Test Equipment vs The Ear

Appeal to Authority Alert! Whoa! That’s two in one day! What are the odds? 🎲 🎲

willemj
Show me the research in peer reviewed journals that show that what I said is an old wives’ tale. Here is a famous one from me: http://www.keith-snook.info/wireless-world-magazine/Wireless-World-1978/Valves%20versus%20Transistor....

Whoa! Hey! What? Is there a full moon? What’s up with folks suddenly thinking an audio forum is some sort of platform for peer reviews? Most likely this is simply a case of being gullible or naive if you actually believe what you wrote. There is no such thing as audio memory and the whole idea of having to maintain level is just silly. Any audiophile worth more than ten cents can distinguish between volume and dynamic range.

willemj
The problem is that human hearing is not very good - your dog is much better at it. The good news is that for most parts of the audio chain it is now possible to design and manufacture units that are better than what humans can reliably discern. The differences that are still there are inaudible, but sometimes still measurable (and different is not necessarily better). The second problem with listening is that conditions have to be carefully controled. Levels have to be matched within 0.2 dB, because the brain interprets louder as better. This can only be achieved with a proper volt meter. The third problem is that comparison has to be near instantaneous because the brain cannot remember sound for very long. Finally, there is that old devil expectation bias (requiring double blind testing).

Speaking frankly, I think maybe someone pulled a bad joke on you. Because almost every single thing you said is an old wives’ tale. An old wives’ tale promulgated by pro-measurement anti-audiophile naysayers since Edison wore his hair in a page boy.

How does one measure soundstage height? Bass slam? Inner dynamics? Warmth? Presence? Musicality? Liquid-ness? Separation of instruments? Realism? The noise contribution of RFI/EMI? How do you determine that the "information" you’re hearing is all (rpt all) of the "information" on the recording?

almarg wrote,

"Not everything that is audible is measurable, and not everything that is measurable is audible.

There is probably no practical limit to the number of examples that could be cited to illustrate each of those two cases."

>>>>>I’m not sure what you mean by things that can’t be measured, but just for grins here are a few of my candidates for the top of anyone’s list: Tice Clock, Clever Little Clock, Silver Rainbow Foil, Flying Saucers (copper foils) for Windows, WA Quantum Chips, the difference between two power cords that are identical except one has a black jacket and the other a white jacket, and Morphic Message Labels. Top those if you can.