Second, trained listeners are taught to identify, classify and rate important sound quality attributes using precise, well-defined terms to explain their preferences for certain audio systems and products.
This means that fewer listeners are needed to achieve the same statistical confidence, resulting in considerable cost savings.
First, trained listeners produce more discriminating and reliable judgments of sound quality than untrained listeners. There are many compelling reasons for training listeners. This article explains why we use trained listeners, and describes a new computer-based software program developed for training and selecting Harman listeners. Trained listeners with normal hearing are used at Harman International for all standard listening tests related to research and competitive benchmarking of consumer, professional and automotive audio products.
