Not so common anymore. 
The few we use to have in our area are long gone.
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Measurements don’t mean an audio piece will sound good or bad. If this was true nobody would buy a tube amp because their specs are not as good as SS.
Use your ears
Good advice and that’s exactly what I did. Which is why I have several solid state amplifiers not tubes. However I’m glad that are people who prefer the sound of tube amps because it means more choices and that’s good for everyone. Glad that you found a sound that you enjoy and that makes your music listening enjoyable.
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I enjoy listening to tube gear and sound wise are every bit as good as SS, it all depends on what you like, not what the measurements say. Same goes for cd quality vs hires for example, some people like rebook cd over the higher resolution material bit the measurements would favor the hires cut.
The “numbers” for high resolution material are indeed “better” but I’m not sure that high resolution measures any better than standard CD resolution, at least not within the range of frequencies that humans can heard. High resolution material is now so widely via streaming that everyone can listen with their own ears and own their systems and draw their own conclusions on how it sounds.
In fact no one has yet to prove to me why anything higher than 16 bit is needed for playback. Yes I know why 24 bit is useful during recording, mixing and mastering and I also know that 24 bit is useful for digital volume control but there is little, if any music (cannon shots are not music!), that makes use of the increased dynamic range of 24 bits. 24 bits for the audio of an action movie might be useful to add impact to all the explosions but you’re going to need a powerful amp and subwoofer.
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Tube amps most likely used as tone controls, since speakers and/or room acoustics are sub par in the respective setting - this might make for an euphonic synergy, but definitely is not transparent to the master.
If that makes you happy, that’s absolutely fine, but do not confuse it as being “better” and shout that out into the world, as you may not like the echo you provoke…
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I fail to see why lots of people are being so provoked by others, expressing a opinion? Let him/her have an opinion for petes sake…
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I fail to see, why you adopt the forum prosecutor’s role, sanctioning postings!?
Are we trying to discuss a topic, or just here to spit out unsubstantiated opinions?
Of course, everyone’s entitled to have their opinion, as I said …
But the forum is here to spread know how and understanding of underlying principles, not just uncertainty and doubt about what decades of real research in relevant fields has brought to us.
Hi-Fi has never seen brighter days, but some obviously don’t seem to be happy with that and keep spreading audio myths without even an attempt to conclusively explain themselves.
That’s definitely not the way things are advanced…
Have a merry christmas and a happy new year, anyways…
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“First, eliminate hearing from the equation…” You lost me right there. It’s all about what we hear from our system and in our listening room/area. Whatever works to that end, works. Whether the price of a specific component, accessory, cable, interconnect which adds audible improvement or adds to your listening pleasure is worth it, is a cost/benefit decision. “value” is strictly a matter of personal judgment. Measurements, such as what Stereophile publish do not necessarily sync with what the reviewer “hears.” I would close by saying you have to be able to test whatever you are thinking of purchasing for your system first, before making that decision. If the online vendor or the bricks and mortar store do not allow you to test that piece in your system, at your home, I’d pass. Otherwise it is gamble. Having said that, I have purchased items before actually hearing them plenty of times, based upon reviews that I read and evaluate how it may meet my needs. So far, with some exceptions, this has worked.
I agree with some of this. Audio measurements have improved vastly since the days when amp designers were racing furiously to reduce THD below the .001 level, only to leave behind glaring transient intermodulation distortion for anyone who cared to take the trouble listen, and to measure it. Still, it’s a little naive to think the still limited parameters of today’s measurements capture everything the human ear is capable of hearing. The human ear and brain are complex and sensitive organs.
That being said, if the reviewer claims to hear things that, scientifically are nonsense, such as night and day differences between boutique and standard power cords, or Ethernet cables, he’s probably full of b.s. Unfortunately, the level of understanding of basic physics and engineering principles among audiophiles has declined sharply since I began in the hobby.
People make excuses for why differences are inaudible in a double blind test (actually, according to a recent encyclopedic list of hurtful words released by Stanford University, “blind” is taboo here) but it’s the only possible way to verify that you hear what you claim to hear.
So how do you tell snake oil from truth? I would go by just two simple principles: 1. If it sounds like b.s. it probably is. And 2. If you can’t hear the difference yourself, blind or not, think of it not as revealing yourself to be a complete philistine in the audiophile world, but as saving yourself wagon loads of money. But don’t expect to be like the kid in the fable who reveals that the emperor has no clothes. That’s not how it works in the audiophile world.
I maintain a “live and let live” attitude. If your speaker cables thick as a cobra (full of oil or not) , or your power cords that require special supports just to keep them from falling out of the receptacle, give you pleasure, and you’re experiencing scads of detail, musicality and soundstage width and depth I’m missing out on, go for it. I will cope.
Happy New Year to all.
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Well, the measurements were there already. It’s just that the marketers weren’t using them. And the designers were pandering to the marketers.
Even in the fable, the kid was probably stoned to death minutes after his revelation. These unclothed emperors tend to have fanatical followers.
It’s not a new phenomenon. Though I imagine more of us have become allergic to opinions presented as facts over the past few years.
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Then avoid exposure… 
I think that’s what we’re trying to do…
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Honestly can’t be bothered reading from the top its just another of those endless pointless threads However , the title reminds me of a question
Q: “How do you know when a politician is lying ?”
A: It’s when he opens his mouth 
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Easy for me - I’ll ask my wife (a huge music lover) if she hears any difference. That’s all I need.
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You are lucky. For my ex wife all my upgrades were snake oil 
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And you prefered the snake oil over your wife?
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shouldn’t that be “snake oil all over”?
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I was very hard to upgrade
that sounds like a hammam time
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