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Amir and Blind Testing

Let me start by saying I like watching Amir from ASR, so please let’s not get harsh or the thread will be deleted. Many times, Amir has noted that when we’re inserting a new component in our system, our brains go into (to paraphrase) “analytical mode” and we start hearing imaginary improvements. He has reiterated this many times, saying that when he switched to an expensive cable he heard improvements, but when he switched back to the cheap one, he also heard improvements because the brain switches from “music enjoyment mode” to “analytical mode.” Following this logic, which I agree with, wouldn’t blind testing, or any A/B testing be compromised because our brains are always in analytical mode and therefore feeding us inaccurate data? Seems to me you need to relax for a few hours at least and listen to a variety of music before your brain can accurately assess whether something is an actual improvement.  Perhaps A/B testing is a strawman argument, because the human brain is not a spectrum analyzer.  We are too affected by our biases to come up with any valid data.  Maybe. 

chayro
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,887 posts
 

Hey prof,

No biggie. I wish I could find another link where someone pointed out the differences in the gear Amir uses for testing and what John Atkinson uses. It's multiples of times more expensive and exacting, showing anomalies that Amir's tester can't.

All the best,
Nonoise

Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,960 posts
 
nonoise
...another link where someone pointed out the differences in the gear Amir uses for testing and what John Atkinson uses. It’s multiples of times more expensive and exacting, showing anomalies that Amir’s tester can’t.

Atkinson & Co. also have another advantage over ASR: he and his team actually listen to what they measure.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,103 posts
 

If they listen they deceive themselves!

For sure.... 😁😊😊😊😊😊😊😋😎😊😊😊😊

The question is : they listen with a white suit and a measuring tool in their hand or they listen "nude and not afraid" ?

 

«I listen music nude with my whole body exposed with no woman in the room»-Groucho Marx studying psycho-acoustic... 🤓

«It is a  pure skeletal sound »-Groucho Marx 🤓

milpai's avatar
milpai
2,407 posts
 

Yes, your $1,000 USB cable is very cool, but admit that there isn’t any scientific evidence that it sounds audibly better than Amazon’s $5 cable.

I provided a link to one scientific study that showed how people her differently. And this study (my guess) assumes that the ears they tested are created exactly the same. But we know that every human has a different finger print. So that is not even in this study. You get my point, I hope.

I am not saying that you have to purchase a $$$$$ cable to hear a difference between that one and a $ cable. All you need to do is listen. You can purchase 2 cables in the same price range - and if one is constructed pretty good, while the other is a bad one, there are chances that you will be able to hear a difference. Of course, if you cannot hear the differences between various components like amps, DACs, etc then it will not make sense to you. You are better served with measurements and not listening. My idea of this hobby is to "listen and find out" and not "measure and find out". In my books it's an insult to your senses when you have to rely on someone's measurement to tell you what "might" sound good rather than trusting your own senses.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,103 posts
 

I provided a link to one scientific study that showed how people her differently. And this study (my guess) assumes that the ears they tested are created exactly the same. But we know that every human has a different finger print. So that is not even in this study. You get my point, I hope.

 

Great point for sure! Thanks...

 

We must LEARN to listen...

We must learn it if possible in a treated and controlled room...

The premice that all ears are equal and overpowered by tools is ridiculously false...

The ceiling of a room is less a limit than something who qualitatively shape my enclosure, the 20,000 hertz limit for example is also less a limit of my hearing than something AMONG OTHER ACOUSTIC FACTORS which define my qualitative soundscape...We cannot reduce sound qualtative information to ONLY measure in Hertz...

Anybody can detect if a resonant sphere is dense or empty inside by his sound WITHOUT any need to measure it or see it... Timbre perception is not reducible to ONE spectrum only... A blind can cycle among traffic without crashing in a car... Etc...

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