Re: A/B listening tests

[Stefan Tiedje <Stefan-Tiedje@addcom.de>]

Bill Fox schrieb:
> Speaking of A/B testing, according to what I've read, the difference
>  between 16 and 24 bit digital can be heard much more easily than the
>  difference between 44.1kHz and 192kHz.

That means you read it and believe it? My listening experience would
tell me the opposite, I bet most of the hyper pro's which get hired for
high fees because they claim to be able to tell all kinds of 
differences, put out a mastered result with less than 6 dB dynamic. For
that even 12-bit would be enough, they'd need the rest only for the fade
out... (But if they tell their clients they hear the difference... ;-)

> So it isn't the sample frequency but the bit resolution of each
> sample. Plus, the more linear the AD and DA conversions are, the
> more transparent the process becomes.  Bit depth and conversion
> linearity seem to far outstrip sample frequency at obtaining audible
> quality improvements.

One simple reason why higher sample rates do matter, are the converters. 
Because each converter needs analog filters, the result of low cost AD 
conversion is much better with higher sample rates, the filter can be 
built much simpler and with less artefacts. But this is also true for 
high-end converters...
It boils down to "you can't fool physics" or "don't get fooled by the 
limitations of your hearing range" the lack of quality is often 
artefacts, not missing information, but wrong information...

Stefan

-- 
Stefan Tiedje------------x-------
--_____-----------|--------------
--(_|_ ----|\-----|-----()-------
-- _|_)----|-----()--------------
----------()--------www.ccmix.com