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gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Ahhhh, right! I read that whole article and promptly forgot that part. I guess you're matching the sum (for lack of a better term) of the speakers' FR's - correct?

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were trying to do a blind comparison of two different pairs of speakers. We took turns listening while the other switched speakers and controlled the volume. In an effort to negate the "louder is better" effect, we varied the volume by several dB each time we listened to a pair. While blindfolded, we would never know which pair we were listening to - regardless of the volume. So, we had to try to "listen through" the volume, while making our judgements. We did this many times while switching back and forth, in order to get some degree of validity. It wasn't easy and I'm not sure how effective it was.

I prefer your method....
Click to expand...
Blind testing is a bit over rated and often never done correctly by most people, including the manufacturers that tout it as a necessity. Do you need to do a blind test to determine if a gourmet angus hamburger tastes better than a 99cent McDonalds toe-nail burger? I don't think so. Blind Testing has alot of relevancy in the medical field where you are dealing with minute differences, control groups, and huge statistical sample sizes. Unlike the medical field, there are usually huge differences in how speakers sound which even untrained ears can distinguish quite easily.

I always love the manufacturers that claim you must do a blind test else the results will be biased towards the better looking speakers. Does that mean that their speakers (if they lose) are always the ugliest in the competition? If so, why not make them prettier and then not have to worry about controlled sighted tests anymore :rolleyes:

Level matching is critical and you should be able to switch at will while also adjusting listening level of both pairs proportionally. It's a good idea to hear a speaker at various listening levels to test for compression as well as how linear it is at low levels too.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
gene said:
That is a great question and its harder to level match than most people realize.

I discuss how I level match in the last Speaker FaceOff we did:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/2010-1k-faceoff

I use wideband pinknoise and C-wt on the SPL meter. Internal Pink noise generators in A/V receivers are usually narrowband which will put the speaker that is bass deficient at a disadvantage. NEVER pick a single test frequency to level match speakers!!!
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And that's why your REVIEWS are PROFESSIONAL and mean A LOT more than our little personal 100% subjective so-called reviews.:D:D

I will admit that my auditions don't mean much, except for a little fun. :D

...And like the DAWG says, my ears are all screwed up anyway from listening to my Delirium Tremens speakers.:eek:
 
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Warpdrv

Warpdrv

Audioholic Ninja
If I may ask gene, what are the benefits of having 3 tweeters on a speaker, aren't there generally phase and comb filtering issues employing multiples here...?

Like the T-1's
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
gene said:
Blind testing is a bit over rated and often never done correctly by most people, including the manufacturers that tout it as a necessity. Do you need to do a blind test to determine if a gourmet angus hamburger tastes better than a 99cent McDonalds toe-nail burger? I don't think so. Blind Testing has alot of relevancy in the medical field where you are dealing with minute differences, control groups, and huge statistical sample sizes. Unlike the medical field, there are usually huge differences in how speakers sound which even untrained ears can distinguish quite easily.

I always love the manufacturers that claim you must do a blind test else the results will be biased towards the better looking speakers. Does that mean that their speakers (if they lose) are always the ugliest in the competition? If so, why not make them prettier and then not have to worry about controlled sighted tests anymore :rolleyes:

Level matching is critical and you should be able to switch at will while also adjusting listening level of both pairs proportionally. It's a good idea to hear a speaker at various listening levels to test for compression as well as how linear it is at low levels too.
Click to expand...
I understand what you're saying, but I wouldn't bother with a blind comparison between say, a pair of Bose 301's and my Studio 20's. With different speakers that are even remotely similar, I'd personally have to do it blind. I would like to think that I wouldn't be influenced by looks or brand names, but I would rather not risk a subconscious influence.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I understand what you're saying, but I wouldn't bother with a blind comparison between say, a pair of Bose 301's and my Studio 20's. With different speakers that are even remotely similar, I'd personally have to do it blind. I would like to think that I wouldn't be influenced by looks or brand names, but I would rather not risk a subconscious influence.
Click to expand...
There can still be biases in blind tests such as:
  • losses associated with grille material to cover the speakers as we found
  • interpretation error of results
  • too small of a sampling size to get meaningful results

When it is close between a pair of speakers, you really need to listen multiple times over a few day period and with source material you are familiar with. I have found people initially prefer the speakers with more boom and sizzle and often ignore the critical midrange and how well balanced the speakers are overall. IMO if a speaker can't do the midrange right, all bets are off. You can always add bass extension with a powered sub which is what I usually recommend anyways.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
If I may ask gene, what are the benefits of having 3 tweeters on a speaker, aren't there generally phase and comb filtering issues employing multiples here...?

Like the T-1's
Click to expand...
The spacing of the tweeters and woofers is calculated to allow the speaker to act like a dispersion averaging array which reduces comb filtering of multi driver systems but yes there will be lobing and comb filtering just like any speaker with multi drivers playing the same frequencies. The multi drivers also adds more dynamic range and more radiating area into the room. The end result is a speaker with an enormous soundstage and wide sweet spot if you sit far enough away for the sound to properly integrate (8ft min IMO). The downside is reduced fidelity if you sit off axis from both speakers like at the side of the room b/c the midranges control lateral reflections and help control dispersion so the listening area gets more direct soundfield. Another benefit, is the farfield for the speaker is increased thus the inverse square law of 6dB every doubling of distance doesn't apply. Much like a line array, you typically see 3-5dB doubling of distance instead.

I wrote about this in my T2 and T30 reviews and also in my article:
How to Calibrate a multi row system
 
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