How basic and how far back do you want to go? DBT as a necessary control in any sensory experiment has been known for over a century and is discussed thoroughly in literally any introductory text on sensory science or experimental psychology. And just about any other experimental science like pharmacology, epidemiology, medicine, biology...
Audio people became more aware of it with publications like Munson and Gardner, JASA Volume 22, 675; 1950; Lipshitz JAES Volume 29 Issue 7/8, 482; 1981; Clark JAES Volume 30 Issue 5, 330; 1982; Lipshitz 8th International Conference: The Sound of Audio (May 1990); but the necessity of DBT as a basic control is subsumed under basic experimental design and pre-dates all of these references.
It's not that it's "better," it's that it's absolutely necessary for validity. It is the most basic of all controls.
Audio people became more aware of it with publications like Munson and Gardner, JASA Volume 22, 675; 1950; Lipshitz JAES Volume 29 Issue 7/8, 482; 1981; Clark JAES Volume 30 Issue 5, 330; 1982; Lipshitz 8th International Conference: The Sound of Audio (May 1990); but the necessity of DBT as a basic control is subsumed under basic experimental design and pre-dates all of these references.
It's not that it's "better," it's that it's absolutely necessary for validity. It is the most basic of all controls.