[MetalManCPA]

I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile, although when I read some of the reviews of equipment throughout this site I become humbled.

I was thinking on the way home today about audio equipment and testing/reviewing. Here's an example:

I plan on reviewing the MiniBox-E amp. That's the easy part. From there, everything else seems way too variable. My testing environment will consist of an iPod 5G 80gig, the amp itself, a silver connector cable provided with the amp, Future Sonics Atrio M5's, and a Sendstation line out (as I feel I need to bypass the headphone jack). I do not have any lossless format music. All of my music is in MP3 format, with the majority at 192kps. Some music is at variable bit rate.

Now, just with the above alone, I can name so many variants that could effect the test, things I could change/add:

lossless music
different connector cable
different source
burn-in time for: the cable, the M5's, the amp (all I would assume need different bur-in times)

By changing a cable, will the same amp have a different sound? What if I used my wifes Creative MP3 player instead? How is it possible to truly test a piece of equipment will so many variables? Plus, since I've never heard any amps other than a PA2V2 and MiniBox-D (I own both), I have no comparison to others like the Tomohawk, etc.

What will my review really say about the amp? It seems to me that reviewing/testing is such an art. I enjoy reading magazines like Stereophile. When they test eqipment, they give pages upon pages of technical data (wave tables, distortion rates, etc etc). A lot of that stuff goes beyond what a partially deaf (due to loud music playing) person like myself can hear anyways.

My "guess" about testing is this - if I was testing headphones, I would always test with the same source. If I was testing amps, I would always use the same headphones.

So what do a lot of you "experts" out there feel about reviewing/testing? What conclusions do you feel come from testing/reviewing? For me, when it's all said and done, reading all of these reviews gives me opinions (and headaches

). WAY too much information to digest in this site. And way too much information for a diseased person such as myself not to get upgraditis.

 

[pne]

Now, just with the above alone, I can name so many variants that could effect the test, things I could change/add:

lossless music
different connector cable
different source
burn-in time for: the cable, the M5's, the amp (all I would assume need different bur-in times)

Of the above, the only variants that would really change the test is lossless and different source.




By changing a cable, will the same amp have a different sound?
no

What if I used my wifes Creative MP3 player instead?
yes

How is it possible to truly test a piece of equipment will so many variables?
yes

Plus, since I've never heard any amps other than a PA2V2 and MiniBox-D (I own both), I have no comparison to others like the Tomohawk, etc.
What will my review really say about the amp? It seems to me that reviewing/testing is such an art. I enjoy reading magazines like Stereophile. When they test eqipment, they give pages upon pages of technical data (wave tables, distortion rates, etc etc). A lot of that stuff goes beyond what a partially deaf (due to loud music playing) person like myself can hear anyways.
comparing the amp to what you own is a good start. A lot of us don't bother reading the technical data because it doesn't reflect the sound. The only time I have ever looked at specs is to find wattage and architecture.



My "guess" about testing is this - if I was testing headphones, I would always test with the same source. If I was testing amps, I would always use the same headphones.
test with whatever equipment you are familiar with. That way you will be able to note the difference the new piece of equipment makes.



So what do a lot of you "experts" out there feel about reviewing/testing? What conclusions do you feel come from testing/reviewing? For me, when it's all said and done, reading all of these reviews gives me opinions (and headaches

). WAY too much information to digest in this site. And way too much information for a diseased person such as myself not to get upgraditis.
I'm not an expert but I take all the reviews I read with a grain of salt. If its a favorable review I might be inclined to listen to the equipment myself to see if its worth buying. Of course I am biased in that I will trust others opinions in some areas but not others. For example, if someone said this source is really bassy, or this amp is very warm sounding I can take their word for it. When someone says, oh there is a slight edge of silibance around 13khz, the complex passages sound congested, the soundstage is quite gray, I'd have to hear it for myself to believe it.