Foobar ABX testing

Vincent Kars

WBF Technical Expert: Computer Audio
Jul 1, 2010
860
1
0
With all the debates on various forums about possible audible differences between lossless formats an obvious question is why not use Foobar and do a ABX test.
At least the subjective part (the expectation bias) is removed from the equation by doing this.

It is hard to find exact documentation on the Internet about how Foobar ABX comparator works.
I understand it convert all audio to 32 bit PCM files first and then randomize them.
Great, you have 2 WAV files you can’t identify so indeed a blind test.
Not so great: if the hypothesis is that differences in sound quality between WAV and FLAC are due to the computational effort required during conversion to raw PCM, this ABX test won’t help as you are comparing bit identical raw PCM to raw PCM.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-265346-p-2.html
 

Phelonious Ponk

New Member
Jun 30, 2010
8,677
23
0
Looks like computer geekland to me: how to organise your playlists for maximum convenience, that type of thing ...

Frank

It can be a pretty boring place. At this point they're left with playlists and tagging to talk about because they buried the unicorns long ago.

Tim
 

sasully

New Member
Jun 29, 2010
99
0
0
It can be a pretty boring place. At this point they're left with playlists and tagging to talk about because they buried the unicorns long ago.

Tim

It's not just tagging and playlists. If you want factual technical information about how foobar2000 works, including its ABX plugin, there is simply no better place to ask. If that's 'computer geekery' then so is this thread.

The information content on a variety of topics popular here -- e.g. flac vs wav, lossy vs lossless, hi rez vs standard rez, computer audio -- at HA is as high or higher than here. And because the unicorns (purely subjective reports of difference/preference) have indeed been buried, the s/n is high too (i.e., 'boring'). And it's been around years longer.
 
Last edited:

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing