Can you hear the difference?

[MDAguy]

Ok, we've established (on here at least) that DACs more or less sound the same with in reason..

How about Violins? Do they sound the same? Thoughts?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Yes, you can hear a difference.
But, I wonder if that would have held up against say a $1000 or $2000 violin?

 

[MZKM]

Yes, you can hear a difference.
But, I wonder if that would have held up against say a $1000 or $2000 violin?

 

[MDAguy]

This is fascinating... wish they'd start rating DACs..

 

[Prep74]

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/million-dollar-strads-fall-modern-violins-blind-sound-check

 

[Blumlein 88]

That was a fun video to watch. I would say none of the violins sounded as off as the $69 violin. Seems like covering your ears with the blind fold was bad methodology too.

 

[MZKM]

That was a fun video to watch. I would say none of the violins sounded as off as the $69 violin. Seems like covering your ears with the blind fold was bad methodology too.

The guest player still guessed the correct violin used and who played what (and recognized they swapped), though he was partially guessing.

 

[Sombreuil]

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/million-dollar-strads-fall-modern-violins-blind-sound-check

To be completely fair most violinists say that a Stradivarius sounds unique, not necessarily better.

 

[Prep74]

To be completely fair most violinists say that a Stradivarius sounds unique, not necessarily better.

Sure some violins may have a unique sound signature, but in these tests they couldn't identify which violin was the Strad...

 

[Dennis Murphy]

That was pretty weird. I'm a semi-professional violinist and have played on a zillion different instruments, and the recording of the $69 violin is so reverberate that it masks what I'm pretty sure are much bigger differences in the sounds of the two instruments. I have never played a factory-made entry-level violin that had anything like the sound quality that seems to be coming from that fiddle. The issue of whether a Strad sounds all that much better than a good modern instrument is an entirely different matter. And, in general, the appraised value of a violin often has very little to do with its sound quality. It's all about provenance--whether you can verify that the violin is the work of a known and respected maker. I lucked into a violin with exceptional tone quality when I was a kid, and today it has an appraised value of around $3,000, which is nothing in terms of current instrument pricing. It was probably built by several different craftsmen in an English shop around 1900. But in terms of tone quality, it ranks with with many violins valued at $100.000. I would expect that most blind listening tests of violins of widely differing prices would produce amusing results. But I can assure you that if I played my violin in my living room along with the $69 wonder, you would have no problem hearing the difference. (You would also have to trouble hearing the difference between my playing and the most excellent dude on the video.)

 

[charleski]

An interesting example of the differences between violins was provided by Tasmin Little on her free download of solo violin music (the segment ‘which violin’). Both violins are antiques (one a Strad, the other a Guadenini). I must say I was sceptical during her introduction, but found it quite easy to hear distinctions between them (though I was too lazy to do a proper ABX, so might be fooling myself).

 

[Vincent Kars]

 

[andreasmaaan]

I guess most here would be familiar with this.

 

[daftcombo]

I guess most here would be familiar with this.

Nice one. Glad I picked the strad

 

[Sukie]

Great thread. I wonder if cables make a difference???

 

[NYfan2]

Putting on the blindfold already changes the sound so much for the listener that it's obvious that it is hard to recognise which violin is playing. You can easily test this yourself, listen to your soundsystem, put on a beanie or another hat (without covering your ear) and there is a big difference in sound. So poor test conditions in this video.

 

[Killingbeans]

Great thread. I wonder if cables make a difference???

You have a sick sense of humor