mevans
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2016
- Posts
- 26
- Likes
- 31
I promise not to continue to beat this dead horse as the last thing I wish to do is annoy (or bore) fellow members. But, in light of this discussion, I continue to be baffled as to why the community appears to be opposed to blind testing. After all, we're talking about components that reproduce sound. Why should an analysis of the quality of any component to reproduce sound be complicated by the reviewer's knowledge of the item being tested?
I can see why the professional reviewing community might oppose blind testing as perhaps such tests might conclude that much money is being misspent and thus have an adverse effect on advertising revenue of relevant publications. And, I can see why manufacturers might be opposed as well, as listeners might learn that the latest 'improvements' are not really improvements at all.
But, how about the hobbyists? Certainly, there are many knowledgeable hobbyists, including those (unlike myself) with electronics backgrounds, who could devise blind tests of not only headphones, but of all related components. Perhaps headphones might be tougher than other components (amps, cables, converters) to analyze blindly because even blindfolded reviewers might be able to identify a headphone from its fit. But, I'm sure clever minds, if so inclined, can work around this problem.
I believe that if a serious effort were put forward to assess such components blindly, it could have a significant impact upon buying practices.
I promise to exercise the willpower not to raise this topic again unless others wish to continue the discussion.
I can see why the professional reviewing community might oppose blind testing as perhaps such tests might conclude that much money is being misspent and thus have an adverse effect on advertising revenue of relevant publications. And, I can see why manufacturers might be opposed as well, as listeners might learn that the latest 'improvements' are not really improvements at all.
But, how about the hobbyists? Certainly, there are many knowledgeable hobbyists, including those (unlike myself) with electronics backgrounds, who could devise blind tests of not only headphones, but of all related components. Perhaps headphones might be tougher than other components (amps, cables, converters) to analyze blindly because even blindfolded reviewers might be able to identify a headphone from its fit. But, I'm sure clever minds, if so inclined, can work around this problem.
I believe that if a serious effort were put forward to assess such components blindly, it could have a significant impact upon buying practices.
I promise to exercise the willpower not to raise this topic again unless others wish to continue the discussion.