Amir also subjectively listens to the stuff he measures. There’s a lot more than SINAD taken into account. Linearity, frequency response, IMD, output impedance - lots of things that can affect how something sounds.
There’s nothing at all religious about ASR - just a general intolerance of bullsh1t.
Religious attitude meaning that the forum scientists on ASR have their view and they aren’t ready to question it or look for answers. Things just are what they are and if someone else has their ears bleeding listening to Topping DACs then he must be imagining the blood running down their ears since the sound is pure gold if Amir gave it a smiling pink panther.
So if ethernet cables make a difference, how about WiFi? 2.4/ 5 G etc. ? Maybe there is a whole new minefield to operate in…
There is also a fair amount of hostility and rudeness directed at anyone who questions the methods used to review equipment. That is not at all in the spirit of science.
Most of the gear are only measured, at least digital components. Obviously since they all sound identical…
Usually only repeated unsubstantiated claims of “I can hear it, therefore it must be real” or people with no science or engineering background repeatedly arguing with scientists and engineers are met with less than open arms.
Dug and run! 
If someone’s ears are bleeding listening to a Topping DAC, then he has a serious issue elsewhere in his system that needs addressing. Topping DACs have a track record of being neutral and transparent. They may well show up other weaknesses, but that’s not the fault of the DAC.
It’s much more likely a very poorly designed loudspeaker or terrible room acoustics is at play.
The muppet measures first, and only listens if it measures good. Any listening he does is then ‘tainted’ by his measurements. That’s why in professional publications like ‘Hi-Fi News & Record Review’, one reviewer listens and another carries out the measurements, to avoid conflation.
ASR is amateurish and ‘cultish’. I call it the ‘Topping D90 Club’. After all, as far as they’re concerned, that’s the best DAC of all time 
It’s a joke. Avoid.
I used to own a Topping D90. The fact is, my Chord TT2 sounds immensely superior to the old Topping.
Yet the Chord might not ‘measure as well’ as the Topping. So ASR ‘followers’ believe the Topping is superior? Completely nonsensical!
No, it’s not a fact. It’s your opinion, based on your own subjective listening impressions.
Please don’t confuse facts with opinions.
This:
Anyway, what one thinks a group of people on another forum thinks is hardly relevant, IMHO. Go ask them (and I don’t have to be a proxy). Everyone interested should read up and decide the relevance themself: “What is SINAD and how can I use this information?”
What I don’t get is people complain over a forum about measuring audio equipment is… measuring audio equipment. And then come up with stories about how crazy they are, and then rage about it.
OK. I’ll rephrase.
It is generally accepted that the Chord TT2 sounds better than the Topping D90. Here’s the first of many reviews that substantiate that notion!
Oh, in this case it’s a Chord Qutest. Which is, in fact, a step below the TT2:
It’s all irrelevant as digital pales into insignificance after vinyl…….just my h’penny.
And what I don’t get are people like you coming in these threads to whine that there can’t be no difference when usually they haven’t even listened to the gear being talked about. What’s the point really? It’s like a toyota driver would join mercedes benz forum and whine to people about buying expensive cars when you can get from point a to b just as fast with your good old toyota avensis.
Too right! 
I think that will go down like the proverbial led zeppelin in here…
And I’ll raise you a groat…
And what I don’t get are people like you imagining that listening, or reporting having listened, changes anything. Each human’s listening apparatus, their brain, is different and influenced by a myriad of things continually changing over time. What you, or I, might hear isn’t proof of anything. So even if someone has listened to the gear, why bother mouthing off about it? Maybe they have listened, but have the good sense to keep quiet about that. Because it’s meaningless.
That’s another sweeping generalisation based on other people’s subjective listening impressions.
The reviewer would be in no way biased of course, given that he had already bought a Chord Qutest? He also doesn’t seem to completely understand what a FPGA is. It’s not something that makes a component sound magically better - it’s just a fancy name for a user-programmable integrated circuit.
I’m not trying to prove anything. I know what I hear and experience when I compare cables, switches and whatever. I choose the best sounding equipment in the most realistic listening environment, which is always sighted listening at home with my own system. Preferably for long time switching back and forth several times. I love to read other people’s experiences, being subjective or measured, and give them high value. It’s what forums are most useful for, sharing experiences. Objectivist measurers are doing their best to trash this atmosphere and that pisses me off.