Ultimate listening test ... test your ears and audio chain

Which File Do You Prefer

  • Blue

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Green

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I can not decide

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
I said publicly above that I spent a long time trying to persuade myself that green was better; this was because I had a feeling green was a fraction cleaner.

I didn't manage to pinpoint any concrete difference though so I voted "cannot decide" to avoid getting suckered in case the only difference was swapping the L+R channels or something.

I was mainly listening on headphones using my mp3/laptop/desktop - all of which have audible noise and are perhaps simply not good enough for this test.

People have already said they couldn't hear the difference on headphones but could on speakers. Extended listening tests at high volume on my speakers are not really an option for me.
 
Another is to change absolute phase. Only some of my true golden pinnae can pick this up and only on certain music.

My questions regarding "fatiguing phenomenon" does not just appear today. I have searched for the answer for years (by finding correlation between perceived sound and simulation, which I have documented for years) and I think I have nailed the answer (but of course this is not for discussion). Yes, phase. The audibility of phase difference. That's the key word.

This is difficult because you have to feel it instead of hear it.
 
Inverting the phase of one of the channels only would be easier to detect than inverting both of them. Stereo image goes away completely of course. You'd have to be at least half deaf not to be able to hear it.

Wouldn't show up on a standard FFT plot.
 
Stuart's is a device so no tricks with files.

The DUT can do time reversal given that file modification is disallowed. This'd work provided the 'reference' DUT has symmetrical IR - i.e. is linear phase. Oh and also has sufficient latency that the usual tests can be run.

Another is to change absolute phase. Only some of my true golden pinnae can pick this up and only on certain music.
Phase reversal modifies the IR. Admittedly IR wasn't in the spec the first time 😀
 
Last edited:
Inverting the phase of one of the channels only would be easier to detect than inverting both of them. Stereo image goes away completely of course. You'd have to be at least half deaf not to be able to hear it.
IME, good headphones with a good (there are loadsa bad ones) headphone amp is usually more discriminative than speakers.

Here is one example where its not.

Load a nice stereo file WAV into your DAW, reverse the phase of ONE channel and save the now dodgy stereo file under a different name. Compare the 2 files on
  • headphones
  • speakers on the centre line exactly between them
  • and also seated away from the centre line; the next seat will do

and tell us what you hear.
___________

heb1001, thanks for confirming your choice. What about Max Headroom?

I hope all of you will do the 2nd ABC test when we get round to posting it.
 
I don't like to argue in cable subject, but experience/feelings is nice to hear and learn from and one can make trials in searching.

BYRTT, I agree on 'audibility' of signal cables. Now, what is audible. In my experience, the biggest difference in cables is in HF and VHF mess (measurable, measured) and/or voltage drops on analog ground wire resulting from mostly capacitive currents that flow from one component to another through power supply stray capacitances or ground loops in case the devices analog grounds are connected to protective earth.
So, I consider the different cable sound to be a result of different faults and I try to avoid both VHF interference and cable signal ground impedance to minimum. Therefore, I do not want to test for something that I consider a fault. I do not believe in explanations based on skin effect.
 
Last edited:
Speaking about cables, groundloops, clean humfree files etc., see the effect of 12V transformer table light lamp turned off and on, just magnetic coupling to link cable groundloop. Speaking about -125dB yesterday, right? 😀
 

Attachments

  • purple.PNG
    purple.PNG
    78.6 KB · Views: 97
  • purple_light.PNG
    purple_light.PNG
    78.9 KB · Views: 102
Please check again, and tell me. Please tell me with what hardware you are listening (you can use a PM if you are not fine with public disclosure). In this thread many have described their impressions and my humble opinion is that it may strongly depend on the replay devices used, both digital and analog. I am starting to understand Richard (kgrlee) quite well.
 
Last edited:
Please check again, and tell me. Please tell me with what hardware you are listening. In this thread many have described their impressions and my humble opinion is that it may strongly depend on the replay devices used, both digital and analog. I am starting to understand Richard (kgrlee) quite well.

I'm at work. It's a computer with Realtek onboard soundcard, Logitech 1" speaker, iTune player.

Don't forget that I have always played the files at home too with my transparent speaker. Sometimes I changed to different speakers too. Players too. But I sticked with TDA2030A amplifier even tho I have hundreds of amplifiers at home.
 
I'm at work. It's a computer with Realtek onboard soundcard, Logitech 1" speaker, iTune player.

Thank you. This might say a lot. Remember I have already posted full set of the Realtek measurements.
Now, for short, see Realtek compared to the 'blue'. Usable dynamic range of the Realtek is about 15 dB worse than that of the blue. And blue is set to -5dB, so in fact the difference in dynamic range of both is 20 dB. That's a lot.

Anyway, I will wait for the others what they hear.
 

Attachments

  • result_blue_realtek.PNG
    result_blue_realtek.PNG
    41.5 KB · Views: 115
With 2 files recorded through the same chain, just 5 days between the 2 recordings, Diffmaker is able to make a great job (even though the files are not sampled simultaneously), resulting in no audible sound. So this is my 'repeatability'.

(Remark, this spectrum has nothing in common with the 'orange' and 'kiwi' sound files).
 

Attachments

  • diffmaker_result.PNG
    diffmaker_result.PNG
    77.1 KB · Views: 104
Status
Not open for further replies.