Objective measurements force manufacturer to issue clarification and take corrective measures

[sidvee]

Interesting to see this - objective vs subjective comments play out

Buckeye Purifi Eigentakt 1ET9040BA monoblock power amplifier

Back in 2016, I documented the rise of class-D amps using the early TriPath technology. Used in the Bel Canto eVo 200.2, TriPath cracked open the door to the High End but was never admitted due to a dim and opaque treble. The second wave was based on B&O's ICEpower technology, again via a Bel...

www.stereophile.com

Above review of the purifi 9040 modules from buckeye amps. had good subjective performance, while objective testing showed they didn't meet their specs. Huge debate raged on ASR forum.
Couple of days later, the manufacturer admitted to quality lapses and said all later units were fixed.

Buckeye Purifi Eigentakt 1ET9040BA monoblock power amplifier Stereophile Measurements

Again, manufacturing and selling the completed product based on amplifier module is not as easy as ABC, as putting it into a box, add power supply, connectors and wires, and copy and paste module datasheet specs. It is a serious job based on skills and knowledge. At least at the beginning, at...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It is good to see manufacturers respond to this type of objective testing, and I for one am a firm believer that where possible subjective impressions have to have perhaps some form of objective measurements.
I agree many times subjective reviews don't really prove out many of the manufacturers claims, and may not even matter, but ultimately it is the mfrs. responsibility to meet their claims - else they are cheating people.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[reignofchaos]

Objective reviews are important for ensuring no obvious booboos in the finished product. It helps weed out the bad ones at times. But end of the day alongwith objective performance, the sound quality should also matter.

 

[sidvee]

Objective reviews are important for ensuring no obvious booboos in the finished product. It helps weed out the bad ones at times. But end of the day alongwith objective performance, the sound quality should also matter.

Yes sound quality is the most important - but it is highly subjective - no uniform measurement exists for sound quality - what is good to me, may be average for someone else. So at-least objective criteria has to be met as per the advertised specs. After that it is left to the interpretation of the listener, but if the advertised criteria is not met, then it either has to be corrected or pointed out as a caveat as per the Stereophile review.
And I think same applies for any electro-mechanical device, not only audio. Of-course if one is reviewing a painting or wine or cigars then this does not apply.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Kannan]

Audio components are not made out of air or grow in trees. They are based on strong scientific principles and with advanced testing devices, objective measurements have become a base to ascertain and go ahead on the road to desiging the final product. Except the speakers (that have have a certain sound flavor as chosen by the designer/manufacturer) and that give us the final analogue output, rest of the chain must conform to be as nuetral as possible and should be based on strong scientific bases.
Speakers need to be totally phase coherent and the final output is generally based on certain house curves that have been established overtime based on extended listening sessions and end user feedbacks over the years.

 

[sidvee]

Another thing this incident has pointed out to me, is the strength of forums where members opinions/comments influences the manufacturers & reviewers to set things right. Another incident happened where a 10 audio reviewer slammed a well know class D amplifier manufacturer with some vague insinuations. Consequently the manufacturer responded to dishonest dealing by the reviewer about his products in the past , due to which the reviewer may have been prompted to slam the amplifier (this was done on 2 influential forums). And in case of the current review the manufacturer didn't recall sending any amp. to the reviewer, prompting comments about a totally dishonest review where the reviewer might not have even heard the equipment. The reviewer then immediately blocked the review from his site.
Cheers,
Sid