Certainly a difference test that yields a negative result provides definitive information, i.e., that the difference will not be audible to anyone.
A difference test that yields a positive result indicates that the difference exists and that it may or may not be audible. At that point, an ABX test would be in order, to reasonably determine whether a specific listener can hear the difference. If that specific listener cannot identify the difference, then that demonstrates that that it is not audible to that specific listener, but it may be audible to a different listener. If we perform that ABX test on a statistically significant set of listeners, and not one of them can identify the difference, then it is highly likely (although not absolutely certain)that it is not audible. If one listener can consistently identify the difference, with a large enough number of iterations to reduce the "lucky" factor, then it is highly likely (although not absolutely certain) that the difference is audible to that listener. So yes, a difference test can be complementary to an ABX test, particularly in determining whether it makes any sense to perform the ABX test. That being said, from a practical standpoint what really matters to me is whether I can hear a difference, and peforming a valid ABX test is challenging. For a small investment in time and money, I am happy to accept the notion that I like the sound of the change better. However, I am as susceptible to the placebo affect as anyone else, so for a large investment in time and money I want to be able to prove to myself that I can indeed hear a difference. Case in point: I bought a cheap linear PSU and swapped out the switcher. Am I convinced that I can hear a difference in my system? Not really, but maybe. It certainly does not sound any worse. However, for a $30 outlay and the time it took to change the PSU, I feel no compelling need to do an ABX test, and I will just go with the new PSU. YMMV -- jeffmeh ------------------------------------------------------------------------ jeffmeh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3986 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33127 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
