cyanbomb
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2007
- Posts
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I'm highly aware of the ban on DBT discussion, so I'm not here to discuss any of that; rather, I'd like to share the result of my experiment, conducted this very evening after dinner.
Test Subjects: My parents.
Both in their early 50's. Dad is an audiophile, who got me started with Head-fi and component hi-fi. Mum listens to tons of music, but only casually. No knowledge of hi-fi whatsoever.
Primary CD Players Tested:
1) Musical Fidelity A5 CD Player
2) Cambridge Audio Azur 640 CD Player
3) Panasonic SL-CT720 PCDP
Of course, these are listed in order of price, the Musical Fidelity being some 8-fold more expensive than the Cambridge, and the Panasonic costing under US$100.
Supporting Test Equipment:
In order from source to speakers:
1) Custom terminated Supra EFF-I Interconnects, QED RCA connectors
For the Panasonic PCDP: Van Den Hul "The Patch Bay" 3.5mm to RCA interconnect.
2) Parasound P/LD-1500 Line Drive Amplifier (Preamp)
3) Custom terminated Supra EFF-I Interconnects, QED Balanced connectors
4) 2 x Parasound HCA-2200 Ultra High Current Monoblocks. Bridged.
5) Custom terminated Supra Ply 3.4/S Loudspeaker Cables
6) Vandersteen Model 3 Loudspeakers (3-way, Floorstanding)
Test Material:
Track 1) Vittorio - Roma Sogna
Type: Male vocals, solo, with climatic orchestral backing during chorus.
Track 2) Diana Krall - Popsicle Toes
Type: Female Jazz vocals, fully accompanied by piano and band.
Track 3) Jennifer Warnes - Way Down Deep
Type: Female Folk vocals, famous for testing bass response due to sub 30Hz frequencies available via drum accompaniment throughout the track.
If you're wondering why there aren't more tracks, it's because parents have limited patience when it comes to their childrens' antics, and I didn't want test the theory.
Test Methodology:
I generated a control sheet for myself, listing the CDs, and players like this:
Players Tested:
Musical Fidelity A5 (MF)
Cambridge Audio Azur 640 (CA)
Panasonic SL-CT720 (PS)
CD One – Vittorio
Player 1: PS
Player 2: CA
Player 3: MF
CD Two – Diana Krall
Player 1: CA
Player 2: MF
Player 3: PS
CD Three – Jennifer Warnes
Player 1: MF
Player 2: CA
Player 3: PS
Of course, the subjects' sheets did not include the source names.
I proceeded to play each track according to the order in the control sheet.
The 3 sources were hidden behind a massive blanket veil I set up using 2 tripods and a 3-layered blanket, so nobody could see which source I was selecting.
Additionally, I prepared an additional MP3 player, a track on repeat, and 2 headphones which I made them wear before and after each round of testing, so they couldn't differentiate between the sounds of the CD trays opening and closing (the Musical Fidelity's mechanism is distinctively loud).
Test Results:
(Control setup in black, Father's answers in blue, Mother's answers in magenta.
Note: My mother doesn't know anything about the players, so she listed them in terms of which sounded BEST, 2nd, and 3rd.
Players Tested:
Musical Fidelity A5 (MF)
Cambridge Audio Azur 640 (CA)
Panasonic SL-CT720 (PS)
CD One – Vittorio
Player 1: PS PS Best
Player 2: CA MF 2nd
Player 3: MF CA 3rd
CD Two – Diana Krall
Player 1: CA PS 2nd
Player 2: MF CA 3rd
Player 3: PS MF Best
CD Three – Jennifer Warnes
Player 1: MF PS 3rd
Player 2: CA MF 2nd
Player 3: PS CA Best
Conclusions:
My father's answers were almost all wrong, except for the very first answer, where he correctly guess the Panasonic PDCP. It actually surprised me.
My mother's answers, on the other hand, were stunning. She consistently guessed every single player correctly.
Perhaps simply listening to the most enjoyable sound, without being too overly analytical, is the secret to accuracy in listening tests? What do you guys think?
Test Subjects: My parents.
Both in their early 50's. Dad is an audiophile, who got me started with Head-fi and component hi-fi. Mum listens to tons of music, but only casually. No knowledge of hi-fi whatsoever.
Primary CD Players Tested:
1) Musical Fidelity A5 CD Player
2) Cambridge Audio Azur 640 CD Player
3) Panasonic SL-CT720 PCDP
Of course, these are listed in order of price, the Musical Fidelity being some 8-fold more expensive than the Cambridge, and the Panasonic costing under US$100.
Supporting Test Equipment:
In order from source to speakers:
1) Custom terminated Supra EFF-I Interconnects, QED RCA connectors
For the Panasonic PCDP: Van Den Hul "The Patch Bay" 3.5mm to RCA interconnect.
2) Parasound P/LD-1500 Line Drive Amplifier (Preamp)
3) Custom terminated Supra EFF-I Interconnects, QED Balanced connectors
4) 2 x Parasound HCA-2200 Ultra High Current Monoblocks. Bridged.
5) Custom terminated Supra Ply 3.4/S Loudspeaker Cables
6) Vandersteen Model 3 Loudspeakers (3-way, Floorstanding)
Test Material:
Track 1) Vittorio - Roma Sogna
Type: Male vocals, solo, with climatic orchestral backing during chorus.
Track 2) Diana Krall - Popsicle Toes
Type: Female Jazz vocals, fully accompanied by piano and band.
Track 3) Jennifer Warnes - Way Down Deep
Type: Female Folk vocals, famous for testing bass response due to sub 30Hz frequencies available via drum accompaniment throughout the track.
If you're wondering why there aren't more tracks, it's because parents have limited patience when it comes to their childrens' antics, and I didn't want test the theory.
Test Methodology:
I generated a control sheet for myself, listing the CDs, and players like this:
Players Tested:
Musical Fidelity A5 (MF)
Cambridge Audio Azur 640 (CA)
Panasonic SL-CT720 (PS)
CD One – Vittorio
Player 1: PS
Player 2: CA
Player 3: MF
CD Two – Diana Krall
Player 1: CA
Player 2: MF
Player 3: PS
CD Three – Jennifer Warnes
Player 1: MF
Player 2: CA
Player 3: PS
Of course, the subjects' sheets did not include the source names.
I proceeded to play each track according to the order in the control sheet.
The 3 sources were hidden behind a massive blanket veil I set up using 2 tripods and a 3-layered blanket, so nobody could see which source I was selecting.
Additionally, I prepared an additional MP3 player, a track on repeat, and 2 headphones which I made them wear before and after each round of testing, so they couldn't differentiate between the sounds of the CD trays opening and closing (the Musical Fidelity's mechanism is distinctively loud).
Test Results:
(Control setup in black, Father's answers in blue, Mother's answers in magenta.
Note: My mother doesn't know anything about the players, so she listed them in terms of which sounded BEST, 2nd, and 3rd.
Players Tested:
Musical Fidelity A5 (MF)
Cambridge Audio Azur 640 (CA)
Panasonic SL-CT720 (PS)
CD One – Vittorio
Player 1: PS PS Best
Player 2: CA MF 2nd
Player 3: MF CA 3rd
CD Two – Diana Krall
Player 1: CA PS 2nd
Player 2: MF CA 3rd
Player 3: PS MF Best
CD Three – Jennifer Warnes
Player 1: MF PS 3rd
Player 2: CA MF 2nd
Player 3: PS CA Best
Conclusions:
My father's answers were almost all wrong, except for the very first answer, where he correctly guess the Panasonic PDCP. It actually surprised me.
My mother's answers, on the other hand, were stunning. She consistently guessed every single player correctly.
Perhaps simply listening to the most enjoyable sound, without being too overly analytical, is the secret to accuracy in listening tests? What do you guys think?
