What's the problem with double-blind testing? Options

[mirrorsawlljk]

I happened to pick up an issue of stereophile at a record store I visited and I was pretty shocked to see a seemingly intelligent person in the correspondence section bashing double blind testing as being unreliable. I'm afraid I don't understand his angle of attack. I don't see how anything could be a more reliable test of sound quality differences than a properly conducted double blind listening test.

I'm almost afraid to read the rest of the magazine if this is the kind of letter they think is worth publishing. Is there an audio magazine that isn't filled with this kind of thinking?

[TheQat]

I happened to pick up an issue of stereophile at a record store I visited and I was pretty shocked to see a seemingly intelligent person in the correspondence section bashing double blind testing as being unreliable.  I'm afraid I don't understand his angle of attack.  I don't see how anything could be a more reliable test of sound quality differences than a properly conducted double blind listening test. 

I'm almost afraid to read the rest of the magazine if this is the kind of letter they think is worth publishing.  Is there an audio magazine that isn't filled with this kind of thinking?

Keep in mind that if Stereophile's audience realizes that double-blinds are totally valid and acknowledges the importance of that realization, all of Stereophile's ad revenue will evaporate as companies that make massively over-priced cable (I bet you can find several full-page ads for cable in whatever issue you happen to be reading) and other hocus-pocus products go out of business like medieval humans dying of the black plague.

Therefore it is in the best economic interest of Stereophile and all its writers to encourage the entirely wrong-headed thinking that double-blind testing is unreliable, and as apparently unscrupulous people they do so and will continue to do so.

Edit: Hello goon
Edit2: I too would like to know if there is an audio magazine that is not in love with products of dubious worth.

This post has been edited by TheQat: Oct 19 2005, 03:32

[Yaztromo]

Edit: Hello goon

How in the world of intuition did you figure that bit out? I don't see no stairs!

This post has been edited by Yaztromo: Oct 19 2005, 23:06