A/B Comparison Like a Professional

How you compare determines whether you make good decisions. Here's the professional workflow.

How you compare determines whether you make good decisions. Here's the professional workflow.

Our brains are wired to prefer louder audio. Without loudness matching, every master sounds "better" than the original simply because it's louder. This is the number one trap in audio comparison - and the reason professionals always level-match before judging.

Enable Loudness Match (L key) - this is critical Listen to the same section, not the whole track Focus on one element at a time: bass → vocals → high end Use good headphones or monitors in a quiet room Try the Blind Test (T key) to remove visual bias Check on multiple playback systems if possible

Did you know? The Blind Test (Pro & Studio) hides which source is playing. You choose X or Y, then reveal which was Original and which was Mastered. It eliminates expectation bias - you judge purely by what sounds better, not by what you think should sound better.

Key takeaway: Always compare with Loudness Match ON. Use the Blind Test to remove bias. Trust your ears over the meters.