2Chlnben,
I spend hours to A/B stuff. I guess I have tin ears like yourself. I try to use a remote to control what I am listening to without having to move. I also use a meter to carefuly match volume levels for comparisons.
My experience is that it is easy to hear a difference but it is very hard to ensure the difference is not simply down to head position, volume level or from a different focus or attention that one inevitably places on the music as one repeats a track or a combination of all of these.
Some differences are distinctly audible. Four corner tri-traps was definitely audible at the listening position (with careful listening) and extremely obvious as you aproach the traps (in the room corners which is not a normal listening position but confirms they do something)
Differences between Benchmark DAC1 and an ordinary CD player were not clearly evident to a friend of mine but they were to me (once I knew what to listen for I could identify which was which). Nevertheless the difference was small compared to the effects of a room or speaker.
I'd recommend Alton Everests "Critical Listening Skills for Audio Professionals" for those who want to hone their skills.
I spend hours to A/B stuff. I guess I have tin ears like yourself. I try to use a remote to control what I am listening to without having to move. I also use a meter to carefuly match volume levels for comparisons.
My experience is that it is easy to hear a difference but it is very hard to ensure the difference is not simply down to head position, volume level or from a different focus or attention that one inevitably places on the music as one repeats a track or a combination of all of these.
Some differences are distinctly audible. Four corner tri-traps was definitely audible at the listening position (with careful listening) and extremely obvious as you aproach the traps (in the room corners which is not a normal listening position but confirms they do something)
Differences between Benchmark DAC1 and an ordinary CD player were not clearly evident to a friend of mine but they were to me (once I knew what to listen for I could identify which was which). Nevertheless the difference was small compared to the effects of a room or speaker.
I'd recommend Alton Everests "Critical Listening Skills for Audio Professionals" for those who want to hone their skills.