Interesting blind listening test

[Dave W]

In Blind Test, Soloists Like New Violins Over Old

I'd like to be able to read the whole report.

[uwe]

It's what I always say: If you took a new Thunderbird IV via time travel into the sixties and asked players there whether they would prefer a 60ies or a 2014 TB (after playing and hearing both), I have no doubts that the new model would win out hands down. Great parts of that vintage halo are all in the heads - and hearts - of people. Now slaughter me, I know this is non-pc in a place like this. Technological advance and sheer experience/know-how gain in producing something over centuries is often underrated. Me, I have no issues noting that my 2013 Volvo V 70 is a better car than my ex-wife's Jaguar E Type in all practical aspects.

There are parallels in hifi too. In a blind listening vinyl vs CD test the audiophiles went for the - unbeknownst to them - CD recording that had some extra vinyl hiss artificially added. It probably sounded more cozy to them that way and the music "breathed".

And a lot of those vintage-Stradivaris are fakes anyway, albeit vintage fakes. But even that must not speak against their quality as an instrument, just their collectors' value.

[Pilgrim]

This just speaks to the psycho-acoustics effect.  People prefer what they've been trained to prefer, or what they expect to prefer.

You see this over and over again with bass players who change a bridge or make other small mods and swear that it changes the sound of the instrument.  Maybe in some cases it does, but it's just about impossible for them to prove it because they are prepared to hear a difference, so they will hear it. I've listened to many before/after captures on TB and seldom heard any difference at all...and not once have I heard a difference that I thought mattered.

[Dave W]

It's what I always say: If you took a new Thunderbird IV via time travel into the sixties and asked players there whether they would prefer a 60ies or a 2014 TB (after playing and hearing both), I have no doubts that the new model would win out hands down....

That may be so, but this study was done with old and new together, not time-traveling back to when the old ones were new. Instruments that had all the supposed advantages of aging didn't fare that well compared with new ones.

I can't imagine the study being done without verifying the authenticity of the old violins. We'd have to see the study to know for sure, but the National Academy of Sciences wouldn't publish the study otherwise.

Note: the original article has been expanded since I linked to it last night, there are more details now.

[uwe]

When I wake up in the morning (ok, early noon more like) and feel my knees while getting up, this so-called concept of "advantages through aging" seems rather abstract and remote to me. 

[Highlander]

Noon ... ! Noon ... !

We should get you doing regular hours ... maybe a month as a long-distance trucker ... just for grounding purposes, of course ...

(now, where did I leave my glasses ... ?)

[Rob]

The "new" fiddles were not the $78 E-bayers either.
IF they were 100 times cheaper they would still cost several thousand Dollars

[fur85]

Here are some details about how the study was conducted.

http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2014/04/04/1323367111.DCSupplemental/pnas.201323367SI.pdf

[Dave W]

Here are some details about how the study was conducted.

http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2014/04/04/1323367111.DCSupplemental/pnas.201323367SI.pdf

Thanks, Mark. It looks like the study was well designed.