krabapple wrote:First, I did not say they won't sound different. I said the PCM transfers I did sound fine. I also said Grant can't know how different the SACD really sounds compared to his transfer (using his usual half-assed 'I take 1/2 from science and 1/2 from belief' method)
Well, Grant *seems* to be saying he doesn't think his PCM transfer sounds as good as the SACD original, not that it sounds "bad" or worse than the native PCM version.
Second, listening in the usual sense (sighted comparison) doesn't necessarily get you the right answer, for the usual reasons -- i.e., the ones that every objectivist has branded under his hair next to '666' when he sells his soul to the horned god Science.
Doesn't necessarily give you the right answer, but doesn't necessarily give you the wrong answer either.
Third, one can have good reason to say 'they *probably* won't sound different, without actually listening.
What reason is that? What do we have to directly measure the SACD data the way we do with the PCM data?
Fourth, if that probability is high (based on good reasoning), one can even predict that 'they won't sound different', without actually listening.
I agree, although that's also assuming there are no unknowns.
I mean, an elephant not only *probably* won't fly -- I predict it *won't* fly. Unless the horned god says it can.
Or unless it's holding on to a blimp.
Isn't "they sound fine" no better than "I can hear a difference!"?