[PFULMTL]

Ah yeah, I think it's 16bit only. [sad face]
Goes into a park full of kids.  "I want to play too!"  Oh, I'm not wearing a Sponge Bob shirt, I can't play here.
 
Quote:

 
Doesn't the E7 (not the newer E07K) only support 48000 Hz/16-bit ? Did you compare the files blind, using an ABX comparator ?
If you really heard noise in a.flac that was not there in b.flac, you probably listened fairly loud

 

[Lenni]

Quote:

The files are all different.

 
I thought for a couple of times I spotted a ever so slight loss in quality with file a, but it wasn't consistent with other tests, so it's more likely imagination.
 
otherwise, they all sound very much alike to me (test done with speakers).

 

[Avi]

Now I'm really curious. I know that while I appreciate good quality music, I'm probably not trained to the same level as most regulars here. However, I seem to be in good company now

 

[Todd R]

A is clearly the best, soundstage is wider and more open
C is a little less clear than A but they are very close. 
B is easily the worst of the 3, sounding duller and less open. Sounds like reversed polarity. 
 
The noise some people hear at the beginning sounds like a musician shifting in his/her seat. 
BTW, who is the artist? 

 

[Todd R]

Double post, sorry

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

I can hear an incredibly faint difference. I put all three into a play list and hit the random button and closed my eyes to aviod seeing which one was playing. I listened to each track about 10 times a piece. Each track has little difference between them. However the difference is so small to me that I really can't say which is better or worse. 

 

[Averruncus]

C > A > B?
 
Honestly can't hear any difference, more of a gut feeling. I'm guessing one has a lower bitrate while another has a lower sample?

 

[bigshot]

Sounds like reversed polarity.

Why would you peek at the waveform when you're doing a listening test? Do you not trust your ears?

 

[Todd R]

Quote:

Why would you peek at the waveform when you're doing a listening test? Do you not trust your ears?

 
Who said I peeked?
I know what reversed polarity sounds like to me. (Less air, less openness, cymbal crashes don't trail off as long, transients are duller, etc...)
I'm not even sure I have anything I could use to tell me what the waveform looks like. I just use the test instruments attached to the side of my head.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Who said I peeked?

 
Of course you did not peek, because the polarity is in fact the same in all files.

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Why would you peek at the waveform when you're doing a listening test? Do you not trust your ears?

 
For those who can detect differences FooBar ABX logs (minimum 15 trials) should also be supplied..

 

[Lenni]

Quote:

A is clearly the best...
 
B is easily the worst...

 
you know, if the files turn out to be in fact the same (or the differences insignificant to the SQ), you'll be making history and they're going to use this test, at least for the next 30 years, to prove that placebo, bias, expectation, and other "scientific theories" are true. 

 

 

[analogsurviver]

I DID NOT READ ANY PREVIOUS POSTS AFTER ACCEPTING XNOR'S CHALLENGE - NO IDEA WHAT OTHER PEOPLE WERE SAYING.
 
Of course, I can hear the difference.Both on Stax Lambda Pro/SRM1MK2 and on speakers, almost the same. FLAC files were converted to WAVVs ,
as Korg MR 1000 can not play FLACs. The quality goes as follows, from best to worst:
 
1. a
2. c
3. b
 
a has the most natural sound, especially decay of percussion at the beggining, with a quite nice sense of depth. 
 
b is shrunk in all dimensions and is unpleasently grainy in the treble, it sounds flat and lifeless after hearing a
 
c is a welcome relief after b, but still not up to a - but is much closer to a than to b.
 
My guesstimate is that a is originally 24 bit at at least 88,2 kHz sampling rate, b some MP3 and c 44,1-48 kHz / 16-24 bit.
 
I DID NOT CHECK FOR ABSOLUTE PHASE YET ! My Stax SRA 12S which is wired so that one output is in correct phase and another 180 degrees inverted has sadly developed power transformer failure - no quick way of changing absolute phase in my system at the moment unfortunately.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by analogsurviver /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
a has the most natural sound, especially decay of percussion at the beggining, with a quite nice sense of depth. 
b is shrunk in all dimensions and is unpleasently grainy in the treble, it sounds flat and lifeless after hearing a
c is a welcome relief after b, but still not up to a - but is much closer to a than to b.

 
You will be surprised to find out what the files really are.

 
In general, those who claim hearing differences seem to pick the files more or less randomly. It is not uncommon for the original file to be chosen as the "worst", and the most degraded one as the "best".

 

[xnor]

All files have the same phase. I wouldn't reverse the phase because it's pointless.
 
So far we have
 
people who say they are not guessing:
2x: A > C > B
1x: B > C > A
11x: no difference (3 of which also guessed)
 
people who say they were guessing:
1x: B is best
1x: C is best
2x: B is worst
 
 
The solution and detailed description of the files will be posted in a few mins.