Open Call to Mtry, Skeptic, Naysayers, and ABXers

[skeptic]

CD players are easy to sync using the cue function buttons <- ->. However, with two cd players set for AB repeat, even that is not necessary. With both players set to A-B repeat the same passage, all you have to do is reset one to the beginning of the AB segment <<-- while the other is playing. It is not a fair test if the two players aren't playing the same passage IMO.

I don't know what this would prove. That one player sounds different from the other is about all you would likely discern. That one player sounded better but not necessarily more accurate playing one disc on one sound system. I still don't understand what conclusions you would come to.

Early players had gross distortions. All 16 and 18 bit units as late as 1989 reproduced violins with a metalic steely sound. The 20 bit Denon was far better in this respect. By 1991, the single bit chips changed all that. The JVC unit convinced me and by 1992, a portable Sony car Discman 808DK ($300) sounded just as good. Minor frequency response differences if they are at audible at all do not concern me.

The mechanical "quality" build of the expensive Denon player was not translated into greater reliability. It had nothing but problems almost from the start. Three trips to the nearest authroized service about 20 miles from home to repair the misaligned clamper arm were fruitless and in the end, I had to shim it myself to get it to work properly on all discs. The metal parts in the transport while heavy and well machined proved no better in use than the much cheaper plastic units. No other transport was as troublesome. The first time I disassembled it, I found out that most of the weight didn't come from the transport or a large oversized power transformer but sheet steel plates on the top and bottom. Like many other "early" high quality electronics products such as the $1500 Panasonic VCR I once owned, it served its purpose in its day but it won't be missed. It had a lot of useless features as well that I never used.

[magictooth]

Well, thanks to you three for your insights and anecdotes. I will try to do some A/Bs with your tips in mind. I'll leave the room for input and volume changes and I'll have the wife leave so that there's no visible cues at all. Of course we won't be comparing while the tests are going on - only afterwards.

[Thomas_A]

As a first try, it would not be nessecary to move from the room during the trial. If you sit in the sofa/chair and state the commands, e.g. switch:

And your wife lowers the volume to zero make the switch from CD to Tuner input and raise volume again until you say "stop". She can adjust the volume if you say higher or lower, but it is important that you make the choices, not she.

At the next command "switch" from you, she repeat the procedure but switch bac to CD. And this can continue for some time, until you write down what is on "CD" and on "Tuner". You can make notes during the time so you don't mix up the inputs and are free to listen for how long time you want.

When you leave the room, that is the signal for your wife to switch cables according to a random scheme. When she is ready, trial number 2 starts.



T