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Topic: [TOS #8] ABX testing for three hours. (Read 2679 times) previous topic - next topic
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[TOS #8] ABX testing for three hours.

I have to admit I hear better than anyone I know. Some of my friends remember every face, I remember every voice, even heard once.

I've got a new pair of IEM this week, nothing special Audio-Technica ATH-CKM50A I found for a great price.

Now, the files I've used are:

.flac
.m4a (AAC) CBR 96
.m4a (AAC) CBR 128
.m4a (AAC) CBR 256
.m4a (AAC) CBR 320
.mp3 (FhG) CBR 320
.mp3 (LAME) CBR 320

I have an iPhone 4S that I use as portable music player, I wanted to test more of the AAC codec.

Let's not even talk about the 96, 128 and 256. I could identify almost all of them the first half hour. Let's talk about the left four: .flac, AAC320, MP3FhG320, MP3LAME320. I did cross these files so many times but the end was always the same, I was even able to identify which one of them was from the list randomly loaded. Remember I've listen to all of them for three hours, believe it or not there are differences.

There is only one codec that I wasn't able to distinguish from the .flac: the MP3 LAME CBR 320. The quality or the accuracy to keep the file like the original of this codec is INSANE, I was guessing all the test, I couldn't really hear any difference.

I easily guessed all the FhG, the voice was becoming more opaque after 2-3 secs of listening with this.

Less easy than the FhG but a little easier than the LAME was the AAC 320, the quality was less similar to the .flac than the LAME and the sound in the back was a little harder, I don't know if I can say this or if anyone understands.

I have all AAC CBR 320 on my iPhone because I thought that codec was superior but really one day I will test more and reconvert everything to LAME CBR 320.

I've posted here on offtopic because I didn't save any file, I have all written down on paper with a pen.

Please explain if this is really possible, it can't be placebo, ABX is ABX right? I need some expert to tell me why .flac > LAME 320 > AAC 320 > FhG 320.


*The ABX test were made with foobar2000 on Windows 7 Ultimate x64 from a Lenovo ThinkPad X120e with the IEM listed before.

*The files were converted with dBpoweramp. Latest codecs, LAME 3.99.5 (x86 updated/replaced), FhG from codec central (downloaded tonight) and neroAAC from codec central (downloaded few days ago).


If anyone lives in Phoenix please let me do some more advanced test, I will drive to you


Thanks guys.

PS
I may have made some mistake, English is my third language sorry in advance.