About Audiophile Compare

Why this exists

Every audiophile knows the feeling: you change a cable, move a speaker, or swap an amp — and it sounds better. But how much of that is the change, and how much is just knowing you made it?

Audiophile Compare helps remove that bias. Two clips of the same passage, recorded through your system before and after a change, are labelled only “A” and “B” — which is which stays hidden until you choose to reveal it. Vote on what you actually hear, not what you expect to hear.

Why Tune Method

Tune Method compares two things — two amplifiers, two recordings, two systems — by asking one specific question: which one is easier to follow the tune on? You listen for the melody itself, following or silently singing along with it, rather than judging tone, detail, soundstage, or overall character. Whether you can follow the tune isn't a matter of taste in the way general sound character is — it's something almost anyone can learn to hear.

The approach was pioneered by Linn as “Tune Dem”, and later as the “Tune Method” by Swedish hi-fi manufacturer Lejonklou. Both single it out as the method that most reliably reveals real differences between systems. The usual practice is a short, repeated passage: listen to clip A, listen to it again, then listen to clip B, and notice which one is easier to follow or sing along with.

Lejonklou made this specific case in the forum discussion where this site took shape: a clip — especially one recorded on a phone — strips away the qualities that techniques like tonal balance or soundstage depend on, leaving only something that can be judged “on a fundamental level”, which is exactly what Tune Method assesses. Comparing clips using any other method doesn't just fail to help — it actively misleads.

It also suits the format itself: Lejonklou's guide explains that Tune Method comparisons are normally hard to do in a blind test — unless the listener has full control over the music, the volume, and the switching between A and B, in which case it works well. That's exactly what a self-paced website comparison offers, and why it's the one method Audiophile Compare uses.

Using it as a listener

Anyone can browse the public feed and listen to the clips — no account needed. Voting, and creating your own tests, needs a free account.

Play clip A and clip B, and pick the one you find it easier to follow the tune on — then optionally note what you heard.

Results stay hidden until you've voted, or the creator reveals which clip was which.

Using it as a creator

Describe your system as a “snapshot” — as much or as little detail as you like. Every change becomes a new snapshot, so your system's history is never lost.

Record two clips of the same passage, before and after your change, and publish them as a blind test. Share the link with anyone you'd like opinions from.

Reveal the before/after identity whenever you're ready — votes already cast stay exactly as they were.

Getting started

Browsing is open to everyone.