Currently at level 34, don't play this very much anymore as the differences are at my limit of perception. Not sure what even to listen for anymore. Changing samples (piano, drums, strings, etc) had help in the past, doesn't seem to matter what sounds I play with now. Mostly focusing on EQ base games now.

wow 34... that must be hell... XDXD I struggle already at 29... I always use a kick drum... somehow find it easier...

Hi Ralph, cool profile pic!:) I''m on Level 18 currently.. i agree that they're not levelmatched properly sometimes. i think in opposite to the first few levels where always the louder one was the right one, later on this changes and sometimes the percieved 'lower volume one is the right one. So my guess is this could happen because of Transients wich get burned out by the distortion so in the end kind of a reduction/attenuation occures. But don't take this to thoroughly as i also might be worng...:)

I think they're not matched on purpose to trick you, in real life the louder a signal is, more likely could distort. I'm at level 11 so far, and I have that problem too sometimes, and when that happens I try to spot added harmonics, or focus on a smaller range

Ya, drives me crazy, but like dog with a bone, just kept at it. There have been lots of discussions on this topic,
found this one helpful back in Aug 2020
@Noam Gingold posted this in https://www.soundgym.co/space/talk?id=NASZ2448MAR&t=T5VAGP443B8
The parameters for dr. Compressor are always the same. As written in the game description the attack is very fast (close to 0) and the release time is also very short. Only the threshold is getting a bit higher with each level/stage. Distorted reality also presents a very simple saturation process, while the drive parameter is a bit higher with each stage/level. Drive and threshold values are not meaningful by themself becuase their effect also content dependent. The effect of lower threshold or higher drive is the same as if we keep these parameters at the same value and raise the audio content level. So these exact values will not add anything to your understanding of what you hear.

Cheers for the answers folks! @An Do Yeah I figured they were trying to trick us with the lower volume ones, but the thing is, if I came across this situation in real life I'd gain match the two things I was comparing first before trying to judge it because I'd have gain controls at my disposal. Never try to judge things that are at different perceived loudness! Rule no1 isn't it?

@Romano G, good to hear (hopeful) that it is possible to pass level 30. 😅 I've been trying to find information about where to listen to. The differences are so subtle. I know technically what happens when we apply distortion/saturation but it's quite hard to apply it when listening. How would you describe what you are listening to? One thing I know is the reduction of transients, but not all sounds have obvious transients..

I listen to the transients, I think distorted reality is one of the games where changing sounds makes a big difference, and in later levels it's definitely easier with percussive sounds. Distortion depends so much on what you feed into it.

Interested to know what others do :)

i've found occasionally helpful to listen to this game (and the compressor game) at extremely low volumes. harder to tell when it's not level matched properly

@Ralph Stokes you're totally right!:) i might have overlooked that levelmatch is rule nr.1 to judge right in every situation. Maybe i only was looking for a reasonable answer to this topic and missed the main part completely😅 transients might get burnt but however you want to judge this when it's not levelmatched... definitely! thx for the reply:)

Hey, @Ralph Stokes I've only been using the drums for the reasons you've stated.

@Anne Schutte Mostly listing to the high end frequencies. Generally, if I can't perceive the more "distorted" version, I go with what sounds more compressed. I can usually get to stage 4 or 5 without error, then, thinking I have it all figured out, I quickly lose all my lives by stage 6 or 7. The other thing I used is the "C" key to compare after every answer. At level 34, my stats for the game say "Percentile: 99.3 (better than 99.3% of users)" So maybe the 0.7% users could offer some insight.

I think there is an useful video somewhere where it is explained how the more distorted signal is affected.... If I still can remember... the more distorted will be more compressed (by limitation perhaps?) I think that is the reason why the samples dont sound even in amplitude and dont feel to be sound matching... anyways... I will try to find that video.... perhaps anybody already knows which one I am talking about?

I have the same issue on level 31... Super frustrating... And the fact that the samples are mp3 doesnt help cos its chopping off most content above 15khz so you really cant hear the difference in the upper harmonic content.

Here is some helpful guidance: https://www.soundgym.co/learn/watch?id=ZKkkYV7ome

@Ruud Reiher yeah it think thats right, distortion kind of compresses the sound. However, in real life mixing I would match the two things being compared in perceived level, i.e. how loud it sounds/feels to me, not what a meter reads :) I guess some better gain matching would be good, or the ability to adjust the gain of each sample in the game (post processing of course). In fact, that would be good for every game.

@Colin Aiken I try not to use the same sounds over and over again as tempting as it is. I'd get through the levels faster but I wouldn't be as good at listening to different things :) In fact, it annoys me how you can only do drums and percussion on the compressor games...

I'm on level 26 currently and I agree that the level drops are annoying/hard to overcome. I remember that for a while, the more distorted sample with lower volume was on stage 9, then stage 8, now stage 7. I know this is not a technical answer, but just remembering were they were helped me get past them without messing around with my volume knob.

@Joey Sabat, hahaha, yeah that's one way to do it although I'm not sure that's really training your ear...

@Ralph Stokes I'm currently on level 30 and I don't have that problem anymore! Don't know if SoundGym fixed the issue, or if it's no longer a problem after level 28. Hehe.

I thought I was going insane lol

@Joey Sabat, Great work! I made a ton of progress since starting this thread and don't have a problem with it anymore either :) I'm on level 29 so look out, I'm coming for ya hahahaha.