass to speak of, and the treble was far too loud, not even close to being "flat". The Mission 710 speakers that I got shortly thereafter at $500 were better in every way, and the 770 even better at the same price. Rumor has it that Bob Clearmountain was the "recording engineers" who started using the NS10 back in 1978 (not clear how many if any big names followed suit), not because they were good, but because they were portable. Meter bridge speakers were nothing new in the late '70s, dominated by the JBL 4311 (there was a 4310 and 4312 IIRC) 3-way speaker, with its signature white woofer cone. It was well-understood back then that the NS10 was a poor knockoff of the 4311 (only being 2-way) that implied that a white cone was all that was needed to sound good. And a lot of dumb people went with that purely aesthetic approach. S.O.S. article: www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-ns10-story Whether the story is accurate or not, recording studios of the day were supplementing their huge and heavy soffit-mounted main control room speakers with ones that were small and light enough to be balanced on the mixer's meter bridge. They just didn't use cheap consumer speakers. Even JBL had the L100, that looked like the 4311, but at a more attractive price, and available to big box hi-fi stores by the pallet load. At least the L100 had JBL DNA in it, the NS10 could make no such claim. And it wasn't that good compared to a number of other 2-way bookshelf speakers of the day. But hype sells...

[@StringerNews1]

@@jim9930 I'm told that JBL wasn't keeping up with other major speaker makers back then, but couldn't say from my own experience. In live sound (what I was doing), JBL drivers still had a good reputation, but newcomers were making inroads where EV, JBL & Altec used to be it. Speaking of Westlake, one thing they had in common with a lot of PA speakers of that era was using horns and a lot of pass bands to get relatively flat frequenct response over the entire audible band. With ferrofluid we're able to get 3-way direct radiator systems to do what required a 5-way system with lots of horn loading.

[@samuelsalins8309]

Great review thanks 👍

[@davidlong1786]

I remember seeing photos of the Yamaha NS10 in recording studios and most of the time they had tacked on a tissue in front of the tweeter trying to make it sound less hot is my guess when in fact like you have shown the main culprit is the woofer/mid rising in frequency. That so many studios even considered that speaker as any use is beyond my understanding. Just goes to show how word of mouth influences other people's decisions be it good or bad.

[@peterwikvist2433]

Hi Amir, I hope you are well. Here is something I stumbled into. The "cable guys" think and claim that the fuse in a system improve the sound. Here is what Synergetic Research claim with their Master Fuse: "Instead, we engineered Master Fuse to work alongside Purple and Orange fuses to create dramatic new levels of sonic realism, featuring wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling sound staging with unparalleled resolution, dynamics, and frequency extension. Best of all, most systems will not benefit from more than one or possibly two Master Fuses in an otherwise complete loom of Purple and or Orange fuses. So you start with a single Master Fuse on your DAC or line conditioner and realize guaranteed results or your money back for the first 30 days… This is why significant gains in sound quality are possible when you insert an SR Black or Blue Fuses into each of your components." Nonsense if you ask me but I think it would be an interesting topic. I think you should take a look at it. $595.00 is the price for one fuse.

[@AudioScienceReview]

Hi Peter. I get a lot of requests to test these fuses so at some point I will. Shame I can't test their reliability though as blowing them would cost so much money!

[@philipteater3714]

Like the format - can jump to what interests me

[@stephenyoud6125]

Great analysis of the Avantone. Please do us a favor and send it to your friend Danny Richie at GR-Research to get it fixed with a proper crossover, and then review it again like you did with the GR-R Klipsch RP600M upgrade. Better still take up Dannys invitation to visit and take the speaker with you and go through the upgrade process with him and report back. Please dont say what Gene Della Sala of Audioholics said to me when I tried to provoke him to do the same, that he had neither the time nor the inclination (I actually think he was afraid he might need to rebrand audioholic’s “No snake Oil” logo if he finds out that cable lifters are a thing as Chris from Vinyl attack found when he visited). The mud slinging doesn’t help any of us.

[@AudioScienceReview]

I already returned the Avantones. But if I hadn't, I would have no doubt that Danny could do a far better job with them than the company did. Danny knows how to do crossover design. Please note that I have spent a ton of money on Danny's products. Probably to the tune of $2,000. He has never given us a cent discount and would refuse to loan me anything for review. He even charged me credit card and shipping fees when I returned his power cord (only thing I have returned to him; I am stuck with his speaker kits I bought). The issue is not really his speakers, it is the other bits he promotes. Us going there would be doing the work he needs to do, i.e. prove in an unbiased way that those things do something for the sound. Instead me schlepping there, it is far more fruitful and valuable if he just grabbed half a dozen local audiophiles and perform a blind test on them. Post that result and we would all take notice. It doesn't make sense for me to spend money and time going there when he hasn't done just the basics of providing audible differences. There is also the matter of whether many people care for me to spend this level of resources on him. It is not like he is a major player in audio so doing more would be impactful. I have done plenty of testing of his products and enough data is out there for folks to make informed decisions.

[@stephenyoud6125]

@@AudioScienceReview ok Amir thanks for the time you spent to reply. It’s a great pity As I would love to see you both get together.

[@DasAntiNaziBroetchen]

Idk how it compares exactly, but I got the big version of that Yamaha speaker (NS-351). I basically paid nothing for it (in Japan). Had to bleach the cones though and soften the surrounds and some other stuff.

[@ICANHAZKILLZ]

Came across your website by accident while trying to understand why a UK power cable on ebay was £500, this world of "audiophile" trinkets is absolutely wild!! I work with SMD and SMT lines so hearing the "science" behind these products has me in awe, shocked honestly. Is there a loophole in anti-scam laws for audio equiptment? How are they getting away with this?? I found a £9000 "audiophile" grade FUSE today!! A FUSE!!! There was literally no measurements, verifications or anything, and all the "reviews" where from websites making money from the products via adverts and freebies. Absolutely disgusting. All these issues products fail to solve are already solved with very cheap SMD componants, resistors and capacitors. Please never stop exposing this nonsense, I feel awful for people who fall for these products as they obviously love their equiptment, it's a shame they're being rinced and potentially even harming things with non-approved, non-saftey regulated products which often don't make use of modern techniques anyway...

[@thegroove2000]

"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum,

[@BblastedD]

Amir, there is an Aoshida (dilvpoetry) phono pre amp on Am....n for approx $60. Perhaps worth a look seeing as Topping is under the same umbrella.

[@AudioScienceReview]

Sure, I will take a look.

[@BblastedD]

Funny, I don't see the divlpoetry on us ama..n , however there is a nobsound t3 that appears to be the same model. $55

[@mauanderuk]

I use holy water on my cables to get a more church like acoustic experience 🤪 Thanks again great video as always.

[@DavidSmith-tl1qh]

Loved finding out about the Art Pro audio USB Phono Plus for ripping vinyl to computer and was VERY excited about review of the Cayin mini-CD player as a transport... but the thing I wanted to know most about was the I2S (HDMI) output. I know of NO OTHER CD player that has that kind of digital output at this price point. Would it have had better measured qualities if you used this INSTEAD of the Spdif output? Because I think that is the REAL key to this product (it doesn't even have an optical output!) Paired with a DAC that has an I2S INPUT, I think this may have really surprised you. What do you think?

[@AudioScienceReview]

I have tested IIS before and it has zero quality advantage over other interfaces. This is a signal protocol that was designed to run between ICs in a product, not external to it. Using it this way was just misguided. But again, I have tested and it makes absolutely no difference in fidelity. With the signal being non-standard, my analyzer can't test it anyway (my other tests involved using a DAC).

[@jimfarrell4635]

David, this seems to be a trend. The new Shanling ET3 transport outputs to both usb and I2S and upsamples to Dsd if you wish. It runs at around 750 dollars and also has streaming functionality.

[@DavidSmith-tl1qh]

Gustard X16 DAC has the I2S input, I don't know of any other DACs at $500. that has that!@@jimfarrell4635

[@paulpaulzadeh6172]

Why FFT at low frequency going up? Common mode issue??😮

[@1Aquadon]

Thanks Amir!!

[@MarkasTZM]

I bought Klipsch Cornwalls and an amp 44 years ago when I was 16. My audiophile journey was over.

[@peterlarkin762]

Lol, you're a terrible consumer. Go buy some iridium plated toilet roll holders immediately!

[@hartyewh1]

Can someone tell me why ripping lp's isn't utter madness compared to just going digital to begin with? Feels like mic recording some industry reference speaker system to then play it in your garage sale Yamahas. Are some original masters only available on lp or something?

[@charlesnr]

Most studios always had tp or thin tissue over the tweeter on the NS10.

[@BARTSKI75]

Wow thank u Amir ...that tIce thing is criminal ....

[@edverbeek6292]

Works well for me. Thanks

[@GregorMima]

What was Yamaha thinking 😄 Maybe it sounds great with walls made of Paper like in Japan ... Like many Japanese speakers during the 80/90ies.

[@dangerzone007]

Better to use a good quality phono preamp and a reasonable audio interface with a flat frequency response.

[@karoliinasalminen]

This is why all sane people mix with flat response speakers like Genelecs, and not with these or the Yamahas. Also much more enjoyable to hear own music many times with a speaker that does not have horrible resonances. Ears wont bleed afterwards. Also kind of explains why even some big budget commercial music sounds so bad on flat response speakers or even with Airpods, because they have "corrections" made with these or the Yamahas or other very crappy monitors that the sound engineers insisted of being "good" with some weird false idea. What it comes to slow or fast speaker, I think it actually means driver has habits to keep ringing on certain freqencies, and while radical EQing can make it look like flat in frequency response graph, notes that hit those frequency in actual music content just don't decay fast enough. This is quite audible on low frequencies especially, for example Peerless STW-350F sucks in midbass even if the frequency response graph shows flat, also popular Dayton Audios do the same. Such issue in bass can cause in a fast paced music like psytrance the kick + bass sound like single "booom" instead of hearing the notes as separate and the impact of it is lost. Same with explosions in movies, with a driver with a resonance in a bad place, the explosion becomes very soft and its ripping midbass detail is inaudible. Slow subwoofer vs fast subwoofer. However not everyone is perceiving this correctly and they don't know what they are looking for in the measurements. I use pro audio drivers in subs for exactly this reason, driver needs to have very strong motor, low moving mass. Drivers with BL 40 and moving mass of 30% of hifi drivers like the Peerless, will have less resonances on the frequencies that are critical to kick + bass in 145 bpm music like psytrance and what the producer intended gets perceiced by the listener. Some people don't know what fast means and calls something with lots of resonances as fast. Or they think that sealed box makes a difference vs vented despite the group delay peak on vented sub is much lower than where transients can be perceived anymore. Some home theater people with large front speakers don't notice that their subs are bad because they use low crossover frequency to subs. Sub's issues become audible when having high crossover point like 80 Hz, to smaller speakers, when also the midbass gets reproduced by the sub(s). There is a typical ringing in some B&C compression tweeters. Even if it is smoothed with EQ, it still sounds bright or harsh because that frequency in the upper register keeps ringing and does not decay fast enough. That is a "slow tweeter". Waterfall plot is essential when selecting a tweeter to avoid this kind of time domain issues that no amount of EQ can fix. And it never shows in manufacturer provided data because they publish a smoothed frequency response and don't publish waterfall. It is some magic/art to find parts from off the shelf components that are well behaved enough through the usage range. I don't think all loudspeaker desigers master that and this shows in how it sounds like even with identical frequency response when comparing to a good speaker. Ringing resonances are just terrible. Even the tweeters of my Genelecs have some ringing, but it is above my hearing range and don't perceive that. I wonder what my cats think about that.

[@Projacked1]

Avantone found the perfect woofer? Yamaha still sells modern (white) replacement drivers. Wonderful to hear so many myths completely busted. The alarm clock tough...........HI-LA-RI-OUS

[@AsAgral]

Is it theoretically possible to make sufficient measurements of a DAC or Headphone Amp with a high performance oscilloscope? If the answer is "no", could someone explain in a few words why or send me a link with an explanation?

[@AudioScienceReview]

No. Scopes are made for bandwidth, not dynamic range (bit depth). Typical budget digital scope has only an 8 bit ADC. That give you a dynamic range of just 48 dB! So no way it is good enough for any kind of audio measurements. They do go to hundreds of Megahertz but we don't need that in audio. Some of the best scopes go up to 12 bits and even that is poor to measure low quality DACs let alone high quality ones (whose dynamic range is 120 to 130 dB). Best to get an audio interface and use its ADC for measurements. You will still be limited but can easily clear the 16 bit mark with them.

[@AsAgral]

@@AudioScienceReview thanks a lot :)

[@jedi-mic]

You should test the Tannoy monitor gold 8" It's a good speaker at 400 ish

[@AudioScienceReview]

I measured the XT 6 but it didn't do well: www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/tannoy-revolution-xt-6-speaker-review.14662/ But sure, I will be on the look out for that model.

[@jedi-mic]

The gold monitor is studio monitor active@@AudioScienceReview

[@richheckelmann]

NS10M's sound absolutely horrible. Can only used in studios for midrange evaluations and if it sounds decent on a NS10M then its a good mix. But the better alternative was the Auratone which used the CTS 4" also used in the original 901's. Got a pair. Never heard much better. Worthy of a listen for the same reason that you listen to 4311's and Altecs everything was mixed on these at some point. But realistically the new stuff is a million times better.

[@w.g.5225]

Is funny when hifi people explain things.

[@antibrevity]

Ever since rip and burn features were first introduced decades ago, you could *never* allow Windows' native software to burn a music CD. Just don't.

[@RapturesDelight]

AMIR! sell me some jbls, bro! Haha

[@peterlarkin762]

The audiophile alarm clock people need to wake up.

[@AudioScienceReview]

:)

[@frederf69]

🤣 thank you

[@ThomasL]

Never understood the hype and trend with Yamaha NS10's, they're shitty, especially considering the price now, it's ridiculous.

[@dangerzone007]

Many people (no theme) claim you can't get enough power out of an amplifier if the DAC voltage isn't high enough even though the amplifier has enough gain for maximum voltage. More snake oil. I wish people would learn basic electronics. Why not do a video on this.

[@AudioScienceReview]

Good idea. Will put it on TODO list.

[@dangerzone007]

@@AudioScienceReview thanks

[@FOXMARINA63]

😂😂😂

[@Darkbelovedcloud]

Keep up the heretical podcasts Amir. It’s always fascinating to see the sheer audacity of the “designers” and their seemingly never ending cavalcade of worthless products ( ranging from the legendary Shakti stones to cable jackets ) Now if only I were gifted with golden ears than perhaps I maybe able to actually “hear the difference “ Is there a device for that ?

[@chrisnavarro9117]

😌 'promo sm'

[@hooch1111]

Typical ASR nonsense, and as usual without disclosing full setup configuration, this is literally a brainwash, nothing else.

[@dangerzone007]

What's the point in reviewing rubbish products

[@AudioScienceReview]

The problem is that we only know they are rubbish *after* testing them. Before, we may guess but the data only comes after the review. Also, people shop around by searching and if I don't review them, all they see is fluff informercials and waste their money on them.

[@hartyewh1]

Can someone tell me why ripping lp's isn't utter madness compared to just going digital to begin with? Feels like mic recording some industry reference speaker system to then play it in your garage sale Yamahas. Are some original masters only available on lp or something?

[@abijeetrs6522]

This ripping has its unique flavor and mastering differs too. Personally, I agree with you, and I too find this method to be just a waste of time.

[@AudioScienceReview]

People rip LPs because the mastering is usually different than CD. It is a lot of work though and difficult to do. I know more than a few people who started but then abandoned the effort. I have some rips that a friend in the industry made using ultra expensive turntable and find it to sound lousy compared to digital so am there with ou on that.

[@peterlarkin762]

Years ago, I used to download vinyl rips just to try out high resolution files (which were not generally available back then). Some of these were Japanese edition etc. And I thought they sounded amazing at the time.

[@VinylComeback]

Yes, there are many alternative versions/takes/mixes on songs that are only available on vinyl, both LP and 45rpm formats. Depending on the music and artists you listen to