Welcome
02/10/10 00:55
Welcome
to the Audiolabs Canada Acoustics Blog.
Our goal is simple really. We believe that acoustics are the single most important decision any audiophile, recording studio, or music enthusiast can make. If the goal of your system is to achieve audio excellence then please join in on the discussion.
Our goal is simple really. We believe that acoustics are the single most important decision any audiophile, recording studio, or music enthusiast can make. If the goal of your system is to achieve audio excellence then please join in on the discussion.
Acoustics and "midrange" gear
02/10/10 00:53 Filed in: Gear
Talk
I came
across this excellent article in PC magazine (see the link at the
bottom). The author espouses the virtues of acoustics, which is
great, but I do have one
counter opinion: The author suggests that only those with truly
high end audio gear will appreciate the difference properly setup
acoustics will provide. I have to disagree. I firmly believe that
any "reasonably good" audio system can be dramatically improved
with an acoustics overhaul, or better yet an acoustically
designed/optimized room. True, better gear will benefit more, but
if you start with a great room, even modest gear will reveal more
music than you can imagine. I speak from personal experience. I'm
pretty proud of the setup I have now, but it wasn't always this
good. Yet I learned early how to deal with the acoustics and
through a lot of DIY ingenuity I conquered the beast of the bad
room. Later, as my gear got better I was in a position to assess
what really made a difference from those products and methods that
did not. The truth is out there, or should I say in there, and it's
waiting to be revealed.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/197263/the_ultimate_home_theater.html?tk=nl_tex_h_crawl
Jim
http://www.pcworld.com/article/197263/the_ultimate_home_theater.html?tk=nl_tex_h_crawl
Jim
Software Tone Balancer
02/10/10 00:50 Filed in: Audio Gadgets &
Gizmos
I came
across this product via an advertisement that showed up on my
LinkedIn Page. Naturally I had to check it out. For legal reasons I
can't tell you it's name other than the words Bob and Cat appear in
it. It is a software product that sells for $3300 USD and makes
some outstanding claims. Here are some of them:
LIVE RE-MASTER YOUR MUSIC AND YOUR SOUND TO YOUR TASTE
Some of the superlatives provided include:
"It takes audio recording to new height"
"It makes the quality so much more beautiful."
"At once (on the most basic setting) the speakers sprung to life."
Now here's some information describing the process:
"Hear how XXX patent pending high frequency reverberation together with easy-to-use precision tone controls can transform both your music and your sound system to make your listening much more enjoyable, even thrilling. Make the worst CD or MP3 in your collection
listenable and the best one superb. XXX BOB software for PCs turns your computer into a CD player with sound quality exceeding the most expensive available.
...unique high frequency reverberation, unlike that in any real room or other equipment, together with improved tone controls, places this new system far in advance. It works with the Windows Media Player to produce 2-channel stereo or 5-channel output from ordinary 2-channel music files by adding ambiance into the rear and front channels. "
Ok, so that's some pretty good background on what's going on here. Equalization (EQ) and Reverberation.
The point I'd like to make is that no matter how "high quality" either of these processes are (and they might actually sound very good, insofar as EQ and Reverb go), they are not TRUE. Isn't TRUTH what the audiophile has been seeking since the dawn of HiFi? Any form of added equalization or reverb constitutes distortion. It simply is not what the producer and musicians wanted you to hear. So, at the very least they are taking subjective/artistic liberties with the audio signal, and at worst they are added distorting artifacts to the original material in an effort to make it "better".
You can probably tell that I'm disappointed that such a product exists. I spend numerous hours and days acoustically balancing rooms and audio systems so that my clients here the truth, the good, bad, and ugly, in their systems. This pursuit of truth is the holy grail of the HiFi quest. If I had a motto it might be "honor the song and honor the recording". So you can tell that I'm disappointed this product exists, and even more disappointed that somebody might buy it.
What do you think?
Jim
LIVE RE-MASTER YOUR MUSIC AND YOUR SOUND TO YOUR TASTE
Some of the superlatives provided include:
"It takes audio recording to new height"
"It makes the quality so much more beautiful."
"At once (on the most basic setting) the speakers sprung to life."
Now here's some information describing the process:
"Hear how XXX patent pending high frequency reverberation together with easy-to-use precision tone controls can transform both your music and your sound system to make your listening much more enjoyable, even thrilling. Make the worst CD or MP3 in your collection
listenable and the best one superb. XXX BOB software for PCs turns your computer into a CD player with sound quality exceeding the most expensive available.
...unique high frequency reverberation, unlike that in any real room or other equipment, together with improved tone controls, places this new system far in advance. It works with the Windows Media Player to produce 2-channel stereo or 5-channel output from ordinary 2-channel music files by adding ambiance into the rear and front channels. "
Ok, so that's some pretty good background on what's going on here. Equalization (EQ) and Reverberation.
The point I'd like to make is that no matter how "high quality" either of these processes are (and they might actually sound very good, insofar as EQ and Reverb go), they are not TRUE. Isn't TRUTH what the audiophile has been seeking since the dawn of HiFi? Any form of added equalization or reverb constitutes distortion. It simply is not what the producer and musicians wanted you to hear. So, at the very least they are taking subjective/artistic liberties with the audio signal, and at worst they are added distorting artifacts to the original material in an effort to make it "better".
You can probably tell that I'm disappointed that such a product exists. I spend numerous hours and days acoustically balancing rooms and audio systems so that my clients here the truth, the good, bad, and ugly, in their systems. This pursuit of truth is the holy grail of the HiFi quest. If I had a motto it might be "honor the song and honor the recording". So you can tell that I'm disappointed this product exists, and even more disappointed that somebody might buy it.
What do you think?
Jim