Home Propeller Head Plaza

Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Propeller Head Plaza ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

Is this the key to the blind testing problem?

"When I was comparing compression settings to see if I could find something acceptable that would still fit on the HD space I had available, I found that I had to be careful because once I had listened to a better version then the poorer one also sounded better. It's as though the clearest image was getting buffered mentally then anything close would just trigger it. Particular details were still audible, they just didn't seem to matter. The effect fades with time and seems to completely reset overnight."

You have offered a plausible explanation of how typical ABX level matched comparisons can fail to detect subtle differences. Were this hypothesis to be accepted it would completely invalidate all null-result double blind tests that weren't designed to control for this effect.

I'm not sure how one would prove or disprove this hypothesis. Perhaps a combination of perceptual tests or pet scans could do the trick. There is a lot going on inside our heads when we listen to music and it's not just in our ears.


Tony Lauck

"Perception, inference and authority are the valid sources of knowledge" - P.R. Sarkar

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Parts Connexion  

Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
FAQ

Post a Message!

 Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]