Audiophile Test!

[Ajani]

In my experience, there really isn't any such thing. I certainly don't claim to have an superior hearing abilities. Gradually with aging, the top range of mine is beginning to roll off around 14k or so.

As I mentioned, I think it is all about training and long term exposure. I was hoping someone would at least try the link. I'm not saying there is but a single way to hear things, but I suspect that for this exercise, anyone could improve their score with a little coaching as to what they should be listening for.

When I began to get exposed to better gear in my late teens, I lived for hearing deeper into my favorite music. With some help from more experienced guys, I was able to better appreciate that which is there.

rw

I agree.... I tried the link and the first time got the average score.... I tried it again later with a better idea of what I was listening for (I followed your approach and used only a small portion of the audio - specifically the music and not the vocals)... The second time I substanially improved my score (early 20s - nowhere near 30 or 36 - but much better than my initial 12)...

The test did raise some intriguing questions for me:

EDIT: 1) Are distortions in vocals less obvious than distortions in other sounds? And if so, then why?

2) Since it appears that we can actually train ourselves to become more sensitive to distortions and subtle musical differences (become audiophiles), the question arises of whether it's a goal we should really aim to achieve... I found that when I was listening critically in the test, I wasn't paying any real attention to the song, I was just looking for distortions... Kind of like having a beautiful woman beside you and spending all your time focusing on a small blemish on her ankle....