my take on blind tests

Many times I have stuck something in my system with the preconceived notion that is would be better. It just had to be better. But it was not. I'd spend hours trying to convince myself that is was really better, but something else was off. In the end it was not better. If I am just imagining things, it would have always sounded better in those situations, since I was favorably biased going in.

In a classical music context, there are many who think the conductor does not matter. After all, the top orchestras have world class musicians in them who know what they are doing.

About six-seven years ago I heard a young (roughly 32 year old) unknown guest conduct in Baltimore. I was very impressed. Six months later I heard him conduct again. I heard the same excellence. Was I imagining things? Well, he was just hired (still under 40 years old) to be the new Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. The only other time they hired someone young was Bernstein. People that young just don't get jobs like that with million dollar salaries. So I can't be the only person who heard what I heard.

"The only other time they hired someone young was Bernstein. So I can't be the only person who heard it."

This is much harder to accomplish via dbt.

Actually orchestras do blind testing. Not in the case of conductors, but most major orchestras do blind open auditions of musicians applying to fill a full time rank and file position. They play behind a partition. The judges cannot see who it is. They have to vote solely on what they heard.

there are two errors in listening: fialing to hear what is present and hearing what isn't there.

what is needed is replication, numerous times, to try to eliminate or reveal these errors.

in the end, if a person is satisfied with the performance of a stereo system after changing a component, all "tests" are irrelevant.

Who cares at this stage about the much maligned DBTs? Hell, I would settle for a bit more method and objectivity on the part of audiophiles in assessing equipment, but, unfortunately, that is sadly lacking, since the most outrageous claims are believed to be the most valid ones. Woe is to anyone who honestly declares not to hear any difference.