mike c

mike c

Audioholic Warlord
The question to me is, if Audioholics is "Pursuing the TRUTH in audio and video." and advertising itself as a place "Where audio and video equipment undergoes rigorous objective and subjective tests by our staff, ensuring that marketing slogans aren't the only guidelines for your home theater choices", why are its subjective tests 'sighted' (i.e., not rigorous)?

Anyway, what I meant to say is, my cat's breath smells like cat food.
sighted and rigorous sure doesn't seem like they're related to each other.
(please correct me with dictionary definitions if i am wrong)

there are quite a number of objective tests done on the reviewed products and the subjective tests are exactly that - subjective.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
W

wingz

Audiophyte
Agree

I agree! That would be very helpful for me. Thanks.
 
krabapple

krabapple

Banned
sighted and rigorous sure doesn't seem like they're related to each other.
(please correct me with dictionary definitions if i am wrong)

They're not. That was my point. A sighted 'review' of how a unit SOUNDs is not rigorous. The claim is ""Where audio and video equipment undergoes rigorous objective and subjective tests by our staff" -- if Audioholics means "rigorous objective test, and not-rigorous subjective tests" then perhaps that's how it should read.


there are quite a number of objective tests done on the reviewed products and the subjective tests are exactly that - subjective.
And my point again is, you're taking the science halfway. Sighted subjective 'tests' have deep inherent problems, so why rely on them at all? It's possible to make even subjective reports of SOUND quality more rigorous by making them less prone to influence from non-sound factors.

Subjectivity comes into review of SOUND in two ways
1) subjective impression that unit/treatment A sound different from B
2) subjective impression that unit/treatement A sounds BETTER (or worse) than B

Logically, if (1) ends up having no objective support -- from measurements, or from a BLIND listening comparison -- then (2) is unlikely to have any either.

So one way to 'pursue the truth' more diligently, whenever A is being compared to B, is to do it blind.

When there IS a real difference in sound, blinding is also called for to circumvent the natural inclination to rate 'sound' based at least partly on 'non sound' factors, like price, appearance, brand reputation, etc.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top