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Absolute Proof that blind testing is flawed !!!

iceman79 said:
Just confirms again a lot of today's 'hi-fi' is over priced and not any better then the average gear in some cases.
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Or it confirms that under the conditions of the test, with the hearing of these people, that only these two pieces of gear sound enough alike to be interchangeable. Your extrapolation beyond the experiment "a lot of today's hi-fi" is no more statistically valid than somebody completely, subjectively, liking one over the other.

Your avatar suggests there may be other reasons to be into the high-end, though. That's not a 70's thrift store DD she's fondling...:)
 
JohnVF said:
......................Your avatar suggests there may be other reasons to be into the high-end, though. That's not a 70's thrift store DD she's fondling...:)
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I don't know, she looks kind of creepy in a space alien sort of way. I mean c'mon, look at how long her fingers are, not to mention that there are only three!
 
^ lol. I know. I need to find a babe fondling an SL-1200.

IMO a high price does not guarantee a good sounding gear.

The real test would be to take a $500 preamp. Re do the box and faceplate to look extremely expensive. Drop it off at Stereophile and ask them to review this '$10,000' preamp.

Actually that may be flawed. Unless Stereophile has the amp for a year or is gifted the gear it won't get a good review.....
 
iceman79 said:
IMO a high price does not guarantee a good sounding gear.
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If the SL-1200 were made in numbers similar to something like a VPI, it would probably cost many thousands of dollars. It is only cheaper because of economies of scale, due to the many thousands of them that have been sold over the years and the fact that the tooling was paid for when records were THE medium. I can easily imagine a situation where the SL-1200 was as mocked as other high-end gear by the same people who love it now because it's cheap, if only it were made in fewer numbers that drove up the cost.

Anybody who has an ax to grind with 'high end' gear and stereophile should put up or shut up. Borrow some of it and tell us how you feel instead of imagining how it sounds based on your own unfounded, un-investigated, prejudice.
 
^ :blah:

I have nothing against high end gear. Just an observation I have made over the years. So whats wrong with that? And I have seen 1st hand how Stereophile operates.

nuff said.
 
iceman79 said:
^ :blah:

I have nothing against high end gear. Just an observation I have made over the years. So whats wrong with that? And I have seen 1st hand how Stereophile operates.

nuff said.
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Nuff said? You could elaborate, I don't mind. Especially on how Stereophile operates. But then it would be a nerdy stereo-fight and nobody wants that.

Oh..here's 15 pages of budget gear reviews from Stereophile, FWIW:

http://www.stereophile.com/category/budget-component-reviews

If you really have seen evidence first hand of how they operate, and it's not on the up and up...why not tell us about it?
 
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JohnVF said:
So...are all you objective-uber-alles guys this much fun to hang out with in real life? Because I've been encountering a lot of you folks on different threads lately and I have to wonder if this is how you live every aspect of your lives.

Say we're at a party, and I say, "Man, I'm having a blast!"

Would you say, "Well, it has yet to be determined whether you are, indeed having a blast. I must run the numbers and ask 20 people if they are also having a blast. If a majority of those people, randomly chosen of course, are indeed having a blast..without seeing that others are having a blast, mind you (wouldn't want them to be swayed)...then I will give you the idea that perhaps you are indeed having a blast. Until then, I'll be at the computer."

Because I don't see how listening to my stereo, enjoying the music, is much different than having fun at a party.
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What are we drinking? :smoke:
 
JohnVF said:
Might affect the subjectiveness of how attractive the ladies at the party are, too.
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It always seems to but do you have any data on that? Have you compared the attractiveness of women vs. alcohol consumed? How 'bout blindfolded?
 
Scuzzer said:
It always seems to but do you have any data on that? Have you compared the attractiveness of women vs. alcohol consumed? How 'bout blindfolded?
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I've noticed that I seem to be less affected by it than some of my friends, but it's only a small focus group. Nothing could be extrapolated from it. My tact is to enter the party sober with the most attractive lady there...and all I have to do is then make sure I leave with the same one, no matter how drunk I am. Not a foolproof plan but it's pretty solid. I don't have data to back the effectiveness of that plan up but sometimes blindfolds are, well, nevermind.
 
You sir are a few steps ahead of me. As a large guy (6'2" 210 lbs) in college I generally just took the easy way out. At the end of a long party I'd find the most attractive large girl (usually just tall) and start there. Sometimes "attractive" was subjective.

The lesson here, objectivists can be subjectivists in the right context. Furthermore, if it works for you it might just be good after all, regardless of contrary data.
 
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I agree with Julian Hirsch who had said many times that preampliers (or amplifiers) that measure the same will sound the same and that the difference in sound between any two properly functioning amplifier is negligible.
Sometimes people are easily swayed by brand names and cost versus utilitarian functionality.
 
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