Blind Test Part Trois: Schiit Magni Unity vs Topping L50

Do all of that, and they'll just move the goalposts.

 

Even after those goalposts move past a certain point they may remain unsatisfied, but any reasonable sort with half a mind to call their own will acknowledge that there exists a meaningful difference.

 

If their requirements are documented, whatever they say after the test, they'll look stupid and highly questionable to anyone with half a brain.

 

And ASR is a miserably illogical name and/or a complete misrepresentation.

Hydrogenaud.io, perhaps, genuinely tries to be about science. Purely "subjective" impressions are simply not allowed. It was where I met Amir. Was he welcomed as an audio scientist? Was he hell --- he came in spouting crap and schilling for his own business. He kept arguing his position(s) whatever it/they were, and every time he got called out he just yes-but-ed or moved those goal posts. It went on for ages. Far too long. But Hydrogenaud.io had its characters that wouldn't let go either. I think Amir eventually gave up and went away.

I think it was also at hydrogenaud.io that I learnt that blind testing is actually the most subjective of tests... because it is about the listener and the sound without any other consideration, bias, etc etc. And no, it doesn't have to be 30 seconds of this, 30 seconds of that. Subjectivist/objectivist, in audio, gets defined by the strawman lies told by the extremists on both sides.

Nothing shuts them the f**k up. They are a permanent noise in the audio world.

 

I had some showerthoughts about this whole thing this morning, and it lead me down a similar horrible path in the general area of audio 'science'.

Taking a step back.... many of us have way too many different headphones, amps, DACs. A small part of the reason for this is that we are all insane, but it is mostly because we want different sounds for different scenarios. My three main rigs are HD650 on Crack for guilty pleasures. Stax for airy precision. Focal Clear for when I want fun and impact.

So, what's with the trend for so many people chasing malleable headphones that they specifically want to EQ to the Harman/Crin/homogenouseverythingsoundsthesame curve? Why do people keep buying different headphones, and putting such a massive amount of effort into making them all sound the same?

If it was food? Well, we don't go into a greasy spoon and ask them to reproduce filet mignon with their Salisbury steak, we go there because we are hung over and we need grease. We don't go into Les Panatlons Fancie and get them to jazz up a chilli dog, we go because we want to impress our date with fancy French shit and then get in their pants.

Alongside ASR patrons wanting to spend more, and more, and more money on gear that they believe should all sound exactly the same? It all just seems so absurd.

 

Correct. My point is to have a public post, video, etc. that shows they're full of shit. Something like Golden's MQA video.

 

Sure. People are doing that. Purr1n is making great efforts. So are others.

But Amir will yes-but, and believers will go on believing.

Colour me cynical

 

at what point does it make sense to pretend they just don't exist? Continue on with the good work you guys are doing, but just stopping to reference them and their site directly?

 

Like this:



Then:



Then repeat.

It gets old. Hell, I wrote the Subjectivist/Objectivist Synthesis chapter six years ago: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...obable-start-up.701900/page-690#post-12447731

 

Similarly, no objectivist/subjectivist online debate has ever kept me from wanting to listen to more music. That's something no measurement of ill performant gear can wrest from me. And it's also something I hope I can share with even the most adamant measurement fascist. "Dude! The new Plini EP is straight bangin"

 

Yeah. It is OLD old. So old, it doesn't even warrant a reaction.