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I trust my ears and my senses. I listen to music and attend concerts with my eyes open, so why should I close them to make Ethan happy?

For me, appreciating gear is about more than just what it sounds like, though that is obviously number one.

I suppose if I found a dealer which had the components I wanted to hear together, and my budget was high enough, they might help me do that. But whatever the validity gained in such tests (and having been trained in research blind tests are better) they really aren't practical for anyone besides the press, who has the access and taste to set them up.

Worthless without the proper set-up and process. Even if you should actually stumble upon getting the process correct, I'm doubtful as to its actual value. But go ahead and give it a try! No skin off anybody's nose and it may be fun.

If an objectivist fell down in a forest, would anyone care? Not to be confused with Fudd's First Law of Opposition: "If you push something hard enough, it will fall over." Or even Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law: "It goes in, it must come out." DBT's are comin' and there's no place to hide!

Occasionally blind in the sense of closing my eyes. Never blind in the sense of not know the component(s) I am listening to.

Sometimes with eyes open, you can get a sense of the musical space and where certain instruments are coming from within the space.

Seeing what I'm hearing and seeing my surroundings does not keep me from listening well, either in front of a stereo or at a live performance. When evaluating audio gear, the crucial tactic is not blind comparison, but listening to the same piece of music on the same system several or many times over, with short breaks to rest one's ears every two or three spins. Then change musical selections and repeat the process. Over time, as you hear favored but very different recordings on many different audio rigs, you might develop a short list of up to a dozen recordings you use as the acid test for any given system and its room setup. Sure, you can do A-B comparisons, too, or whatever else floats your auditory boat. But the main thing is to listen as many times as it takes to be sure of your own perceptions.

For better or worse I like to "see" what is reproducing the music I listen to. Those black curtain tests Bose does in its traveling road shows does not impress me at all. I honestly believe that knowing what I am listening to does not alter my opinion of the sound that comes out.

Sometimes, but if my eyes are closed it usually means that music is extremely good or very powerful.

Our ears are just too unreliable when assisted by the eyes. Just give them a chance to perform on their own and tell you the thruth about the audio quality of a piece of equipment in stead of the visual appearance!

I am blind.

Initially I thought no, but a few times when comparing sources I've switched between them with my eyes closed and tried to tell which one was playing. It wasn't that difficult if you're familiar with one. Also, back when I used to drink, I auditioned a few components blind...drunk.

I like to guess which piece I'm listening to. It helps confirm my initial reaction.

It is sort of hard by yourself, but I like to A/B a source and go back and forth.

I only trust measurements both on- and off-axis, and also stored energy (linear distortion) when possible. Nonlinear distortion can also be measured, but there is a point where "good enough" is enough.

Hearing is believing. If you believe something sounds good or bad,you will hear it—whether it's true or not. Blind listening is the only way to get to the truth of how it really sounds.

First of all, I think people's evaluations are largely subjective and based on their individual preferences. The most important factor when evaluating sound is to listen intently to as many components as you can keeping in mind what live music sounds like. No audio company will probably ever reach what is termed as the absolute sound.

If you can't tell component A from component B without looking at them, how do you really know that one is better than the other? I've met a lot of audiophiles that have fallen in love a product prior to purchase and wound up experiencing buyers remorse after living with it. Blind tests can do a lot to avoid those sorts of circumstances.

Well, sometimes I close my eyes.

I think that if you really want to determine which component sounds the best—as opposed to validate an already-formed preference—then there's no reason not to conduct a blind test.

Blind drunk count?

Absolutely, it's amazing how your vision steers you to believe that one piece of equipment sounds better because of brand status quo or money spent.

Doing a properly controlled blind test is more difficult than it sounds. Often there is no simple way to do such things as level matching, which is necessary for a valid test. Engineering skill is needed to implement most blind tests properly. I have done an ABX of absolute polarity using the foobar2000 ABX comparator plug-in though.

i try to focus most of my senses into the audio detail.

This is the only way to know you are not fooling yourself. It is suprising how often you can't tell the difference between equipment you think you can hear a difference in a sighted test.

In fact, I think that my hearing is better when I'm wearing my glasses.

No. I trust my ears and I'm not influenced by what "should" sound better. Example: Recently I bought a new tube complement for my amp. It wasn't cheap but I clearly preferered the sound of the stock tubes, so back in they went. If it's a really close call, I'll do A/B testing if I can.

I rarely get the opportunity to actually have the stuff together, but I try to do whatever I can.

I don't think I could alone?