The following is in reply to my question regarding DBT and audio, posed to
Sean Olive.
He stated in other correspondence, that one of the reasons he chose to work
for Harman, is that they use such tests. Perhaps if Ludivic had ever
bothered to write to Mr. Olive, he might have a better interpretation of
Sean's opinons on the subject of DBT and ABX.
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Yes, I still think that DBT's are necessary today so long as there is
uncertainty in the interpretation or meaning of the objective
measurements as they relate to the product's sound quality.

There are many situations when a DBT test is called for whether it is
electronics or loudspeakers.

1) A design or design change needs to be validated in terms of its
audible effect and influence, if any, on consumer acceptance.
2) Competitive Benchmarking - There is a need to know if a new product
is preferred over the competitors' products, and by how much.
3) A usability study needs to be done to determine the best
range/parameters for a user control (like a tone control)
4) A new technology (e.g. DSD or 192 khz sampling,surround matrix
algorithm) needs to be validated in terms of its audible
benefits/acceptance.

5) It is always prudent to have a scientific test record of a product's
sound quality before it is released into the marketplace.Why ? Because
some time after the product leaves the factory someone (
marketing-sales, retailers, reviewers and even consumers) will probably
question the sound quality of the product, whether or not the claims are
valid. When this happens, it is important to have a means to
intelligently address these claims. There is nothing better than to have
documented, scientific test results that can show that sound quality is
not an issue. Usually when I show these people the listening test
results and the rigorous scientific method behind them, the sound
quality issue goes away.




All of these five applications involve listening tests which if not
performed double-blind, are subject to all of the biases and errors
inherent to a sighted test.

I would not want to bet my professional reputation and career on
listening evaluations that were not performed double-blind. Would you?


You can quote me on that.

Cheers,
Sean