Naive and trained listeners agree closely on loudspeaker quality ratings

Evidence

Olive (2003) compiled data on 268 listeners and found no important differences between the ratings of carefully selected (for normal hearing) and trained (to be able to recognize resonances) listeners and those from several other backgrounds, some in audio, some not, some with listening experience, some with none. … Selection and training of listeners have substantial benefits in time savings. Rumsey et al. (2005) also found strong similarities in ratings of audio quality, anticipating only a 10% error in predicting ratings of naïve listeners from those of experienced listeners. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1077

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s stated goal of psychoacoustic models — listener-selection methodology underpins all subjective loudspeaker ratings.
• DEFINE: Establishes what ‘selection’ and ‘training’ of listeners means operationally and why it matters statistically.