Thread: "Audio" Valves
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Old 16th Feb 2019, 1:13 pm   #37
GrimJosef
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 4,310
Default Re: "Audio" Valves

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave1000 View Post
... When my partner, completely oblivious to what has or has not been changed, describes what I hear, I am happy that it is not all imagination.
The cynics who test pharmaceuticals for a living would say that if you and your wife meet during the testing process then the results are compromised. That's the difference between blind testing and double-blind testing - in the latter case not only are the test subjects unaware of what change, if any, has been made but so are the test managers (doctors, nurses etc) with whom they interact. Otherwise, they'd claim, your wife, who knows what features you like in your music, will subconsciously pick up whether you're more or less satisfied after a change and will replay your expectations/disappointments back to you. Double-blind testing costs the pharma people a lot of money. They wouldn't spend it if they didn't have to.

I'll be interested to learn what a calibrated mic makes of the differences. Provided these are set up with reasonable care they can detect changes much smaller than we can perceive with our ears. If yours doesn't show a clear difference then there will be a conundrum to explain.

Incidentally if you're ever going to raise this subject on an audio forum you might want to get other listeners in to confirm your better half's experience. "Even my wife can hear it" is such a cliché in those places that I'm afraid sniggering has now become the most common response. This is a shame because often our partners really are the people who know our systems (nearly) as well as we do. The feeling seems to be, though, that their closeness to us is outweighing their closeness to the kit.

Cheers,

GJ
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