That’s hilarious!
You mean correlation does not imply causation? 
1 Like
The problem with the way blind tests get thrown around in audio is significantly worse than that, whether or not you have a statistically relevant result is only one part of the issue.
The tendency even when it’s done right is to draw broad conclusions from very narrow tests.
lets say on two DAC’s a single person does 100 random A/B tests of 5s duration each, and you get no statistically significant variation.
All that implies is one person can’t tell the difference between the 2 tested DAC’s inside 5s. It says nothing about the broader population, or any other DAC’s or tests anything you might detect after more than 5s.
There are a lot of examples in the medical field (where blind testing is done very carefully) where drugs considered to be a failure in initial tests, were later found to be very effective on narrowed groups of the population.
3 Likes
Yeah, but even though I’m not in Maine, that chart proves it’s better to butter up the spouse.
3 Likes
maybe we can stick to audio examples. I’ve been a Dr involved in research, and imho what you note is rare at best, after YEARS of research…
Not a comparable research case.
3 Likes
I’m a firm believer in crap in…crap out.
2 Likes
Indeed. It all starts with the recording, and unfortunately there’s no recording standard that the studios abide by, so…
3 Likes
The source and the amp are both important. Digital has come a long way over the years. Headphones really bring out any shortfalls in the playback chain. For me, the Benchmark DAC was my introduction regarding what improvements could be had by DAC’S.
Once I heard Chord DAC’s, that became my new reference. Once I heard the M-Scaler/Hugo-TT2 combination, that was it. The Headphones finally started to sound right.
Amps also are important, but would give the nod to the source/DAC. The amp may also not be a good match for a given headphone. Some amps may have enough power, but can make a given headphone sound bad. I’ve run into this issue.
3 Likes
The budget split is never straightforward as it depends intrinsically on the difficulty of making a “good” version of the device in the first place. There is an entry cost to any device and then an escalation ramp which may be steep and then roll off as performance gains become more difficult. It may have lumps and bumps as one step may involve substantial cost whereas the next step may be much less. For example a crossover component at a few $ may not give any noticeable gain with the existing mid unit but after spending $ hundreds on a new drive unit that same improved inductor could give massive benefits.
On measurements, all measurements are numerical or graphical models to represent the signal we are analysing. They look at certain factors and apply a model to represent the outcome. They are never a true representation of our ear-brain process and therefore can never accurately represent the difference we may hear. The brain does not process the whole signal literally it changes as we focus on particular patterns or signatures. It is why we can pick out a conversation in a crowd. The listening experience depends on our state of mind (mood) and on our focus, both the ear and the brain are active filter systems. Just ask anyone how they feel in a true anechoic chamber it is very peculiar when noise is removed. All these factors add to the reason why even if we did reproduce the exact sound we heard at a live concert, we still would not hear it the same. We could not match the state of the bodies biochemistry and the input from our other senses, all of which alter what we are hearing.
Personally, I think that each component in the chain can make a difference in the overall sound, and it’s important to find a balance between all of them.
While a clean measuring source is important to reduce distortion, it’s also worth considering the tonality and character of the source. Some sources may sound better with certain transducers than others, and vice versa. It’s also worth considering the quality of the DAC/amp, as a poorly designed or low-quality unit can introduce its own distortion or coloration to the sound.
Of course, the transducer is ultimately the most important part of the chain, as it’s what directly produces the sound. But I think it’s worth investing in a high-quality source and DAC/amp to ensure that the transducer is receiving a clean and accurate signal.
1 Like