Distortion, measurements & SINAD

[Robert]

A thoughtful video explaining why an obsession with achieving stellar headline numbers doesn't always guarantee good sound. There is often much more below the surface.

In short, if you are going to measure, do it properly and make the results relevant:

 

[RJohan]

Thanks! A small but important sanity check.

 

[Tony L]

Yay! Something I’ve never heard of doesn’t matter! \o/

 

[gustav_errata]

Yay! Something I’ve never heard of doesn’t matter! \o/

It's the main, focal metric used by audiosciencereview.com for ranking DACs, etc. I remember you said you haven't paid much attention to them. Anyway, I won't say more because I don't feel like participating in yet another ASR-related thread!

 

[Tony L]

Yes, I don’t read that site at all. I followed a link to a speaker “review” ages ago and thought it was beyond hopeless for a variety of reasons. Maybe other aspects of the site are better, but skimming the review list suggests there is very little if any overlap between the sort of equipment I’m interested in and what they cover.

 

[davidsrsb]

The pointless quest for ever greater SINAD is why modern some DACs produce 5V or more output, overloading the following amplifier.

 

[Tony L]

The pointless quest for ever greater SINAD is why modern some DACs produce 5V or more output, overloading the following amplifier.

5V? You could happily drive a pair of Klipschorns with that!

 

[Robert]

Yes, I don’t read that site at all. I followed a link to a speaker “review” ages ago and thought it was beyond hopeless for a variety of reasons. Maybe other aspects of the site are better, but skimming the review list suggests there is very little if any overlap between the sort of equipment I’m interested in and what they cover.

The youtube channel is much better than the site. Some good content without the noise, better SINAD

 

[Werner]

ASR ...

I won't comment, beyond that if I had that mea$urement equipment I would use it for totally different purposes.

 

[Tony L]

ASR ...

I won't comment, beyond that if I had that mea$urement equipment I would use it for totally different purposes.

Measuring farts? I can see a popular website in that.

 

[Purité Audio]

ASR ...

I won't comment, beyond that if I had that mea$urement equipment I would use it for totally different purposes.

What?
Keith

 

[davidsrsb]

I would like to see some of the classic speakers measured properly. OK they wont be the same as when new, but it would still be a good clue to what to try to get right

 

[Fretbuzz]

Case of a (flawed) parameter somehow becoming an instigator of design/performance rather than an indicator? ... bit like Ofsted

 

[Arkless Electronics]

SINAD was always more a thing in radio communications.

 

[DimitryZ]

Like any figure of merit in engineering, it's useful but flawed.

I recently purchased Gustard X16, which has an excellent measured performance, and found that it does sound excellent.

Same with my big Emotiva monoblocks and their preamp.

 

[sq225917]

There's no one magic metric that equates to sound quality, in fact there's probably no combination that does either.

Get to -90 odd db SNR and THD all below 0.01% and anything else is just a matter of taste.

The effect of the room is orders of magnitude greater than the fine detail of measured performance for most bits of genuine 'hifi'.