Does BIAS affect audio test results?

[botrytis]

Over on the BAS site (Boston Audio Society), they spend time talking about non-biased testing (listening testing) and have dome quite a bit of it. Another that does that is SMOOTMS (Southeast Michigan Woofer and Tweeter Marching Society - not making this up). Both show that sighted listening is inherently biased

[botrytis]

1 hour ago, pkane2001 said:

 

Any pointers to those tests?

 

It's not hard to demonstrate that sighted testing introduces many variables into testing that have nothing to do with actual audio or hearing. Some of the findings already mentioned in this thread illustrate it quite nicely:

 

• The hearing aid test where the subjects were told it has some new technology heard major improvements, while those who thought it was old technology did not (same exact hearing aid was used)
• Subwoofer effect. While the subwoofer was visible to the test subjects, they heard an obvious low-end extension to the sound even though it wasn't hooked up. When the sub was hidden from view, the effect disappeared
• Speaker comparisons that showed a very high preference for a high-end speaker when sighted, even among trained audio testers, that became a very different (and consistent among test takers!) selection when the identity of the speaker was hidden

 

 

 

https://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/bas_speaker/abx_testing.htm

 

http://djcarlst.provide.net/smwtms.htm

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/16/arts/sound-expert-ears-take-a-test-to-resolve-the-great-cd-debate.html

 

Especially BAS had an article on amplifier testing. I can't find it now.