Accuracy in reviewing gear

[rabbitearscarver]

Maybe this has been covered, but it would be kind of fun to do a blind test/ review of different cans and/or amps. Especially when doing direct comparison reviews.

Of course you'd have to fix them up so the reviewer couldn't tell by feel what they were. And you'd have to group them by IEM, Closed, Open, etc. And you'd need a lovely assistant. It would be super easy to do with amps..




I have always suspected that there are unknown factors in reviews that can unavoidably prejudice outcomes.

 

[ericj]

Hold on there. Discussion of scientific methods is strictly forbidden here.

 

[ex0du5]

As a relative newbie to the scene, with with listening experience through my dads involvement in high-end audio (loudspeakers though), I wouldn't mind being a test subject . I wouldn't really know what headphone it was by feel.

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hold on there. Discussion of scientific methods is strictly forbidden here.

No it is not. The "cables" forum has a rule against discussion of double-blind testing. There is a broader rule that prohibits discussion of double-blind testing of cables in other forums. But there is no blanket prohibition on the discussion of scientific methods.

 

[ex0du5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs /img/forum/go_quote.gif The "cables" forum has a rule against discussion of double-blind testing.

lol @ cables.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs /img/forum/go_quote.gif No it is not. The "cables" forum has a rule against discussion of double-blind testing. There is a broader rule that prohibits discussion of double-blind testing of cables in other forums. But there is no blanket prohibition on the discussion of scientific methods.

Febs, I think you really need a bit more sense of humor

 

[rabbitearscarver]

Why is double-blind testing so taboo on the cables forum? Please excuse the dumb question.

 

[craiglester]

Because everyone argues about it.

 

[ericj]

Well, it amounts to trolling on the cable forum.

If you bring up cable DBT, what you're insinuating is that they can't possibly 'hear' their expensive tone controls if they don't know they are using them.

Which is unwarranted - most of the fancy cables are high resistance and/or capacitance vs. stock copper, and that will not only change the sound but sometimes negatively affect the performance of the source. People must like what that sounds like.

There's no way to blind test headphones, because the earcup and earpad designs affect the sound.

 

[ex0du5]

I still think that alot of "cable people" aren't confident enough to do a DBT, and that is the main reason they are taboo. It doesn't help matters that science doesn't back up their claims.

 

[evilking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ex0du5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still think that alot of "cable people" aren't confident enough to do a DBT, and that is the main reason they are taboo. It doesn't help matters that science doesn't back up their claims.

Stop right there! This is blatant discussion of DBT!


It won't be long before the usual "crew" come in here to start arguing...

 

[rabbitearscarver]

Thanks for the responses, although as a noob I have more questions now than I did starting out. But I get the feeling I'm treading on thin ice with this subject, so I'm gonna drop it.

 

[ericj]

Well, amps can be measured quite accurately with a good function generator and a two-channel oscilloscope.

The rest of it gets into psychoacoustics, and there are few people here who can discuss that without getting angry.

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Febs, I think you really need a bit more sense of humor

Right. And apparently, the way to achieve that, in your estimation, is through the overuse of smileys?

Better?

Ha ha! You learn something new every day. Apparently, there is a smiley limitation:

Quote:

# You have included 47 images in your message. You are limited to using 30 images so please go back and correct the problem and then continue again.

 

[ex0du5]

^Febs wins this topic.