Cultural and age preferences for sound do not appear in blind testing
Evidence
It is common to think that persons from different countries or cultures might prefer certain spectral balances. It is also common to think that people of different ages, having grown up with different music might have preferences that are not shared by young people. Harman is a large international company, with audio business in all product categories—consumer, professional and automotive—so it is important to know if such biases exist, and if they do, to be able to design products that appeal to specific clienteles. Over the years several investigations have shown that, if such biases exist at all, they are not revealed in blind testing. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 285
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Blind tests collapse personal preference into shared judgments
Related
- Blind tests collapse personal preference into shared judgments (similarity 0.91)
- Cultural and age biases in sound preference are minimal, except for hearing degradation (similarity 0.87)
- Blind listeners largely agreed on loudspeaker preferences, matching measurement quality (similarity 0.80)
- Headphone sound preferences are remarkably consistent across countries and ages (similarity 0.80)
- Critics reject preference testing as mere taste, demanding realism or accuracy instead (similarity 0.78)
- Blind listening shows listeners consistently prefer flat, smooth anechoic frequency response (similarity 0.78)