The A/B CD has a lot of detailed audio comparisons. What kind of sound playback system should I use when listening to it?

It is suggested that you listen to The A/B CD on as many different systems as possible. Some car sound systems have better sub-bass response than most nearfield monitors. In such a situation, you would hear the low end differences between the analog and digital recorders better on the car's sound system. You should also listen to The A/B CD on your home system, the one you use most when listening to your favorite commercially released CDs. Listening on your home system will make more apparent how the information presented relates to CDs that you admire the sound qualities of. One thing you may notice is that The A/B CD is lower in volume than some commercially released CDs. This was intentional because volume "over maximization" would have blurred the differences with some of the comparisons. The A/B CD was mastered in such a way to best present the usable dynamic range of the components compared, while at the same time, you'll find that you won't have to keep adjusting your playback volume. Last but not least, you should also take the time to listen to the whole CD using some good headphones. Using good headphones in a quiet environment will allow you to notice differences not readily apparent when listening using speaker systems, such as the analog tape adjacent track crosstalk, audible on Track 3 at 0:33 seconds.

The following tests will determine if the system you're listening to meets listening playback requirements for a critical listening. Note: Specific A/B sound bite pairs are identified by the track number and minute:seconds readout separated by a “/” for each of the two individual sound bites that make up the comparison.
Sub Bass System Test Listen to Track 3- 0:06/0:17. There is a single “808” bass drum hit near the end of the musical phrase. On sound bite A it occurs at 15 seconds on the counter. On sound bite B it occurs at 26 seconds on the counter. You should notice that the 808 at 0:15 generates more sub bass boom than the one that occurs at 0:26 on the counter
Hi Frequency System Test Listen to Track 47-0:00/0:08-You should easily notice more high frequencies when the counter reads 0:08.
Stereo Imaging Test Listen to Track 3-1:46/1:57-You should be able to hear that the high strings are more to right than the electric piano which is panning back and forth between the “9 O'clock” and “3 O'clock” pan positions.
Signal to noise ratio test Listen to Track 10 at an average listening level. When the track gets goes from sound bite 2:45 to sound bite 2:51 you should notice a definite decrease in hiss and noise. Note: The room you listen to these two sound bites in needs to have a low level of ambient noise. The noise from a computer hard drive can mask the difference presented by these two sound bites.

Is that a misprint on Track 27? Its hard to believe that a home studio can sound so much better than a commercial studio

Considering how the final sound qualities of these two studios fly in the face of all the theories and beliefs regarding the origins of certain sound qualities, It's understandable that this question was raised. To answer your question, no that is not a misprint..