[Jenn]

In article . com,
"R. Stanton" wrote:

Better than ABX?

ABX has become the standard test for comparison of audio components.
It is a valid test method, yet many people object to it. Their
complaint is often: the ABX test makes it too hard to hear differences
between components.

The ABX test provides three switches to the subject. He can switch to
A, B or X. A and B are the two components tested. X is selected
randomly by
machine. It is either A or B. The subject listens to A, B and X, then
decides if X matches A or matches B.

Normally, we compare components only two at a time. With the ABX test,
we must listen to three sound sources and decide which two are the
most
similar. Comments from this group, have shown that many people
consider
the ABX test stressful and confusing. One person who used the ABX test
for a group evaluation wrote: "... several of us noted that we had
great difficulty remembering what A had sounded like by the time we
got through with X." This is typical of the complaints about ABX.

When participating in an ABX test, can one, for example, listen to the
same passage of music for as long a period as one wishes to? For
example, can you listen to A for, say, 5 min, then listen to B with the
same passage of music?