Re: A/B listening tests

["Stephen Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "samba -" <sambacomet@hotmail.com>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Friday, 6 July, 2007 20:34 PM
Subject: A/B listening tests


> There used to be a lot of musicians saying digital didn't sound as good 
>as 
> analog ,and a engineers saying no one could tell the difference in A/B 
> tests.I read a bit in Mix ,or Recording Engineer mag in the early 90s 
> about some Japanese engineers  measuring brain wave responses to both 
> analog and digital.Turned out after about 20 minutes of analog the brain 
> halves went into a mode of Entrainmentwhich the digital never aroused. I 
> suspect higher sampling rates would make a difference ,but haven't seen 
> any further research on the matter.

I suspect that our brains are always filling in the gaps where stimulus 
doesn't otherwise exist.  An extreme example is what happens inside a 
sensory deprivation tank, hallucinations, visions, so forth.  A more 
ordinary example is good old black-and-white movies.  A more creative 
person - someone who enjoys being so especially, I think - might 
experience 
good vibes while watching an old film that are perhaps more caused by 
subconscious fulfillment on this level.  Consequently a less creative 
person 
might only perceive the film as an old black-and-white film, and could 
even 
find themselves overly bored with it altogether, or the absence of color 
an 
annoyance.

I suppose 'what one hears' so requires accurate description to be 
understood 
at all, but what if a digital recording supplies less hole-filled content, 
thus depriving the creative brain of its fill-in-the-gaps fun-and-games?  
Is 
this a good thing?

Given the nature of things like practice, training, repetition, and so on 
when it comes to exercise or brain function, perhaps it's not, if the 
above 
is true.

Since I use a combination of digital and analog I must be relatively 
safe... 
:)
Stephen Goodman
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