Louder sounds better
October 8, 2007
I enjoyed
your Opinion this month about the importance of blind listening tests. However, you
neglected to mention one of the most important principles of blind testing and one of the
chief reasons people hear dramatic differences between components -- volume level matching
(or the lack thereof). It’s a well-known fact among audio engineers at the NRC and
elsewhere that when there are minor differences in the volume output between one component
and another, most listeners will say that the louder one sounds better, even though they
do not perceive the better-sounding one to be louder. Trying to make unbiased listening
evaluations is important when shopping for gear, but don’t forget to bring your SPL
meter!
Kurt
You are correct in stating that volume level can affect
perceived sound quality. So level matching is not just important for blind listening, but
sighted listening too!
Receiver versus CD player
October 2, 2007
I have a five-disc Marantz CC3000 hooked up by both coax
digital and analog to my Marantz DR4200 stereo receiver (which is acting as a preamp in a
separates setup). Which CD-to-receiver connection should I be using, the digital or the
analog? In other words, does the CD player or the receiver have a superior DA converter?
J.B.
I have had this question come up a number of times over
the years and in most cases there is no clear-cut answer. It really depends, like you say,
on the receiver’s and CD player’s DACs. And I have no idea on that one,
particularly since I have no experience with your components. The only real answer is to
listen both ways and determine which sounds best to your ears. To a lesser degree it also
depends on the analog connection versus the digital one. And again, you have to listen and
decide for yourself. One other consideration is that your receiver may have some
functionality that you can access only by sending it a digital signal such as crossover
settings and DSP processing. If you have a sub/sat system the former feature, especially,
could be very useful.
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