John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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Our finger prints are all different. Eye retina's are all different. Kids raised by same parents are all different. And, our hearing is also all different and unique.

Sure, we can do a 'eye' test and say it is 20-20. Or similar with any other senses on a unique individual and get a fix on it. A dot. Or, a 'hearing' test. Are you color blind. Many really simple basic things.

Mark, I'll come over and learn what different technical issues sound like To Me. Can I detect a change in sound.... ?


THx-RNMarsh
 
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Speaking of measurements...
 

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At matched level?

I can do matched level if someone wants. But, I prefer to give the listener the ability to control volume so they can find out what happens when one or the other speaker is a little bit louder than the other (just not so loud so as to mask the details of either speaker). If we can get that far, I ask them to listen for what didn't change with a small volume level change. Too many people think about frequency response and overly focus on that while ignoring too many other things. Then the 'invisible gorilla' effect occurs. People can't see the gorilla because they are too busy counting up and trying to hold in memory how many passes of the ball one or both teams make during the game. Same type of thing can happen with listening: too much attention focused on the wrong things like frequency response or 'sound stage' (whatever that is), if trying to understand what different dacs, filters, jitter, etc., do to the sound.
 
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... Given the number of mouths I have to feed I'm happy to be ignorant of all the bad stuff I can't hear.
... you won’t have any way to eliminate my ... half deaf, bias.
I rejoice in being blessed unable to perceive many type of issues, otherwise I'd be bankrupt, unhappy and busy worrying on too many things. :D
But I'd like to see the art of audio reproduction continue to reach higher level of refinement.
 
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Same type of thing can happen with listening: too much attention focused on the wrong things like frequency response or 'sound stage' (whatever that is), if trying to understand what different dacs, filters, jitter, etc., do to the sound.
We are all sensitive to different things. I personally like to feel enveloped in the sound of the hall where the recording was made. This leaves me to prefer recordings done with minimal microphones. This does not mean I am focussing on 'the wrong thing' just that I have different priorities. From you posts I assume that orchestral and chamber music are not high on your playlists. Which is fine.




Blind test? :)
Doesn't need to be blind just needs the car to be instrumented and a standard test loop to be followed. But isn't trivial. Engine on a dyno is much easier :)
 
...This does not mean I am focusing on 'the wrong thing'...

Bill, I think we agree more than disagree. I was referring to a specific situation in which one might be listening with a particular intent in mind, which was described as, "if trying to understand what different dacs, filters, jitter, etc., do to the sound." Some kinds of recordings and music may help make some of quirks of S-D dac technology more plain and evident than others, as can a certain type of mental focus when listening (that is, a mental focus on the types of artifacts dacs tend to produce). By the same token, focusing attention on dac artifacts would likely be the 'wrong thing' if the stated intent happened to be to to evaluate the technical merits of a particular musical performance. Of course, when listening purely for enjoyment, one should probably listen in whatever (legal) way one finds conducive to enjoyment.

To be sure, the foregoing is meant not to say that dac artifacts do not influence perception and enjoyment when listening to one's favorite music for pleasure. It only means that if listening with a certain technical intent, such as for example, if one were recruited to evaluate the sound of loudspeakers for JBL, in the course of one's duties as a trained and qualified listener, one should probably focus on the job at hand as trained to do rather than, say, lapsing into profound musical rapture, as enjoyable as that might be. :)
 
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I can do matched level if someone wants. But, I prefer to give the listener the ability to control volume so they can find out what happens when one or the other speaker is a little bit louder than the other (just not so loud so as to mask the details of either speaker). If we can get that far, I ask them to listen for what didn't change with a small volume level change. Too many people think about frequency response and overly focus on that while ignoring too many other things. Then the 'invisible gorilla' effect occurs. People can't see the gorilla because they are too busy counting up and trying to hold in memory how many passes of the ball one or both teams make during the game. Same type of thing can happen with listening: too much attention focused on the wrong things like frequency response or 'sound stage' (whatever that is), if trying to understand what different dacs, filters, jitter, etc., do to the sound.
:up:

Listen, it has to be learned, like all the other things in life.
Especially about what some call hifi.
As the phenomenons at work are more complex that we can imagine, let's keep-it simple.
 
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Joined 2012
I chose as one of my hobbies, HiFi and music production and reproduction. In my 50+ year hobby I build, listen and test and modify equipment, rooms, speakers to get lower distortions and more perfect, for me, sound.
When I am not doing my hobby, I listen to music.

For some here, it isnt a hobby ... or not much... or once upon a time it was. Maybe.
No investment in time (or money) to improve it. Just listen to the music. Thats fine.
But, here it is DIY as an audio hobby interest. So for the hobby side, i like to know what Mark has found that i might apply to my hobby/system. Or from JC, etc.

My lady friend (wife) has a Panasonic CD player/radio in the kitchen where she plays music while she cooks. Yesterday, she asked me to put her small collection of favorite CD's on the Big system I put together. Because it sounds so much fuller, complete... better. She said she could hear so many instruments clearly. I put one of her CD's on and left and next thing you know she has figured out how to manipulate the knobs and buttons and was playing other CD's all thru the day. :) <3

It isnt her hobby, but even music lovers appreciate excellent sound.


THx-RNMarsh
 
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TNT

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I can do matched level if someone wants. But, I prefer to give the listener the ability to control volume so they can find out what happens when one or the other speaker is a little bit louder than the other (just not so loud so as to mask the details of either speaker). If we can get that far, I ask them to listen for what didn't change with a small volume level change. Too many people think about frequency response and overly focus on that while ignoring too many other things. Then the 'invisible gorilla' effect occurs. People can't see the gorilla because they are too busy counting up and trying to hold in memory how many passes of the ball one or both teams make during the game. Same type of thing can happen with listening: too much attention focused on the wrong things like frequency response or 'sound stage' (whatever that is), if trying to understand what different dacs, filters, jitter, etc., do to the sound.

I'm sure it would be a nice and interesting event but I doubt that you can "prove" any of your claims to a more scientifically inclined person. I don't doubt there could be audible difference - it's just so hard to tie them to your claimed technical origin.

//
 
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