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Binaural blind comparison test of 4 loudspeakers - II

Which speaker comes closest to the original recording?

  • Speaker A

    Votes: 7 25.9%
  • Speaker B

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • Speaker C

    Votes: 3 11.1%
  • Speaker D

    Votes: 13 48.1%

  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .

preload

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I’m posting right after reading up to the big reveal. can someone explain how the speakers we listen thru will effect the result? If I listen thru B&W wouldn’t that treble rise double making my favorite speaker unlistenable? Curious to what I’ll learn here and now knowing which speakers are used would there be a way to get more accurate results

You are correct. Let’s say a BBC dip is the preferred response curve in a loudspeaker. The binaural recording captures that BBC dip. But then it gets played back on another speaker with a BBC dip. Now you have double BBC dips, which definitely will sound colored, and the listener reaches the erroneous conclusion that the original BBC dip speaker is colored, when in reality, the perceived coloration was due to the particular choice of playback speaker.

I identified this major problem (one of many) in my comments about the first experiment , but it clearly did not get addressed for this second and unfortunately similar “experiment.” You may be one of the few people who picked up on this methodological flaws and I’m glad I’m not the only one asking questions and not buying into the group think.
 
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preload

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You have to come to terms with that feeling. I had the same reaction on the first test as in "people paid real money for those crappy speakers?"
Once you've heard a few, you can put things in perspective, none of those sound "good" as speakers in the room with us would sound. But, so far, it seems that despite the recording hurdle, what the majority of people chose correlates decently with what the preference research said they would (on average).

I wouldn't draw huge conclusions from such tests though. Although most people made the expected choice, one could argue they shouldn't actually have done that in theory, given that their devices weren't calibrated or at least standardized. But maybe they are to some point (selection bias is running at full speed when you get voluntary participation, on a site called audiosciencereview, by a minority of active users. It's confusion all the way.

But is is fun.

Agree with what you wrote about how we technically cannot and should not draw huge conclusions from these makeshift re-recording “experiments.”

However, I personally don’t find it “fun” because there are people who don’t interpret scientific literature on a daily basis and may be lured into thinking these types of experiments are valid and not just for amusement purposes.
 
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steve59

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It would seem obvious, but I still read of folk recommending a speaker because of how it sounds on a you tube video! It really displays the gap in experience on this forum.
 

BrokenEnglishGuy

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Wow. More interesting results. The Grimm LS1Be definitely has the best measurements, and once again, the "best" measurements win the poll, despite the recording flaws. The KEF is really interesting to me. I bet it would do much better with some EQ to reduce the bass. I think KEF + EQ could probably rival Grimm + EQ, though I can see why the Grimm won without EQ. Why does KEF "voice" it that way(with 5dB bass boost)? Maybe to raise the sensitivity? The bookshelf models seem to be voiced more neutrally.

Anyways, I'd like to keep this going. I just purchased this. What else do I need? I may need some coaching as to how to appropriately measure and apply compensation(if needed).
So, in this compasión ctr used the reference 3?
That speaker have a huge tactile and very controlled sub bass, very impressive.
 

CrazyDwarf

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I would love to see similar blind comparison between different tiered speakers. Priced 300-1000-5000 something like that. :)
 

Ra1zel

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Funny how B&W was in both tests rated as worst/2nd worst, shows how ridiculous is the idea of BBC dip.
 

steve59

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Are you sure it's the bbc dip and not the rise in treble? I'm not poking you with a stick, There are other brands that manage the dip without sounding so aggressive.
 

thewas

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Are you sure it's the bbc dip and not the rise in treble? I'm not poking you with a stick, There are other brands that manage the dip without sounding so aggressive.
At least in the first test the used older B&W 802D didn't have such a significant treble peak like later 800 generations had:

index.php
 

Blumlein 88

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At least in the first test the used older B&W 802D didn't have such a significant treble peak like later 800 generations had:

index.php
I believe in those tests I picked the Quad, and then the next best measuring speaker. As a lifetime panel aficionado (I owned ESL63s for a dozen years) this might mean something. Among other things it means the binaural method works better than I supposed it would.
 
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