Audio Listening Test That Fooled The Hollywood Sapphire Group

Is a “Golden Ear” absolute?

The Hollywood Sapphire Team is a corporation {of professional} audio engineers within the Los Angeles space.  HSG was once based in 1946.HSG has about 70 energetic individuals who meet per thirty days for dinner and an informative program about audio recording, song manufacturing, skilled audio apparatus, and different pro-audio comparable subjects.  The club is composed of extremely skilled recording engineers, apparatus designers, apparatus producers, and extra lately, different pros operating within the video and tv industries.  Club is via invitation most effective: you should be a bona fide audio skilled with revel in and references to be regarded as for club. Gross sales folks aren’t allowed to sign up for. I’ve been a member of the Sapphire Team since 1978, invited via colleague Steve Man, co-owner of Location Recording Products and services in Burbank, CA. In brief, the Hollywood Sapphire Team has one of the crucial maximum skilled and function pairs of “golden ears” within the audio industry.

The Unique Hollywood Sapphire Team Circa 1947

Some years in the past, we had our per thirty days dinner at Genio’s Eating place in Burbank.  The assembly was once smartly attended, lead via our “De facto Chairman” Olly Berliner (grandson of Emile Berliner, inventor of the “flat” phonograph file). Our program for this assembly was once offered via long-time Sapphire member Ron Streicher.  Ron is a revered recording engineer with a long time of revel in recording reside performances of classical and orchestral song. He has custom-built a lot of his recording equipment to satisfy the stringent calls for of his shoppers. Ron’s Sapphire program this night was once an “A-B” comparability of 2 audio circuits that might be auditioned,in comparison and critiqued via the HSG club.

Listening Comparability of Two Audio Units

No different details about the circuits was once equipped. We didn’t truly know what we had been about to listen to.Ron had a easy “A-B” switching software that would temporarily transfer between circuit A and B. Switching from A to B (or B to A) presented a ½ 2d of silence all through the changeover, however not anything else modified. The A-B switcher merely allow us to listen and evaluate the 2 circuits. Purple and blue LEDs at the A-B switcher indicated which circuit we had been listening to. 

Ron started this system, enjoying smartly recorded song via skilled studio observe audio system. As quite a lot of song tracks performed, Ron switched between A and B, and us golden-eared listeners made psychological notes of the diversities we heard between the 2 circuits.  After about quarter-hour of listening, there was once a lot dialogue some of the club, describing the audible variations between A and B.  Some heard a distinction in frequency reaction; some heard variations in distortion or readability. Many preferred one circuit over the opposite. Just a few Sapphire individuals admitted they couldn’t truly listen a lot or any distinction in any respect.

The Listening Check Effects

Now it was once time for “the large disclose”:  what had been the circuits or apparatus we had been evaluating?  Ron now defined that there truly was once just one “circuit”: the audio supply was once looped in the course of the switcher most effective so it would insert the ½ 2d of silence all through the changeover. There was once no “A” and “B”. There was once completely no exchange within the audio circuitry or apparatus all through all of the listening consultation.We had been dumbfounded. We were being attentive to the similar equipment all through all of the comparability. There was once, clearly, completely no audible distinction between A and B as a result of A and B had been the similar.  The one factor that modified when Ron switched between A and B was once the colour of the LEDs.  We’d been fooled! The business’s maximum skilled, function, and depended on ears were conned. We heard “variations” as a result of we anticipated to.  We “heard” issues that merely didn’t exist. And this observe from Ron, nowadays:  FYI:  Along with the HSG I have given this presentation to a number of AES Phase conferences each in america and in a foreign country.  All the time with identical effects.

Listening to is a extremely subjective procedure, and is well influenced via expectancies, biases, FBLB*, peer drive, and different intangibles. (*FBLB = Concern of Being Left At the back of) Most likely essentially the most prevalent reason why audiophiles “listen” variations in cables is worry of embarrassment. No one needs to confess that they simply spent $1,000 on 10 toes of speaker cord and will’t truly listen any development!

That is the foundation of the audiophile “interconnect” and “energy purifying” industries.  You’ve been warned…