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ESP MusicCord listening test Part 2!

Which clip sounds identical to the "control" clip?

  • track A

    Votes: 3 7.0%

  • track B

    Votes: 5 11.6%

  • Both A and B

    Votes: 35 81.4%
  • Total voters
    43
bongomania

bongomania

Commercial User
Oct 17, 2005
35,688
3,917
PDX, OR
www.ovnilab.com
Disclosures
owner, OVNIFX and OVNILabs
#1
OK, I took on board all the suggestions that came up from round 1 of the tests. These clips are only 15 seconds long, they are not overtly clipped, there is no limiter in the chain, and they are as identical as I could make them in terms of start/stop times and levels. There are two zip packs, one where the clips are in FLAC format and the other where they are in AIFF format. For some reason WAV encoding was not working for me this time, I don't know what went wrong with it. Here are the links:

Link Removed
Link Removed

The arrangement this time is that there are three clips, named "control", "trackA", and "trackB". Of A and B, one of them was recorded using the same power cord as the control, while the other was recorded using a different power cord. One of the power cords is an ESP MusicCord PRO, the other is a super-cheapo 18 AWG standard cord of the same length as the ESP. None of the clips are copies of each other, nor are they copies of the clips I used last time. They are three brand-new separate recordings.

So what you will do is listen to the control clip, then listen to the other two clips, and decide whether A or B sounds identical to the control. And that's the wording of the poll: "Which clip sounds identical to the control, A or B?" There is no room for carrots or "I don't care" responses in this poll--if you don't care, don't bother posting.

I will reveal the results in a few days, maybe a week, depending on how this test goes. So, ready? Here we go!
:bassist:
 
#2
downloading as we speak..will edit with the results

Edit :

honestly.. no difference so i voted both.

but if i were to be obligated to cast a vote to which is identical to the control (with both not an answer)..it will be A (although a little cheating was involved :hiding:)
 
#9
I couldn't tell the difference. Not a shocker there, my ears are terrible.

I did identify some differences in the waveforms last time around (1&2 vs. 3&4) that seemed to imply there were some differences.
 
#10
I played all three clips on my Macbook Pro, using an E-MU 0404 interface as the sound card and listening on very accurate Beyerdynamic DT250 headphones. I also played them through my M-Audio monitors as well.

While I think I can hear the very slightest difference in the clips through the monitors, it's certainly not even close to the degree demonstrated in the Michael Rhodes clips on the ESP website. No difference through the headphone rig. So... I voted no difference. In the name of fairness though, if ESP is willing to send me a cable, I would certainly be willing to try one out hooked to our amp and 212 cab so I could A/B them in a situation similar to the Michael Rhodes test and listen to it with an open mind.
 
#12
Stingray5 said:
First few listens thru I felt like 'B' had a little more fullness to the tone, particularly in the high end, than the control and A, and voted as such. Subsequent listens it became a bit more blurred and now I'm not entirely sure.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I heard, but on the speakers, not the headphones and only on the first pass.
 
#15
bal704 said:
Apparently a lot of people's ears are terrible. Judging by the results last time, most people either chose the wrong answer, or couldn't tell a difference. Maybe this product is for those with golden ears, who can tell the difference between battery brands and power cables. (that was a joke, don't flame me).
Click to expand...

Well, I'll certainly never claim to having golden ears. After 25 years of playing in loud rock bands, I'm just happy to have any hearing left at all.
 
#16
I have a fair listening setup -- Macbook, Presonus card and AKG open-back headphones or Rokit nearfield monitors.

I listened to them all one after the other a few times, then auditioned each of the 3 "parts" of each clip (where Jimmy plays in a different register) in turn so as to maintain a short segment in memory and offer the best opportunity to perceive a difference.

I couldn't. Perhaps once the analysis software is allowed to let rip some differences will be found, but even that will not induce me to part with that much for a power cord I can't hear. If Jauqo ever comes down under to hear me play, he can bring one along so I sound good enough for him. Would that that was all it took...

Our electrons probably spin in the opposite direction, though, which would doubtless counter the voodoo. Perhaps ESP will make a "Southern" model with an anti-clockwise wrap. A left-handed model? I sense a marketing strategy.
 
#17
R Baer said:
I played all three clips on my Macbook Pro, using an E-MU 0404 interface as the sound card and listening on very accurate Beyerdynamic DT250 headphones. I also played them through my M-Audio monitors as well.

While I think I can hear the very slightest difference in the clips through the monitors, it's certainly not even close to the degree demonstrated in the Michael Rhodes clips on the ESP website. No difference through the headphone rig. So... I voted no difference. In the name of fairness though, if ESP is willing to send me a cable, I would certainly be willing to try one out hooked to our amp and 212 cab so I could A/B them in a situation similar to the Michael Rhodes test and listen to it with an open mind.
Click to expand...

Please tell me that you live near Jauqo!:)
 
#19
Alexander Eddy said:
Please tell me that you live near Jauqo!:)
Click to expand...

Actually, I had the chance to meet Jauqo at NAMM in January and spend a few minutes talking with him. I always have a lot of respect for people that just come right out and say what they mean. He may rub some the wrong way on here, but he's really a pretty cool cat and a heck of a player.

On the last thread, there were quite a few players that said you really need to hear the cord through a high powered rig to fully appreciate what the cord does. I was only saying that I would be willing to put that to the test in an effort to explore all the possibilities.
 
#20
R Baer said:
Actually, I had the chance to meet Jauqo at NAMM in January and spend a few minutes talking with him. I always have a lot of respect for people that just come right out and say what they mean. He may rub some the wrong way on here, but he's really a pretty cool cat and a heck of a player.

On the last thread, there were quite a few players that said you really need to hear the cord through a high powered rig to fully appreciate what the cord does. I was only saying that I would be willing to put that to the test in an effort to explore all the possibilities.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt that at all. It was just in the last thread he was talking up his hearing and said he was willing to do a live double blind (and he is an endorser). I was just hoping that someone may be able to set that up.

/derail
 

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