GPH Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Pretty cool link I've found on H-F, it's a bunch of A/B tests to measure how well you can hear distortion. The tests are simple and well-made and you can compare your results with the average of the other participants at the end. Audibility Of Distortion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwood Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I maxed out at about -30 on test tones and -18 on music. Pretty average, even on top shelf gear (not here, maybe, but in general) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oogabooga Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 -12 db on the music, using my Pico and TF10s. My ears suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 WHAT?!?!? Sorry, someone was going to make that joke sooner or later, might as well be me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Did a quick run through the default music test with the bookshelf speakers on my desk at a moderate volume and got -30dB... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pars Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Did the pop music w/HD201s and made first mistake on -45dB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Well I'm at -18db with the music. with 650s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oogabooga Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 WHAT?!?!? Could you speak up a bit, I can't hear ya. Did the pop music w/HD201s and made first mistake on -45dB. Holy hell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopstretch Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 -18dB on music for me, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 I got -33db with the two tone, but only -24db with the pop vocals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPH Posted February 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 I did -30dB with two-tone and -15dB with music using HD650 straight out of the MacBook. I'll try again later with a better setup, but I've had my dose of Tracy Chapman for today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinp6301 Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 -27db with pop music with laptop headphone out with im716 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 -33dB for the two tone, also using bookshelf speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filburt Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 -45dB for the Music. Haven't tried the tones yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pars Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Did the pop music w/HD201s and made first mistake on -45dB. Continued on and made second mistake on a -42dB one... oops I didn't try any of the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarium Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Failed at -27 on pop musicz0r sad times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerius Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Kind of a poor test since the "clean" music itself is distorted. On the test tones I can clean it all the way to -42 or -45, but only to the low 30's with the Tracy Chapman music, the key was the first two chords on the guitar intro. The vocal music, only made it to -6. The interesting thing here is how equipment makers at audio shows & elsewhere favour simple vocal & jazz recordings for their demos & auditioning, and incidentally this is the type of music where it's hardest to hear distortions. For instance the Cowboy Junkies' "Trinity Session" album will sound good through any system, the main difference is how much detail there is and how the soundstage lays out. It's not going to sound distorted or bad unless the system is truly awful. But play the final movement of Dvorak's 9th and most speakers & headphones will choke and reveal horrible colourations & distortions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 It's interesting: I changed to using my Linn Classik Headphone out fed from my DEQ 2496 DAC and I got a -30 but went back to the GS-X and DAC3 and got -18 again...... odd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 What gets me is that I can hear distortion in both, so I have trouble telling which is the one they mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwood Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Yeah, I see that. At a certain point, the inherent distortion is at a higher level than the induced distortion. In other news... you've got a fast car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 It's interesting: I changed to using my Linn Classik Headphone out fed from my DEQ 2496 DAC and I got a -30 but went back to the GS-X and DAC3 and got -18 again...... odd Got the same thing with my GS-X SE vs GS-X Balanced. It's very interesting. I have been thinking about it and there is inherent canceling of the even order harmonics from the balanced setup and I think it's making the whole thing less distorted. Also I totally agree with Grawk about there being a lot of distortion to start with. The issue is not that the two are the same but that which one is distorted for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Kind of a poor test since the "clean" music itself is distorted. I agree, it would be nice if we could submit some music recommendation to them. 4th movement of Dvorak's 9th or something similarly bombastic -- albeit well-recorded bombast -- would be an excellent choice (especially since it's one of my favorite pieces ever, anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerius Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Well, there's always the good old standby of "O Fortuna", that's pretty darn bombastic. Of course there's a million versions and I have no clue which ones are the good ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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