I once blind tested a Ford and a Chevy. With the Ford I bounced off a cop car, hit a little old lady in a crosswalk-- she survived, and ended the test by crashing into a garbage truck. The Chevy was much better in most respects, I only killed a dog and the test administrator was taken away in a straight jacket. When released from prison I bought the Chevy, which was then 5 years old but the radio still worked and the car was well broken in. Anyway, this experience caused me to be skeptical of blind testing. My loss I suppose. Cheers. Craig
Why is Double Blind Testing Controversial?
I noticed that the concept of "double blind testing" of cables is a controversial topic. Why? A/B switching seems like the only definitive way of determining how one cable compares to another, or any other component such as speakers, for example. While A/B testing (and particularly double blind testing, where you don't know which cable is A or B) does not show the long term listenability of a cable or other component, it does show the specific and immediate differences between the two. It shows the differences, if at all, how slight they are, how important, etc. It seems obvious that without knowing which cable you are listening to, you eliminate bias and preconceived notions as well. So, why is this a controversial notion?