dgardner
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2004
- Posts
- 375
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- 10
Last night I built up an A/B Switch box with two headphone jack inputs and one headphone jack output. Nothing new here. Then I started to go through my inventory of headphone amps and try to confirm/deny the "sonic differences" between them all.
A created a stereo test tone waveform a few minutes long in Adobe Audition and burned it to a CD. This way, I can play a calibrated test tone through the source unit and get the two amplifiers under test to exactly the same listening level using an AC Voltage Meter (HP34401A). After the calibration is set, I don't move the volume controls on either test amp. Now, I start listening to those favorite music selections that I tell myself are "the ones" I know so well that I can hear differences between equipment, etc.
Source: Benchmark DAC-1
Phones: HD-650's
Amps compared:
a) Benchmark DAC-1 headphone jack
b) Dynalo with ELPAC wallwart supply
c) Dynalo with Dynahi supply
d) Dynahi with Condor supply
e) Dynahi with Dynahi supply
I constantly hear people talking about the OMG differences between these items and I must say the differences start washing away under more scientific testing. I will spare everyone any attempts to write colorful prose on the differences, however subtle.
Does anyone else out there feel that A/B Switch box testing really narrows the gaps that the brain tends to create for itself?
I would expect to be able to readily detect differences like:
a) background noise
b) frequency response
c) tonal colorations
d) distortion
e) dynamics
Funny, how difficult is is to separate things when listening to two amps at precisely the same listening level.
What are some tips to start detecting the nuances? What are some of the best track selections to reveal these gaps?
A created a stereo test tone waveform a few minutes long in Adobe Audition and burned it to a CD. This way, I can play a calibrated test tone through the source unit and get the two amplifiers under test to exactly the same listening level using an AC Voltage Meter (HP34401A). After the calibration is set, I don't move the volume controls on either test amp. Now, I start listening to those favorite music selections that I tell myself are "the ones" I know so well that I can hear differences between equipment, etc.
Source: Benchmark DAC-1
Phones: HD-650's
Amps compared:
a) Benchmark DAC-1 headphone jack
b) Dynalo with ELPAC wallwart supply
c) Dynalo with Dynahi supply
d) Dynahi with Condor supply
e) Dynahi with Dynahi supply
I constantly hear people talking about the OMG differences between these items and I must say the differences start washing away under more scientific testing. I will spare everyone any attempts to write colorful prose on the differences, however subtle.
Does anyone else out there feel that A/B Switch box testing really narrows the gaps that the brain tends to create for itself?
I would expect to be able to readily detect differences like:
a) background noise
b) frequency response
c) tonal colorations
d) distortion
e) dynamics
Funny, how difficult is is to separate things when listening to two amps at precisely the same listening level.
What are some tips to start detecting the nuances? What are some of the best track selections to reveal these gaps?