[X4U] Rip It Up - iTunes Import Settings Survey

[Xavier Noria]

On May 13, 2005, at 9:54, Kirk McElhearn wrote:



> Try it again in a blind test - rip a bunch of songs in different  
> formats, set up a playlist in shuffle mode, then use the smart  
> playlist to see what you're listening to afterwards. You may be  
> surprised. Hearing is a cognitive action, and our brains influence  
> what we hear, often just because of expectations.
>
>

I know the brain can trick you, I am finishing Mind Hacks right now,  
but I don't agree that test is meaningful, because the quality of  
recordings is not uniform.

For me the blind test would be: choose _one_ song with fine details,  
rip it using several bit rates, and listen to them in shuffle mode.  
After listening to a handful of tracks to let your hearing adjusts to  
that particular recording, then try to assign a bit rate to each copy  
in a session. You are allowed to review tracks.

If you hear the difference in shades and you can successfully _order_  
the copies by quality, then in my opinion that's enough to be allowed  
to assert you really perceive diffences.

-- fxn