I promised to have the first results of my GSIC testing up by August 27. I'm a little late; I was running tests on my first subject last night, the charming and intelligent Mrs. BPSCG, when my sister and her family showed up at our house earlier than we expected and I had to interrupt the test. I hope to complete it this morning after Mrs. BPSCG has finished reading the Sunday Washington Pest.
For those who are interested in the protocols, such as they are, for my GSIC testing, here they are:
Album: “Gordon Lightfoot: Complete Greatest Hitsâ€
Label: Warner Bros./Rhino
Catalogue Number: R2 78287
Two identical copies purchased 8/26/2005
I treated one copy of the album with the GSIC chip, following exactly the instructions that came with the GSIC. I performed this on our single-CD player, because the instructions say to put the GSIC on top of the CD player, above the transport, and the position of the transport appeared to me to be more apparent on the single-CD player than on the 200-CD jukebox being used to conduct the tests.
I then marked the GSIC-treated copy, clearly, but unobtrusively, on the label side of the disc.
I then generated ten series of random numbers in a spreadsheet by dividing one three or four-digit number by another three or four-digit number and carrying the result out to ten decimal places. These numbers are to be used to determine the sequence in which the two CDs are to be played for comparison purposes.
I put both CDs back into their jewel cases, gave the jewel cases to Mrs. BPSCG, and told her to insert one of the CD's into slot #197 in the jukebox, and the other into slot #198. I did not tell Mrs. BPSCG how to identify the GSIC-treated CD, and unless she compared the two CD labels side-by-side, it is unlikely she would have noticed the mark I used to distinguish them. She then shut the jukebox door, so I could not see which CD was in which slot.
I then had her sit in a chair facing directly away from the stereo speakers and the CD jukebox. I explained to her what she should listen for, by reading from the instructions that came with the GSIC, quoting, "less congestion, more information, greater dynamic range and more air." I did not explain what any of these terms meant, except for dynamic range, which I described as the apparent difference between the softest and the loudest sounds. I did not ask her to identify the GSIC-treated chip, but simply to state which one she thought sounded better. I said the differences might be quite subtle, and she agreed to give her best guess, even if she didn't think she could tell any difference.
I then selected one of the ten groups of ten random numbers. If the first digit in the number was odd, I would then play the first thirty seconds of the first track of the disc in jukebox slot #197; if the number was even, I played the corresponding thirty seconds of the CD in slot #198.
After playing the first disc, I would then play the first corresponding thirty seconds of the other disc for comparison purposes, then asked Mrs. BPSCG which one she thought sounded better. I recorded the result, then had her plug her ears so she could not hear if I was punching up a different CD for the next trial. When I had the starting CD in place for the next trial, I tapped her on the shoulder and she unplugged her ears, and we went on to trial #2.
We had completed seven of the ten trials when the doorbell rang. I hope to finish Mrs. BPSCG's trials this morning. Mrs. BPSCG says we could use a million bucks.
For those who are interested in the protocols, such as they are, for my GSIC testing, here they are:
Album: “Gordon Lightfoot: Complete Greatest Hitsâ€
Label: Warner Bros./Rhino
Catalogue Number: R2 78287
Two identical copies purchased 8/26/2005
I treated one copy of the album with the GSIC chip, following exactly the instructions that came with the GSIC. I performed this on our single-CD player, because the instructions say to put the GSIC on top of the CD player, above the transport, and the position of the transport appeared to me to be more apparent on the single-CD player than on the 200-CD jukebox being used to conduct the tests.
I then marked the GSIC-treated copy, clearly, but unobtrusively, on the label side of the disc.
I then generated ten series of random numbers in a spreadsheet by dividing one three or four-digit number by another three or four-digit number and carrying the result out to ten decimal places. These numbers are to be used to determine the sequence in which the two CDs are to be played for comparison purposes.
I put both CDs back into their jewel cases, gave the jewel cases to Mrs. BPSCG, and told her to insert one of the CD's into slot #197 in the jukebox, and the other into slot #198. I did not tell Mrs. BPSCG how to identify the GSIC-treated CD, and unless she compared the two CD labels side-by-side, it is unlikely she would have noticed the mark I used to distinguish them. She then shut the jukebox door, so I could not see which CD was in which slot.
I then had her sit in a chair facing directly away from the stereo speakers and the CD jukebox. I explained to her what she should listen for, by reading from the instructions that came with the GSIC, quoting, "less congestion, more information, greater dynamic range and more air." I did not explain what any of these terms meant, except for dynamic range, which I described as the apparent difference between the softest and the loudest sounds. I did not ask her to identify the GSIC-treated chip, but simply to state which one she thought sounded better. I said the differences might be quite subtle, and she agreed to give her best guess, even if she didn't think she could tell any difference.
I then selected one of the ten groups of ten random numbers. If the first digit in the number was odd, I would then play the first thirty seconds of the first track of the disc in jukebox slot #197; if the number was even, I played the corresponding thirty seconds of the CD in slot #198.
After playing the first disc, I would then play the first corresponding thirty seconds of the other disc for comparison purposes, then asked Mrs. BPSCG which one she thought sounded better. I recorded the result, then had her plug her ears so she could not hear if I was punching up a different CD for the next trial. When I had the starting CD in place for the next trial, I tapped her on the shoulder and she unplugged her ears, and we went on to trial #2.
We had completed seven of the ten trials when the doorbell rang. I hope to finish Mrs. BPSCG's trials this morning. Mrs. BPSCG says we could use a million bucks.
I thought you wanted to see the damn thing tested...
In six of the ten repetitions of the test, Brian identified the GSIC-treated CD as the one whose sound he preferred. He said after the first test, he was pretty sure of his choice, but volunteered that it might well have been because he'd expected to hear a difference. On subsequent tests, he said if he heard any difference at all it was a difference of "nuance."
