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In Reply to: RE: I know. posted by josh358 on October 16, 2010 at 14:38:45
Sighted tests are quite reliable for a lot of things. A couple of examples. They can show the equipment works and is not obviously malfunctioning. They can show that an amplifier can drive the speakers to one's satisfaction--or not.
As well, sighted tests can work quite well for forming preferences. I have often advised people to get the equipment they prefer, and to form their preferences by the methods they prefer.
For determining small audible differences--sighted auditions are not reliable.
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"A fool and his money are soon parted." --- Thomas Tusser
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The problem is, neither is practical forced choice testing. Just look at the DBT reports on Hydrogen Audio, the results are all over the place. So what do you do, wait for the blind tests to improve (or to be done in the first place, since most equipment one might be interested in buying hasn't been subjected to DBT), or accept the evidence of one's ears?
I suppose I should add that this isn't just a rhetorical question. The purported superiority of certain esoteric cables, the audibility of certain differences in contemporary power amplifiers and converters -- in many cases, I just don't know. All I can do is use my ears and a bit of common sense, and hope I'm right.
Ah, well that illustrates a different concern: what to buy. I don't tell people what to buy, or how they *should* go about choosing equipment, though I can tell them what has worked for me and others. I don't have to change speakers every couple of years because I get tired of them.
This bothers many people. They expect me to tell them what to buy--after all, that's why many of them come here, to get advice on what equipment to buy. I'm not answering the questions they have in their minds--but seldom ask.
I often suggest speakers I think most people would like, or amplifiers that should drive their speakers, if I know. But I don't tell them not to buy expensive equipment, and I don't suggest they buy the cheapest. What I suggest is that they buy the equipment they prefer.
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"A fool and his money are soon parted." --- Thomas Tusser
I think the best you can do is outline some of the options. Needs and tastes differ too much. However, within a given category, there are almost always components that are a better value than others. And some, arguably, that have no value at all, or are ridiculously overpriced for what they are (not that I'm thinking of certain estoteric cables . . .).
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