Developing Critical Listening

Forums
The Entry Level
Submitted by sbkrige on

I've been ripping CD's to my computer at different qualities and playing the same song with different bit rates, and I can definitely hear the difference between the higher and lower quality rips, but I have trouble describing and isolating what exactly are the differences.
I can also do the test on random (so not knowing if I'm listening to the higher or lower quality rip) and I can still tell which one is the better one or not (up to a certain extent, I limited buy my equipment at the higher quality).

Were Those Ears So Golden? (DCC & PASC)

Were Those Ears So Golden? (DCC & PASC)

Dec 20, 2008 First Published:Apr 01, 1991

The whole field of subjective audio reviewing&#151;listening to a piece of equipment to determine its characteristics and worth&#151;is predicated on the idea that human perception is not only far more sensitive than measurement devices, but far more <I>important</I> than the numbers generated by "objective" testing. Subjective evaluation of audio equipment, however, is often dismissed as meaningless by the scientific audio community. A frequent objection is the lack of thousands upon thousands of rigidly controlled clinical trials. Consequently, conclusions reached by subjective means are considered unreliable because of the anecdotal nature of listening impressions. The scientific audio community demands rigorous, controlled, blind testing with many trials before any conclusions can be drawn. Furthermore, any claimed abilities to discriminate sonically that are not provable under blind testing conditions are considered products of the listeners' imaginations. Audible differences are said to be real only if their existence can be proved by such "scientific" procedures (footnote 1).

Holiday Wishlist

Forums
General Rants 'n' Raves
Submitted by linden518 on

Everyone post! I'll start:

1. The 14CD-Messiaen 100th Anniversary box. I'm sure I'll go get this before the year's over.

2. The Wagner Ring (Keilberth) on Testament, the LP set... I already own the CD set. 19 LPs, $500 (holy crap.)

3. Alfred Brendel's His Vanguard & Vox Recordings (36 CDs)... I grew up with Brendel's Beethoven set on Vox. I've heard better versions of Beethoven sonatas, but none are more dear to me than the early Brendel accounts. The thing is, I listened to the cassettes back then... so this is definitely one to buy & keep near me...

ASL Group Acquires Naim North America

ASL Group Acquires Naim North America

Dec 19, 2008

ASL Group (formerly known as Audiophile Systems Ltd.) announced December 19 that it had acquired Naim North America, the US distributor of Naim Audio and NaimNet, a deal that strengthens both ASL and Naim NA. Naim Audio's CEO Paul Stephenson said, "It's like going home, since we originally were distributed by Audiophile Systems when we first moved into the US."

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