Subjective listening tests pose comparative questions rather than recording physical quantities.

Evidence

There is no right answer to a subjective test since it is the opinion of a particular listener, and each listener will have an opinion that is unique; the process of psychoacoustic testing is to collect these listener opinions in a nonjudgmental manner. Subjective testing is unlike objective testing, in which direct measurements can be made of physical quantities such as sound pressure level, sound intensity level or fundamental frequency; in a subjective test, a listener is asked to offer an opinion in answer questions such as “Which sound is louder?” “Does the pitch rise or fall?” “Are these two sounds the same or different?” “Which chord is more in tune?” or “Which version do you prefer?” — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2377

Categorization

• XREF: The question list is a ready-made template for one’s own A/B listening tests of recordings or instruments.