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Testing-ever get fed up?

I must admit there are aspects of this hobby that drive me nuts and steer me away from getting caught up in "analytical" listening for any great length of time.
Don't get me wrong I have great admiration for those who can A/B test components and cables to the cows come home but it ain't for me.
My query is how often do you totally confuse yourself doing this?
Do you ever lose faith in some of your audio beliefs due to this?
The background behind this is the following....
Several times in the past I've got mixed up to what I'm actually listening to (sometimes wrong input on an amp or forgotten I've changed something).
Famously one time me and a fellow audio friend were remarking on the subtle changes and deeper bass on a track after certain combination changes in my system with one of his components-only to find we'd listened to the exactly same combination twice.
How we laughed.
At the moment I'm taking notes on running in a SACD player and today I messed about so much with different combinations in my system that by the end of the day what sounded like big differences earlier on,no longer did.
I did stray from my rather "strict" plan on listening and just totally confused myself.
Do too many changes lead to listening fatigue?
Perhaps too from this posting,experienced testers can highlight some do's and don'ts of listening tests.
ben_campbell
4 responses Add your response
rmsr
22 posts
 
Yes, I tire of it quickly.
I usually will ABA a new component for a day or two, then listen to it continuously for a week or two, possibly interchanging it with the old component once or twice during tht period when listening for something inparticular in a familiar passage.
Then make a decision and just listen.
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
"Famously one time me and a fellow audio friend were remarking on the subtle changes and deeper bass on a track after certain combination changes in my system with one of his components-only to find we'd listened to the exactly same combination twice.
How we laughed."

Ben, kudos to you for having the guts to admit what we have all done and having the good nature to laugh over it!

I'm with Tobais in the sense that too much, too soon is a bad thing. Sure, there are obvious improvements like replacing one component with another of much higher quality, but many other changes are subtle, at best. Plus, I think a person needs to listen at different times of the day, with different kinds of music over a somewhat extended period to know if we've "fooled ourselves" with how one or two cuts/tracks sound. Sometimes, for example with speaker cables, I have found that what I initially perceived as an improvement, later turned out to be kinda fatiguing.

Note taking is good, but can be also be maddingly contradictory (the voice of experience)!
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
This may not work for everybody but has served me well through the years. If I insert an upgrade for evaluation I live with it for about 2 weeks playing music that I know well and thoroughly enjoy. Long listening sessions are mandatory and at the volume I prefer. I then remove the upgrade and immediately know if I miss it. Descriptions of changes are a difficult thing to convey and I honestly don't try. I know how long I enjoy an extended listening session and if, during the trial period, I find I want to quit listening sooner than normal, that indicates something is not right. As the days go by and "if" I listen for longer periods without wanting to quit the session, this indicates there is a burn-in issue going on. The full two weeks lets all system pieces including my ears get in the groove.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
I can't call myself a really experienced tester but I have discovered that short-term listening is often not a reliable way to evaluate. I do not do A-B tests if I can possibly avoid it, and I try not to compare more than a couple of components in a single day. Instead, I like to listen to a unit over a longer period of time.

I try to avoid mental analyzing--after all, that's not the part of the brain that responds to music. Instead, I'll ask myself which of two configurations I would rather go on listening to for pleasure. I try to avoid feeling I must come up with a description of what I hear. If I do, fine.

Another thing that affects perceived test results is ear fatigue. After weeks in the city I even begin to take my multi megabuck system for granted. What a shame ! A few days in the woods and I can hear how wonderful my music sounds again.
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