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RE: What might be a mistake to you could be a way of life for Atkinson, et al

If I thought I had superior listening skills and I found that a lot of people couldn't hear what I was hearing I'd want to prove it. Especially if I were working in the audio industry in some capacity and it was relevant to my job. I'd be quickly exasperated with the claims that things sounded the same when I knew they didn't.

Why doesn't Stereophile do occasional blind tests to compare speakers, electronics, cables and publish the results. It wouldn't need to be the last word in scientific testing. A difference that can only be heard in an anechoic chamber under tightly controlled conditions is irrelevant to readers.

Put together a system that the staff finds revealing and use it to do comparisons. If Stereophile staff could listen, reliably tell the difference and then describe it I'd have much better information than I get from reading a description of differences that, for all I know, are imagined. Just because blind testing isn't a perfect solution doesn't mean it's not helpful. It could certainly establish a line between difference magnitude. If you can reliably discern a difference with blind testing then it must be more audible than a difference you believe to exist but that you can't reliably identify.

The same goes for manufacturers. If I were a manufacturer of expensive components that people were saying didn't sound any better than cheaper ones I'd want to prove my case. I know Harman does/did this. I guess they had "trained" listeners so maybe they learned to prefer the Revel sound but just being able to demonstrate that the differences exist is a step in the right direction.

As a consumer I'd certainly be more likely to upgrade if I were convinced that I was making a real upgrade rather than just paying more for the same thing. Even if I didn't hear it myself I might make the leap knowing that the improvement was real and I'd probably learn to appreciate it over time. Audio seems to be like that. You don't necessarily hear the improvement right away. You listen for a while, get used to the sound but don't understand the improvement until you go back to the old sound to compare.



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