While forum members may have different ideas regarding Dr.Floyd Toole"s position on audiophile cables, I don't think anyone would dispute that he has used double-blind testing in his research on speakers. However, he may not believe sighted listening is as unreliable as some members of this forum believe it to be.

The following quote is from a July 2001 interview with Dr. Toole by Melanie Garrett of homecinemachoice.com:

"Floyd is of the opinion that technical measurements are not much use unless they can reliably predict what we as listeners will subjectively experience as good or bad sound quality. In a nutshell, he not only has faith in his own ears, but he also is interested in yours and mine as well ..."

I wondered after reading this whether Dr. Toole meant he only trusted his ears if he was listening blinded. Advice at the end of the interview article, however, seems to indicate sighted hearing is reliable enough for tweaking speaker placement.

"It may seem obvious, but the golden rule when fine-tuning your system is to experiment. Imagine sound waves traveling in straight lines and focus speakers toward the seating area. Try various speaker placements, both near and far from walls. Every movement will cause a reaction. Tweak and enjoy."

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/arti...oydToole.shtml