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What I believe (very long post)

I'll try to make this real simple. I believe that the only way a claim that one component or cable sounds different or better than another component or cable is by subjecting the claim to controlled experiments that can be repeated under similar circumstances. The best statement of the scientific method that I have ever read is the following formulation from Carl Sagan that Monstrous Mike introduced me to several years ago at AR:

“TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING

Distinguish facts from inferences. Facts are observed and are not contingent on belief systems, biases, or preferences. Under ideal circumstances, facts can be verified. Treat skeptically “facts” that can’t be verified.

Encourage debate on the evidence by people who know the evidence.

Watch out for illogic. Be familiar enough with logical fallacies that you can recognize them when you encounter them. Even better, be familiar enough with them that you recognize them when you commit them.

Explore alternative explanations. The most obvious explanation is not always the best, and may often be wrong.

Beware of majority rule. Facts are not determined by majority vote.

Recognize that a hypothesis—even yours—is always a tentative explanation that ties facts together. Any fact that is inconsistent with the hypothesis destroys the hypothesis.

When possible, quantify hypotheses. The fuzzier the hypothesis, the easier it is to fit the facts into the hypotheses.

If an argument is based on a chain of logic, every link of the chain must be supported by facts, and every link must be logical.

Ask if the hypothesis can be falsified under any possible circumstances. If it cannot possibly be falsified, it is not a hypothesis that can be tested and is therefore within the realm of faith. Attempting to logically argue points of faith is self-contradictory.

Use Occam’s Razor, the principle that if two hypotheses explain the data equally well, it is better to choose the simpler hypothesis.

Sagan, C. (1996) The Demon-haunted world: Science as a candle in the dark. New York: Ballantine.”

I don't know what issue you believe I argue from both sides. Since my early days at AR, and after reading the thoughtful posts of people such as MM, Richard and others, I realized that most reviews and unsubstantiated claims of high end manufacturers are not based on rigorous application of the sientific method.

On the core issue of DBTs, I believe that no comparison of two similar audio products is valid from a scientific view point unless it has been subjected to rigorous vefification through controlled testing - presumably DBTs.

However, I do question the value of most audio DBTs that I have read about. They haven't been peer reviewed and often sufficient detail is not provided for someone with the proper credentials (not me, certainly) to evaluate.

Secondly, I have never seem proof that the conditions generally present in the DBTs I have read about are a proper reproduction of what happens in the real world with audiophiles who choose products after long-term evaluation in their own systems. Certainly, those long term evaluations are not reliable because they are generally not blind, let alone double blind. But that doesn't mean that the typical DBT results showing the participants couldn't distinguish one component from another proves that under long term listening conditions in one's own system the selection is of necessity based on factors other than actual sonic differences.

I understand that modern psychology attempts to do as much scientific testing in the "field" as opposed to the "lab". Most, if not all, of the DBTs I have read about seem to have been performed under "lab" conditions rather than "field" conditions.

But having expressed these two questions I have about the present state of DBT testing in the world of high end audio does not in any way mean that I don't recognize the lack of scientific validity of claims that are based upon sighted listening.

Do I practice the scientific method in choosing my own components? No. I choose to approach my own system primarily from a right brain viewpoint, where pleasure trumps reason. Is that a rational choice? Of course not. Does it work for me? Yes. Do I have a need for it to work for anyone else? No.

So I think this is a fairly complete statement of what I believe relating to audio DBTs. If in the future I say anything that seems to contradict anything written above without a statement on my part that I have changed my mind, please feel free to throw my own words in my face.
____________________

"To dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free."

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