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Blind testing a 100 ms Timing Difference (3-way)

Change the target here:  1ms  2ms  5ms  10ms  20ms  50ms  100ms 

Purpose

This test will help you evaluate the shortest time difference you can hear. This version is the most difficult one, intended for musicians and recording engineers. You will be asked whether two sounds are synchronized, and in which direction they’re out of sync (3-way test).

For a simpler test, please switch over to the 2-way test.

Files being tested

BD+HH BD first (100ms) HH first (100ms)

The first file plays an electronic bass drum (BD) and an electronic high-hat (HH) simultaneously (BD+HH). The two other files, introduce a 100 ms delay, either playing the bass drum first (BD First), or the high-hat first (HH First). Can you hear the difference? If you think so, confirm with the blind test below, or change the target to a shorter timing (on the top of this page).

In a typical 2.1 or 5.1 speaker system, the kick drum will be reproduced by your subwoofer, and the high-hat will be coming from your satellites. At very low timings — 1 or 2 ms, possibly 5 ms in a large room — the different distances between the satellites, the subwoofer, and your ear may cause the 'BD First' or 'HH First' variation to be more 'in-sync' by the time the two sounds hit your ear than the actual 'BD+HH' variation. If your speaker system uses a subwoofer, it is recommended that you take this test while wearing headphones, unless you want to test the timing of your speakers.

The Test

BD+HH BD first (100ms) HH first (100ms)
Listen to [?] then vote — multiple guesses not allowed (your vote triggers a new draw)

To pass a blind test, you will need to perform 10 trials at least, obtain a high score and reach a high confidence level: 95% is standard to rate statistical significance. It means that your score outperforms random guesses by 95%. There is still a probability that you just got lucky though, 5%. To reduce such probability to 1%, keep testing until you reached a confidence level of 99%.

If you didn't pass this test, try with a longer delay. Change the target on the top of this column.

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Take up the challenge

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For sound and studio engineers