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Blind test listening results by professional audio engineers in the Los Angeles area

fpitas said:
I think we all know that LEDs ruin the sound, no matter what color they are.
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1700060705870.png
 
SIY said:
John isn't trolling, but I think he IS missing the concept of "first define the question to be answered by an experiment when designing it." The question to be answered (which was not disclosed to the participants because it would invalidate the experiment) was "Are experienced and professional listeners subject to the placebo effect?" And the experiment clearly showed that they are- totally unsurprising, but since we so often hear claims of immunity due to the claimant's "vast experience," this is a nice data point confirming the contrary.
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Well, I thought many of the people critisisig the article, including Restorer John, were critisizing not because they found it inconclusive but becuase they found it to be predictible and banal, which is not incorrect in my opinion.
 
voodooless said:
On the contrary. LEDs make excellent low-noise current sources and are often used in modern amps for this reason.
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I've used them to bias the current source for differential transistor amps for T3 telephony purposes. Evidently the red light disturbed the test techs, so they painted over it lol.
 
voodooless said:
On the contrary. LEDs make excellent low-noise current sources and are often used in modern amps for this reason.
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Voltage sources (low impedance), not current sources (high impedance).
 
MattHooper said:
Anyone (here at least) could see this one coming from a mile away. Zero surprise. Being a professional doesn't shield someone from bias effects.
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Sure doesn't. Being an expert can make one even more vulnerable.
 
Don't know what issue anyone has with the "Red & Blue" LED test. I think it's very elegant and has a definite outcome WRT the listeners. The outcome neatly demonstrates expectation bias and self-generated perception in the subjects. I agree also with the sentiment that it takes a brave listener to declare "I hear no difference".
 
MAB said:
Yeah, I know how you feel.;)
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Yeah, well… my analog circuit skills are not very good to say the least. I know what the bits do on their own, but put together I quickly loose the grap, especially if transistors are involved ;) It’s just not something I learned in any great detail.

Technically I wasn’t completely wrong though, so I’ll take it as a win anyway ;) , especially since I (re)learned something again.
 
LTig said:
You really have to experience this. Reading about it is not sufficient, hence I'm all in favor for doing this kind of test as often as possible.
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+1. I haven't been subject to a surprise A vs. A test before, but I have found myself twiddling EQ / filter knobs in a DAW, definitely hearing a (small) difference, and then later realizing the EQ was disabled. I think this is a common experience among people that play with audio, and if you stop and think about what you just heard... nothing but your mind playing tricks... it's very humbling and eye-opening.

I don't know if there is a good way to spread this experience around. A Youtube video with comments disabled could work, but would it scale...?
 
kemmler3D said:
and if you stop and think about what you just heard... nothing but your mind playing tricks... it's very humbling and eye-opening.
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Well I guess it is a question of attitude.
Some people stop and activate routines of doubt and investigation.
Others move on and jump to conclusions.
Probably this cannot be changed easily.
 
Pareto Pragmatic said:
Color affects mood, mood affects perception. That's the link.

I did find a study that used VR headset to change the color of a concert hall, and headphones. N=30 so big grain of salt. Red rooms sound best. Just like red cars are faster.

In general, red/orange/yellow give people energy and make them happier, blue/green/purple produce calm and mellow states of mind. So a color that helps for high energy music might detract from more mellow music, and vice versa.

Not my area of expertise, but makes sense to me.
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I happily avail myself of such influences. Behind my stereo speakers is my large projection screen. Programmable colored lights shine on that screen, and I find it can enhance and influence my perception of the sound.
 
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