I've tested some DACs using techniques where I can switch back and forth between the DACs. Even when being able to switch back and forth between DACs, I find it hard to discern differences. I have to listen to particular instruments and see what differences there are (if any). Before I programmed my remote to change inputs, for instance, I tried to a comparison of two DACs by getting up and physically switching inputs. When I did this, I could not discern any differences because my short term memory wasn't good enough. After I programmed my remote to change between inputs, then I could concentrate on differences and was able to choose one DAC over another.
How to people test interconnects and power cords and the like, when you (or perhaps it's only me) can't really remember what the previous item sounded like? Do you write down characteristics of the music then compare the written characteristics? Is so, what do concentrate on? And if you write things such as "good bass extension" how do you really compare this with what you remember "good bass extension" to be?
For instance, when I was comparing my ShengYa CDP versus my Ack Dack DAC, in one test, I was listening specifically for bass extension (i.e., low frequencies), as some have said that the Ack doesn't do well with that. After switching back and forth between the two components over and over and over (using the exact same music playing on both components), the ShengYa CDP might have had a slightly lower bass extension (in terms of frequencies), but I had to listen a lot to determine even this. I really don't see how I'll be able to do something like this when I can't do a direct comparison (in other words, I'll just change interconnects and will have to rechange interconnects in order to do another comparison).
So, I want to compare interconnects using a single source (my Ack Dack). How do I set up a test like this when I'm not really going to be able to remember what the sounds using one interconnect are?
