Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site unc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!hpda!fortune!amd!decwrl!decvax!mcnc!unc!rentsch From: rentsch@unc.UUCP (Tim Rentsch) Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Re: Ivor Tiefenbrun and the demons of digital Message-ID: <58@unc.UUCP> Date: Mon, 24-Sep-84 18:03:18 EDT Article-I.D.: unc.58 Posted: Mon Sep 24 18:03:18 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 04:00:28 EDT References: <802@opus.UUCP>, <214@olivej.UUCP>, <904@houxm.UUCP> Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill Lines: 33 From the replied-to article: (2) I doubt that this comment was made on the basis of sound scientific reasoning. Have you ever listened to a CD and an analogue disc with the CD being made from digital master and the analogue disc being made from an analogue master tape of the same performance with identical source and good production -- no, I didn't think so. Or better yet, have you actually heard respective analogue and digital master tapes made side by side from a single progam source (e.g., same mics, mic preamps, etc.). -- ditto. This is the ONLY way that you can make any meaningful comparisons between the technologies. Otherwise, there are so many variables (both hidden and out of your control) that any other conclusions are meaningless. My comments: The use of "ONLY" here is nonsense. Scientific reasoning is not "sound" -- go back to theory of knowledge ideas. Scientific reasoning is inductive, and all inductive arguments are basically hogwash. Now it is true that certain arguments are accepted by the scientific community, and others are not, but that says something about the community, not about the "soundness" of the arguments. More to the point, just because scientific research is accepted only when strict double-blind testing has been done, does not at all mean that other testing is useless. It may be that the only way to convince a scientific research audience is through means such as are suggested, but "the ONLY way you can make any meaningful comparisons"? No way. "Back off, man. I'm a scientist." cheers, Tim