MaximumPC 2007 09

THE SUBJECTS
Our 10 test subjects range in age from 23 to 56. Seven
of the 10 are male. Eight are editors by trade; two are art
directors. Four participants have musical backgrounds
(defi ned as having played an instrument and/or sung in a
band). We asked each participant to provide us with a CD
containing a track they felt intimately familiar with. We were
hoping participants would choose a diverse collection of
music, and they did: Classical, jazz, electronica, alternative,
straight-ahead rock, and pop were all represented. (See the
chart on page 52 for song specifi cs.)

METHODOLOGY

We used iTunes to rip the tracks from a source CD (once at

128Kb/s and again at 256Kb/s) and copied them to a fi fth-

generation 30GB iPod. We asked each participant to listen

with the Apple buds fi rst and to choose between Track A

and Track B or express no preference. We then tested using

the SE420s and asked the participant to choose between

Track C and Track D or express no preference. The tests

were administered double blind, meaning that neither the

test subject nor the person conducting the test knew which

tracks were encoded at which bitrates.

SEPTEMBER 2007 MAXIMUMPC 5

LOOK FAMILIAR?

We originally posted this story on MaximumPC.

com. We added some new information for this

print edition, including an examination of the

personal-identity information Apple includes in

DRM-free iTunes tracks, as well as looks at sev-

eral other sites that offer DRM-free music.