C[omp]ute

A/B Testing with Amarok

From: andrew cooke <andrew@...>

Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2012 20:08:53 -0300

If you are trying to compare different pieces of audio equipment, it is often
helpful to listen to the same piece of music at the same final volume with
each.  Unfortunately that's harder than it sounds because things like DACs can
differ in their output levels, so you keep having to change the volume to
compare like with like.

The latest version of amcl helps with this, by letting you preset up to 4
different volume levels, and set a particular point in a track to listen to.
Then it's just one key press to jump to that point and start listening with
the correct preset volume.

For example, if you are comparing two DACs, connect the first and set the
volume to a sensible level then press A.  Next, connect the other DAC and set
the volume to the same level (using the left/right arrow keys) then press B.
You may need to switch back and forth a bit until they match (use a and b to
get to the volume levels you set with A and B).

Next, choose where you want to listen (with < and >) and press p to set
the listening point.

Now, when you connect the first DAC, pressing a will jump to the music you
want with the volume level for that DAC.  When you switch to the other DAC,
simply press b to jump back to the same start point with the volume for that
DAC.

Make sense?  It's a bit long to explain, but should be simple in practice...

Andrew