Thanks for interesting, well explained video. Would you need at least 2 people to do this experiment, 1 to do the listening and 1 to do song selection etc ?
Yes. With a costly (~$1K) ABX box a computer inside it randomizes the inputs automatically so one person can test themselves. With my DIY "manual" ABX box you need two people: One person pre-wires the box's inputs, by random coin toss assignment, out of sight of the listener, and then hides the rear connections they've made with a black cloth/tape. They then leave the room and then the listener enters and tries to figure out if X is actually the same as A or B, but MY box costs only $20 (plus wiring)!
Oh, I left out that the listener is in control of the playback machine feeding the two DACs being compared, so they select whatever song they want and whatever master volume they want on the preamp/integrated amp/receiver receiving the signal from this little switch box's output, as well as when the song starts, and to pause playback for a snack or to take a break for any reason. The only rule is they must not sneak a peek under the black cloth/tape to see what truly is wired to X (A or B), plus the incoming music of A and B must (of course) be synchronized and at the same matching volumes. Otherwise a difference in volume would betray the secret identities. For example, if B was sonically louder and the listener notices X is also louder then obviously it would be a dead giveaway (also called a "tell") that X must actually be B.
@@m.zillch3841 Presumably the operator could decide how many different songs to listen to when doing the testing ? For example if he or she was using a sample size of 16, they could listen to the same song several times or listen to 16 different songs ?
@@Chris-nd5se The listener is free to hear any materiel they want (including from their own private collection), pre-train with that material before the test in any manner they wish, however much they want, listening to it in the actual test as many times as they want, (even conducting the test over days/weeks/months/years if they want), in any order they want.
Thanks for interesting, well explained video. Would you need at least 2 people to do this experiment, 1 to do the listening and 1 to do song selection etc ?
Yes. With a costly (~$1K) ABX box a computer inside it randomizes the inputs automatically so one person can test themselves. With my DIY "manual" ABX box you need two people: One person pre-wires the box's inputs, by random coin toss assignment, out of sight of the listener, and then hides the rear connections they've made with a black cloth/tape. They then leave the room and then the listener enters and tries to figure out if X is actually the same as A or B, but MY box costs only $20 (plus wiring)!
Oh, I left out that the listener is in control of the playback machine feeding the two DACs being compared, so they select whatever song they want and whatever master volume they want on the preamp/integrated amp/receiver receiving the signal from this little switch box's output, as well as when the song starts, and to pause playback for a snack or to take a break for any reason. The only rule is they must not sneak a peek under the black cloth/tape to see what truly is wired to X (A or B), plus the incoming music of A and B must (of course) be synchronized and at the same matching volumes. Otherwise a difference in volume would betray the secret identities. For example, if B was sonically louder and the listener notices X is also louder then obviously it would be a dead giveaway (also called a "tell") that X must actually be B.
@@m.zillch3841 Presumably the operator could decide how many different songs to listen to when doing the testing ? For example if he or she was using a sample size of 16, they could listen to the same song several times or listen to 16 different songs ?
@@Chris-nd5se The listener is free to hear any materiel they want (including from their own private collection), pre-train with that material before the test in any manner they wish, however much they want, listening to it in the actual test as many times as they want, (even conducting the test over days/weeks/months/years if they want), in any order they want.
@@m.zillch3841 Ok thanks for the clarification.