What is Your Test for Comparing Two Audio Components?

[Ron Resnick]

MY PERSONAL TEST FOR COMPARING TWO AUDIO COMPONENTS

In a subjective hobby such as high-end audio we often have different criteria for what we want a high-end audio stereo system to accomplish for us sonically. Many audiophiles focus on sonic attributes such as dynamics and sound-staging and resolution and detail and extension at the frequency extremes and low noise floor and bass slam, etc., to determine which of two components they prefer. (This discrete sonic attributes approach has been promoted by the magazines and is used by many dealers.)

I have a different approach. I don't really care about these commonly discussed sonic attributes.

I am a single issue voter when deciding which of two components I prefer.  All I have to figure out is "on which component does the voice sound more like a live person singing to me in this room." This, ultimately, is all I care about. (Please note that my primary musical genre interest is vocals. If my primary musical genre interest were jazz or classical I definitely would have a different criterion.)

My evaluation process is distilled to "which component makes the voice on the recording sound the most alive and the most breathing?" That's it. When comparing two components that's all I have to figure out.

How would you describe your personal test for comparing two audio components?

 

[Massimo66]

MY PERSONAL TEST FOR COMPARING TWO AUDIO COMPONENTS

In a subjective hobby such as high-end audio we often have different criteria for what we want a high-end audio stereo system to accomplish for us sonically. Many audiophiles focus on sonic attributes such as dynamics and sound-staging and resolution and detail and extension at the frequency extremes and low noise floor and bass slam, etc., to determine which of two components they prefer. (This discrete sonic attributes approach has been promoted by the magazines and is used by many dealers.)

I have a different approach. I don't really care about these commonly discussed sonic attributes.

I am a single issue voter when deciding which of two components I prefer.  All I have to figure out is "on which component does the voice sound more like a live person singing to me in this room." This, ultimately, is all I care about. (Please note that my primary musical genre interest is vocals. If my primary musical genre interest were jazz or classical I definitely would have a different criterion.)

My evaluation process is distilled to "which component makes the voice on the recording sound the most alive and the most breathing?" That's it. When comparing two components that's all I have to figure out.

How would you describe your personal test for comparing two audio components?

based on your way of judging how a system sounds this is almost the best. the record played live with the artist who recorded the album singing live over his recording. it is a show I attended at the 2024 Rome grand gala (promoted by Giulio Cesare Ricci of the Foné label) with the "musica nuda" singer Petra Mangoni.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

How would you describe your personal test for comparing two audio components?

tests.....not test.

my expectation is all about realism......whatever the hell that is. and i have hundreds of media references i use across formats. as my tastes run to many music genre's there is plenty of territory to cover. vocals are a main focus; and honestly there is a range of very good vocal results with ultra realism. but also violin, cello, horns, piano, choral, large orchestral, big band, different types of guitar, progressive.....to name a few of the things i want to hear.

my system does get to the essence of things and is revealing. i do have objective things i do pay attention to too, but not very much. mostly that is not relevant for things i am considering. but it can't be missing things, or not staying linear or have an area where it's not capable. but this stuff is important.

first off, i absolutely enjoy the investigation process and my approach is to lose myself into it and progress past any conscious thought about any compare into being in touch with my 'zen' state of mind. i might take a week or two or six to find answers.

in the last 7-8 years my system has been very stable and i have been more and more particular about things i might investigate. so if it's in my system being considered i've already likely investigated it to some degree. i'm not just plugging something random in to just check it out.

in any case it's never a one take situation where if it does this certain thing then it makes the grade. it has to do it all and fit for all. and if i'm thinking of replacing one piece with another then there are A/B's going on but that is just a first step prior to my extended time to live with the new piece. not looking at change for the sake of change at all.

then at the end i have to know that i like it.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Almost no possibility of achieving this in multi tracked pop or rock.
I've yet to hear Adele sound anything like a real voice in a real room, and that even includes a highly resolving Taiko Extreme/SETs/horns based system.
Good luck ascertaining Jennifer Warnes sounding most "real" from a 1980s early digital production.

 

[bonzo75]

based on your way of judging how a system sounds this is almost the best. the record played live with the artist who recorded the album singing live over his recording. it is a show I attended at the 2024 Rome grand gala (promoted by Giulio Cesare Ricci of the Foné label) with the "musica nuda" singer Petra Mangoni.

This is not surprising, as horns are the best at vocals.

 

[wil]

I feel like getting a decently recorded solo vocalist to sound real is pretty low hanging fruit.

This is obviously why you hear nothing but simple music for the most part at shows.

If I’m trying to judge a change or comparison between components or anything in the system, I gravitate towards putting the system through somewhat of a stress test.

Well recorded large Orchestral music does that for me— particularly in complex passages with lots of sonic energy.

In my view, the better a system can handle that, the better the system is, and will translate to better performance with any genre.

 

[microstrip]

MY PERSONAL TEST FOR COMPARING TWO AUDIO COMPONENTS

In a subjective hobby such as high-end audio we often have different criteria for what we want a high-end audio stereo system to accomplish for us sonically. Many audiophiles focus on sonic attributes such as dynamics and sound-staging and resolution and detail and extension at the frequency extremes and low noise floor and bass slam, etc., to determine which of two components they prefer. (This discrete sonic attributes approach has been promoted by the magazines and is used by many dealers.)

I have a different approach. I don't really care about these commonly discussed sonic attributes.

I am a single issue voter when deciding which of two components I prefer.  All I have to figure out is "on which component does the voice sound more like a live person singing to me in this room." This, ultimately, is all I care about. (Please note that my primary musical genre interest is vocals. If my primary musical genre interest were jazz or classical I definitely would have a different criterion.)

My evaluation process is distilled to "which component makes the voice on the recording sound the most alive and the most breathing?" That's it. When comparing two components that's all I have to figure out.

How would you describe your personal test for comparing two audio components?

Ron,

You write as if the realism of an human voice was something easy to properly analyse and access. Unless you have the artist in your room to use as a reference, you will probably pick what you find more enjoyable and then consider it is the more "realist". The voices in recordings are extremely manipulated and our auditory memory is short lived. Reading about how sound engineers select microphones for particular voice recordings can be enlightening on this subject.

IMO pursuing "realism" without audiophile analysis is a way of keeping audiophiles permanently changing gear in an endless search - stereo sound reproduction does not aim at realism, although it must avoid artifacts that are unreal. Surely, listening to a lot of live music will help us to proper build and enjoy our systems - it can be part of our specific training. As always, IMO, YMMV.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

my feeling is that any quick test is fraught with expectation bias.

i like lots of things. so what? does it have staying credentials? that takes a bit of work.

 

[Balle Clorin]

To compare something I start with listening then do measurements to try to understand why they sound different or not.
My TV sound system sound terrible compared to the Hifi…but measurements do not explain all the difference I think, the woolly thick undistinct sound from the TV attached speakers is quite horrible to listen to music to, but OK for TV

 

[Kingrex]

I inset and remove multiple times. I always make sure to insert and remove something at a minimum, 4 to 5 times in a row. almost always the second time sounds better. I think this is a brain thing. But the 4th or 5th time, there is an exhaustion of the mind trying to remember and I seem to move more towards hearing what is really going on.

Like Mike, I have to do this over many days. Usually. Sometimes the change is so apparent you only need to insert it and you know its better or worse.

I also try to forget what is in. As in with a cable, over a couple days, when I turn the stereo back on the following day, I try to not think about what was the last cable I had in. Just listen and determine if I like what I hear or not.

Back to the many days. Its super important to live with it for a while. There is the, can I hear a difference. And there is the, do I enjoy turning on my stereo day after day for extended periods of time.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I like also vocals for comparison and piano and digital organ music
I like to compare with good quality sources , good digital and good Q tapes .
I have about 10 recordings which i always use .

For the rest i test bass control , hardness in the sound / dynamics / general LS control / low power handling etc.
Solid state and tubes ( at the moment Ls development is basically over so no more tube comparison needed so i sold my tube power amp )

 

[bonzo75]

MY PERSONAL TEST FOR COMPARING TWO AUDIO COMPONENTS

I am a single issue voter when deciding which of two components I prefer.  All I have to figure out is "on which component does the voice sound more like a live person singing to me in this room.

My evaluation process is distilled to "which component makes the voice on the recording sound the most alive and the most breathing?"

This was covered here. These are two different statements. The first is what you said here, implied you wanted a coloured system always sounding they are here. Based on that, in the prior conversation you corrected yourself by "deleting in the room", and then adding the breathing comment.

Now you are back to having in the room, and those two comments are different. A voice in the room has nothing to do with if it is alive and breathing and vice versa. They are 2 independent points.

Problems with believability in audio

Am I the only audiophile whose sole sonic criteria when evaluating two components with vocals is: Does it sound more like or does it sound less like a live person is in the room singing to me? You will need many systems to please you! There is such variation in stereo recording techniques...

www.whatsbestforum.com

In the linked thread, from post 84 - 99

 

[tima]

MY PERSONAL TEST FOR COMPARING TWO AUDIO COMPONENTS

Do you have any test that puts aside your predilections?

 

[andromedaaudio]

Do you have any test that puts aside your predilections?

Lol.

Plus what you do with music that doesnt have vocals?
Dont play it at all ?
On a second system ?


Vocal testing is good but only vocals ?

A small Conrad Johnson tube amp can be extraordinary on vocals but for the rest is limited

 

[tima]

my feeling is that any quick test is fraught with expectation bias.

i like lots of things. so what? does it have staying credentials? that takes a bit of work.

I don't know about expectation bias, though I believe that any quick test is fraught with unreliability. Some believe all they need is Dave Wilson's switch box that lets you flip back and forth between models -- allowing a choice quickly made.

 

[sbnx]

@Ron Resnick , since you only use vocals to test if product A is better in your system here is something to try. The best part is you already own all the stuff necessary to do this.

Use your eathworks mic and set up your digital recorder. Have Tinka or someone else that you know stand between your speakers and sing 30 seconds of something. It could be Happy Birthday or whatever. You could also have her tap a bell and a bowl and other such things. This way you know exactly what it sounds like in your room. Then play the recording back through your system.

This process removes a lot of the subjective nature of trying to assess if Adele or Stevie Nicks sounds more real. You don't know what Adele or Stevie Nicks would sound like if they were standing in your room. But you do know what Tinka sounds like.

Just some food for thought.

 

[A-Line]

I do the Linn A/B comparison thing.

 

[morricab]

MY PERSONAL TEST FOR COMPARING TWO AUDIO COMPONENTS

In a subjective hobby such as high-end audio we often have different criteria for what we want a high-end audio stereo system to accomplish for us sonically. Many audiophiles focus on sonic attributes such as dynamics and sound-staging and resolution and detail and extension at the frequency extremes and low noise floor and bass slam, etc., to determine which of two components they prefer. (This discrete sonic attributes approach has been promoted by the magazines and is used by many dealers.)

I have a different approach. I don't really care about these commonly discussed sonic attributes.

I am a single issue voter when deciding which of two components I prefer.  All I have to figure out is "on which component does the voice sound more like a live person singing to me in this room." This, ultimately, is all I care about. (Please note that my primary musical genre interest is vocals. If my primary musical genre interest were jazz or classical I definitely would have a different criterion.)

My evaluation process is distilled to "which component makes the voice on the recording sound the most alive and the most breathing?" That's it. When comparing two components that's all I have to figure out.

How would you describe your personal test for comparing two audio components?

I put them into a cage match and only the strongest one survives!

 

[DasguteOhr]

Carefully adjust the volume of both devices, then make a recording with your favorite music that you know by heart. Listen and compare.

 

[morricab]

Carefully adjust the volume of both devices, then make a recording with your favorite music that you know by heart. Listen and compare.

We did a turntable comparison this way where we recorded all TTs with a Nakamichi ZX-9 casette deck (amazing machine, BTW.). We then played them back, one after the other from the tape and it was very easy then to do compares.