Incidentally, I would like to clarify something: I hardly believe all products should be subjected to double-blind testing. An obvious case is speakers. Speakers are highly personal, vary wildly in their appropriateness for different rooms, and, by gosh, they even look different. It is instructive, however, to have good reviews that include measurements and comparisons. These, in addition to listening tests, can help us go in a preferred direction. I love my speakers and think they are marvelous; however, they certainly wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. And, if I had to move into a smaller room, they would be gone in a heartbeat.
Now, where I do think double-blind testing is of value are the areas of electronics and more ephemeral objects like cables. From power supplies to amps to cables, we get gobs of reviews filled with enough elusive adjectives to make a wine magazine blush. And then there matter of marketing hype: amps with damping factors of 8000 having more bass impact than one with a factor of 400 (do the math; there is not much of a difference, when you take the entire system into account); minuscule (and irrelevant) distortion figures and s/n, etc. Okay, that's amplifiers. But, when you move into the world of power cords, cables, tweaks ranging from bybee silliness to mpingo disks to whatever, including some good tweaks, cables, etc., you're now in a rarefied zone. These items are expensive. They are highly touted by manufacturers, some devoted users (Tice Clock, anyone?); they can be very expensive; and the placebo effect is perhaps at its worst. Why? Because the system has been built...and, without the need for more big boxes and such, the user is now searching for that special thing that with take him or her to audio nirvana. This is a powerful force. This is not made up. Medical studies don't make this up. So, what to do? Have a more consumer-friendly magazine or group of audiophiles and dealers try out the various competing power supplies under these conditions. Try out cables, power supplies, and other tweaks under similar conditions. I mean, I would really love to see this happen. It would be fun, instructive, and would shine brightly on those who participate, whatever the outcome. It would not shine highly on those that don't. I think we can take it for granted, given the defensiveness, that "maui mods" would slither off into the world of snake oil and secrecy. -- highdudgeon SB3, Lavry DA10, Sony DVP 555es, Bel Canto Pre2, Carver Sunfire, Rane DEQ60L, Harbeth Monitor 40s, ACI Force subs ------------------------------------------------------------------------ highdudgeon's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2195 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20844 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
