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Question RE: Atkinson - DBT/Absolute Signal Polarity

As I understand you have taken Atkinson to task for the following statement that appeared in Stereophile, As We See It, Absolute Issues, September, 1988:

Work by Stanley Lipshitz in the late '70s (footnote 9), using carefully organized double-blind testing, confirmed that a reversal of absolute signal polarity will be subtly audible on music to a 99% confidence limit! (Indeed, it is one of the few things that can be reliably detected with double-blind testing.)

source (see page two)


You have provided as reference information published at the web page ABX Double Blind Test Results: Polarity as evidence that the above statement is in error.

Specifically the tests by Van der Kooy/Lipshitz did not demonstrate the audibility of absolute signal polarity on music but rather with Training Signals.

Now the footnote Atkinson provided as reference cited the following:

"A little understood factor in A/B testing," The BAS Speaker, March 1979, followed by "On the Audibility of Midrange Phase Distortion in Audio Systems" (with John Vanderkooy and Mark Pocock), JAES, Vol.30 No.9, September 1982.


These sources are different that the one you cited and hence raise the question of what is contained in the references Atkinson used? Specifically is it possible that the sources Atkinson use contained the on music vs. Training Signals error? Have you examined the materials and confirmed that this was not the case, have you produced this evidence in posts here (or for that matter elsewhere)?

As you have used this incident, what was contained in the 1988 article, to question SF's/Atkinson's "honesty in reporting"... you wtote Usually, we of course refer by this term ("honesty in reporting") to qualities like fairness and accuracy... I should think you did indeed do your homework to, as the saying goes, cross your t's and dot your i's.

If you would be so kind to point out your investigations into Atkinson's sources, or at least comment on this interesting question I would appreciate it.


Everything matters, don't forget to tweak your placebos!

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