[sdiy] Moogey jitter

[The Old Crow]

  Disclaimer: I've not read everything in this topic.  I'm not referring 
to anyone specifically in this post.  Just going by the field guide I've 
used for 25 years.  That being said,

  Unsure if I should get into this one, but it seems to me more of an 
exercise in critical thinking.

  The proper approach is the neutral one. The basic question cannot 
suggest a personal bias: "does this VCO sound good?" or "does this VCO 
sound better" aren't really quantitative, and a subject of fancy, not 
actual analysis.  (This reduces to the old statement that it is easy to 
believe what one wishes to be true).  Instead, the neutral question must 
be used: "what characteristics does this VCO exhibit?"  One cannot 
assign any weight or implied pereference ahead of time, or one quickly 
falls into the trap of collecting only the data that supports one's 
preference, and discards data that does not support it.  The only 
correct path is to report all the data and let it be dissected in forum.

  Other criteria have to be considered: why were certain parts used the 
way they were?  Always look for a cost basis first, then for a 
performance basis.  It is the standard of manufacturing.  Most often 
things were done a certain way to save money, not imbue a device with 
some ineffable quality that transcends mere scientific study.  In 
practice, this just doesn't happen.

  Qualitative analysis gets to be difficult for things like this, 
because it is like saying beer x is better than beer y.  (I happen to 
like beer z ;)  The only thing that can be done in a qualitative VCO 
test is the double-blind listening test, whether the test giver does not 
know what he is sending to the test taker (unmarked knob selects a VCO, 
and a 3rd person unknown to either the test giver or test taker can 
change the order of presets on the knob), meaning there is no guarantee 
that the device under test is even used in a given session.  This one 
really tears apart audiophile claims. ;)

  Anyway, you have to proceed not expecting to find gold, or lead, 
or...anything.  Collect the data and let the philosophers argue over it...

Crow
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