In a perfect world objective testing - numbers only - would provide all the
information needed to make a buying decision. But this lacks a heap of being a
perfect world.
For example, a long time buddy just bought a new and highly touted new target
rifle. After the initial sightning in and enough rounds to take the roughness
off the bore he asked me to go to the range with him. I did - bringing my pet
40 X with me.
Off the sandbags with a mechanical release his new "Brand A" did very well,
shooting groups well within a centimeter at 100 Meters. But my well broken in
rifle did virtually as well. In a real shoot off it would have been very much a
horse race.
But offhand - standing on our hind legs and pulling the trigger ourselves -
one of us won. When we changed rifles, the best shot won again, proving only
who is the most accurate shot. The offhand practice did not prove or even
indicate which is the best rifle. But it did prove to both of us which rifle
has
the most comfortable stock, which of these single shots is easist to load on
the shoulder, and a few other details.
Now, people vary enormously. One person can comprehend speech that's a
jumbled in the noise mess to another. One person can copy code that's virtually
inaudible to another. An objective test provides a hard measure of general
performance. An honest and unbiased subjective test can provide an indication
of
which unit provides the best performance, is the easist to use, etc., etc..
That
is especially true when some recognized standard unit is used against the
unit being tested.
Is the "Superblaster 2700X" easier to use than the old gold standard "Magnum
9900?" Does it "go where you point it?" Or will it take the unwary into the
ditch? Are controls intuitive or will the proud new owner need someone
standing over them to prompt them for the first six months of ownership? Do
controls
fall naturally under the hand or is it a long stretch from one control to the
one most likely to be used next. What happens when a thunderstorm moves in -
do you get a series of pops or a sustained roar? And most important for many
on this reflector - how much more tired will the operator be 28 hours into a
30 hour contest than if they used the standard rig?
Those are factors that are not amenable to objective tests. It really takes
both kinds to give a prospective user a good indication of his probable
satisfaction level. But subjective testing is worthless when the tester starts
out
with "it's not my favorite brand so it must not be up to par" in mind.
73 Pete Allen AC5E
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