I think that's somewhat limiting, don't you? In a site called Audio Science Review, there should be space for discussion of the science around soundbars. Come to that, audio science applies equally to why a typical 1940s tube radio sounds the way it does. It shouldn't all be about dedicated room treatments and IEM targets at the end of the day.
If Sonos have 7% of the audio market, then applying audio science to their products, and explaining how and why they do or don't work is important to at least 7% of the target market. That's actually more important in the real world we should want to address, than fighting battles against whatever YouTuber has said something dumb about measurements this week, or the performance of whatever is calling itself an LS3/5A but isn't (despite my own posting history, of course).
The success of the mission that ASR seems to set itself should be measured by whether people who have never heard of any of the measurements, let alone ASR, get better audio products in the home.
Apart from that, despite Amir's emphasis on transparent performance, we don't all have to hold that as the key thing here. In fact, the value of the forum is that it can present other viewpoints and other angles on science. So if some people want SET amps for a different sound, it is not beyond the purview of ASR to ask why, how they work, what the measurement parameters are for people who buy them, what SET amps are good and bad for that market.
And from that viewpoint, I'm not sure about guidelines for reviewing manufacturer sent products. All it will do is:
- invite criticism and scorn from subjective minded audiophiles, as ever:
- set a target that manufacturers can investigate before presenting products, weeding out some useful borderline cases, perhaps:
- cause issues for manufacturers of expensive products that pass the guidelines but don't meet "excellent". Remember the SA-10 and TuneTot reviews?
- force a set format on the reviews. This may be a good thing in some ways, but prevents further exploration of interesting devices to see what is right or wrong.
Instead, if a product is not meeting decent guidelines (point to the lenient targets here, perhaps)
Introduction A recurring theme on ASR is whether or not the various measured qualities of the devices are audible. In this post, I'll present some clear and visual thresholds for when those imperfections can be considered a potentially audible concern. I will not explain the basics of amp/DAC...
audiosciencereview.com
then also give the option for the manufacturer to respond, stating why they hold a different target or give them space to challenge the review. This gives everyone a chance to learn more.