[fewtch]

-12dB with my crappy cheap Yamaha powered speakers... frankly it's amazing, these things are crap.

 

[Rix2357]

I did the test on an Inspiron 8600 (laptop speakers) and got a -33. Personally, after -30 or so I wasn't sure if it was totally right, but before that I was pretty sure. Some of you are going to say BS, but I will also try them with some v6's attached to a cmoy amp and to the X-fi soundcard that I have as my main listening hardware, and report back the results. This was playing Music-Pop if that matters.

 

[luuk]

Did it with my crappy computerspeakers and came to -18db. Didn't hear any difference after that, soon will be doing this test with headphone

 

[TheSloth]

Well they really need to fix the organ octave test, as the original undistorted version has a little click half way through it, and the distorted versions don't...

 

[Mano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devwild Ah what a difference a decent source/can makes. I took it once on my work machine early today with onboard audio and my ol' hd525s (hey, they actually make that crappy source sound reasonable, don't shoot ), and only got to -12. Took it once at home tonight with Revo/HD595s and hit -33 easy.

In the case of this particular test sample and in my very humble opinion:

yes and no...

...wait, theres a reason for my answer, first the setup i used:

-nforce2 APU
-E2c
-Somic cd-610m.v cheapass headset with microphone incorporated (costed me 6 USD)

as you can see nothing even close to spectacular in both cases... interesting thing is i got a better score with the Somic headset (by a considerable margin) and not because it has more detail resoultion or sound quality than the E2c, but because to my ears the Somic masks better the unintentional artifacts that many have pointed on this thread, whereas the E2cs pretty much unmasks artifacts and distortion on every sample... and thats the hypothesis i have reached, because i have tried both the iem and the headset on different material and sources (though not any high-fi one) and the E2c is the obvious better in every case (not a fair comparison to the cheap cans anyway), those who are looking for someone to tell them they have good hearing: dont worry i dont think this test is very conclusive but it could be a good guide, just that there are many outside factors that ruin it that makes it not reliable:

pics of the results:

SOMIC CD-610M.V

E2c

 

[blackreplica]

My test result

Hardware: AC97 integrated audio card, Sennheiser PC150 (no amp)

Incidentally, i took this same test a few months back using my Shure e2c, and just like the poster above, i only managed -18db as my best score. Wierd, but true!

Also, heres an interesting tidbit to assess how much distortion you can actually hear:

-10 db is about 30% distortion
-20 db is 10% distortion
-30 db is about 3% distortion
-40 db is 1% distortion
-50db is about 0.3% distortion
-60 db is 0.1% distortion

Most speakers struggle to put out less than 3% distortion at realistic listening levels. Headphones have no such problems typically

 

[incognitoedleon]

Hit -36db w/ HD595

 

[marvin]

Got -42dB first time on default settings with my home rig. After a while it's like picking a needle out of a haystack with all the compression artifacts.

 

[NeilPeart]

I’m currently working, and my system here consists of:
Terratec DMX 6fire LT->Zu Pivot->CMOY w/OPA2227->Beyer DT770/80ohm

Here are my results:

After –30dB detecting the distinctions become much more difficult, but I found that when I closed my eyes and relaxed it was easier than if I was intensely listening. I’m going to try this test with my home system and see how much easier recognizing distortions becomes as equipment fidelity increases.

 

[Scarred Taka]

-30 DB with a pair of $10 sony vertical over the head phones (Model MDR-W08L) straight out of a imac g4's headphone jack! I'm Happy! Pop Music setting. Max Volume.

 

[Ronin]

i got all the way down to -45dB, but got one wrong at -45dB.

cans: senn hd 477
source: usb audio out jack in front of a my work comp (nothing special)

i don't think i have golden ears but when i took a health examination recently, i had to take a hearing test and the nurse told me i had above average hearing (the test is basical you in a chamber and you press a button when you hear a beep, and it gets softer and softer as the test progresses).

i do think volume helps a lot. up till about -15 to -18dB i didn't have to turn anything up. the rest of the way, basically i closed my eyes and relaxed and tuned it on the instrument sounds and tried to ignore the vocals. at the low distortion end, i honestly could not distinguish the difference between the vocals and guitar sounds. i just listend and picked whichever had the best drum sound in the background.

i'll try again when i get back with my HD280s and my HD600 (with only a pocket amp 2, i need a better amp).



-ronin

 

[aliasfox]

I got to -45 db on my 12" PowerBook and HD497 setup (Fast Car and 6" driver setting). I was on my way to better than -24 db on my Monsoon MM-1000 multimedia speakers until my roommate walked in and ruined the test.

Up through about -24 db I could tell the difference in the bass lines between the two, but past that I was listening for the warbles in his voice- neither bass line felt any cleaner than the other beyond -24 db.

(By the way, I'm pretty sure the 15" PowerBook has better output than the 12" PowerBook, in case someone's testing with that machine)

 

[miztahsparklez]

i got to -45db using my senn 212pro and a supermacro3 sbaudigy 2 - no sound enhancements on.

strangely the -18db one was hard to distinguish, but everything else you can listen to the beginning bass line to find a bit of distortion. but anything before the -18db you can use the voice to tell what it is.

 

[reeseboisse]

24, but I can do better. When I'm not in a rush to get to class.

A class called "Critical Listening", aptly enough.

 

[Rix2357]

Supririsingly, I didn't get any better with slightly better equipment.

I tested
-31 with X-fi and V6, but no cmoy amp.
-36 with X-fi and V6 and cmoy amp.

And a recap of
-33 with laptop speakers on Inspiron 8600.