Conociendo ¿Quién fabrica qué? Capacitores y amplificadores digitales.
Me entero que todos los capacitores prácticamente los más conocidos de compañias de EUA son fabricados primordialmente por una compañia californiana, incluyendo los de Cardas, con ciertas variaciones por sus patentes, pero Auricap, Sonicap, VCap, Hovland son así aunque no lo confirman oficialmente... de los pocos que en EUA los hacen por sí mismos son REL y ASC.
Ahora aquí les va un listado sobre quien está detrás de un ampli clase D, fabricante de los modulos y marcas que los usan:
Apogee:
www.stewartaudio.com - www.st.com - used by Harman Kardon and TEAC
B&O:
Rotel, Bel Canto, Canton, Cary Audio, Adam Audio, KEF, B&W, Jeff Rowland, Murano, Salagar,
Acoustic Reality, HeadRoom, NHT, Wyred4Sound, Seymour, Pioneer, REL, ELAC, hFx, Pro Audio Technology, Sonance, Martin Logan, Xindak, Audiomatus, and more.
Hypex:
Meridian, Bryston, HfX, PMC DS-001, Chevron Audio, MM Audio, Genenis GR180, CIAudio, Strathurst, and more.
Ti:
Lyngdorf, Kenwood, Panasonic, Sherwood
Zetex:
NAD, THETA
¿ Está por renacer el DSD ?
Tal vez una o dos generaciones de gente ahora involucrada con la reproducción de audio no saben que es DSD, esta fué la tecnología Direct Stream Digital desarrollada por SONY para el desarrollo SONY/Philips SACD (Super Audio CD) y que se pensaba sería el sucesor del CD, una tecnología opuesta y mejor que la PCM del CD.
En aquellos años no había DAC's que incorporaran este procesamiento pero ahora tras unos 15 años están empezando a verse DAC's en el campo "prosumer" con esta capacidad y no pocos especulan con que se retome y tener por fin un formato superior de reproducción de audio en el audio de consumo, sería un buen renacimiento o venganza del DSD, el alma SACD tras tanto tiempo y el desinterés que sufrió SACD en un mercado enajenado por portabilidad y apachurramiento masivo.
¿ Viene un renacido interés en el simple y bueno Hi-Fi de dos canales ?
Me llamó la atención el artículo incluido en el tema anterior, más aún que ahí menciona el hecho que SONY reinició fabricación de un buen reproductor CD/SACD dentro de su buena y famosa serie ES, se trata del SCD-XA5400ES.
¿En realidad viene un resurgir en el audio estéreo Hi-Fi, de casa con música digital sin comprimir o análoga? Hay algo de lógica en ello, una generación o dos de usuarios de dispositivos móviles que pueden estar descubriendo que hay mucho más allá de eso en términos de calidad y emoción.
Super audio. Super pure.
http://store.sony.com/p/SCD-XA5400ES/en/p/SCDXA5400ES
Hear your music as you never have before. The SCD-XA5400ES
Super Audio CD player delivers the highest standard in digital sound and
clarity. It is the perfect complement to high quality, multi-channel receivers
with uncompressed digital output for the Direct Stream Digital®
signal. Audiophile-grade discrete components and gold-plated outputs maintain
the utmost performance whether playing SACDs or standard CDs.
Y se apela nuevamente a la calidad de construcción...
Nuevas aventuras en el Hi-Fi: La tecnología de audio que maravilló a tus abuelos está haciendo un regreso » Metro Pulse
New Adventures in Hi-Fi: The Audio Technology That Wowed Your Grandparents Makes a Comeback » Metro Pulse
¿Será cierto acaso que la gente empieza a redescubrir, lejos de espejismos y juguetitos con mil ardides, la buena virtud del simple y bien logrado sonido estéreo?
¿Será cierto acaso que la gente empieza a redescubrir, lejos de espejismos y juguetitos con mil ardides, la buena virtud del simple y bien logrado sonido estéreo?
LIVING IN STEREO: Onkyo’s M-5000R amplifier does not connect to the Internet, does not have an app, does not stream music, does not have an iPod dock, does not put out 12 channels of surround sound, and does not receive radio signals. It does, however, put out two very clean channels of music.
En Alemania se vendieron más tornamesas que reproductores de CD en el 2011
Según un artículo del Kölnische Rundchau sobre el reporte de la GfU (Gesellschaft für Unterhaltungselektronik) en el año 2011 se vendieron más tornamesas que reproductores de CD, las cifras son 118,000 unidades contra 87,000. Como equipo separado para integrarse a un sistema.
Como referencia, en 1994 se vendieron 205,000 tornamesas, con "renacimiento" o sin el, como sea, el cambio de siglo le ha tumbado ventas de alrededor de 100,000 unidades al formato análogo. En contraparte en 1994 se vendieron 1.7 millones de reproductores de CD, una abismal caída de ventas de 1.6 millones.
No olvidemos que el reporte menciona que una quinta parte de las personas no usan ya de modo cotidiano algún medio físico para reproducción musical, es decir prefieren reproductores tipo MP3.
El artículo comenta que buenos modelos de tornamesas se consiguen en 350 Euros, mientras que el rango medio ronda los 1000 Euros y los modelos de gama alta inician alrededor de los 2500 Euros.
Sobre este tema un reporte de la revista Stereo comenta que también la GfK coincide en este hecho, más tornamesas se vendieron que reproductores de CD, como equipo separado.
Sin embargo en sistemas compactos conocidos como sistema-componentes o minicomponentes la diferencia es inversa, 24 millones de sistemas de audio incluyen reproductor de CD contra los 14 millones que incluyen tornamesa y de aquí se sabe que el costo promedio de un sistema con tornamesa es de 115 Euros mientras que el costo promedio de aquel que tiene CD como fuente principal de sonnido ronda los 274 Euros. Más aún, de esto se entendería que la gente destina más dinero a un mejor sistema con CD que a uno con tornamesa, marcando claramente que hay una inundación en el mercado de tocadiscos baratos, posiblemente usados principalmente para digitalizar viejos discos más que para usarse como un medio cotidiano.
La gráfica indica porcentaje de importe de ventas.
Renace de las cenizas, Cary Audio relanza Audio Electronics
En lo que es una grata noticia Cary Audio ha re-introducido al mercado bajo el nombre Audio Electronics by Cary lo que anteriormente se conoció como Audio Electronics Supply. Sin duda una excelente decisión en tiempos de dificultad económica, bien recibidos serán estos equipos basados en bulbo cuyos precios no rebasan los 2000 USD, adicionalmente para quien lo valore son fabricados en Estados Unidos.
A modo de introducción presentamos al preamplificador Constellation:
APEX, NORTH CAROLINA
When music is the goal, the new Constellation tube
preamplifier is a perfect choice. The Constellation uses the excellent 6SN7 tube
running in Class-A triode mode that is coupled to a fully-regulated power and
heater supply. The transformer is a custom R-core power device designed to our
own specifications. The preamplifier was built using premium parts, and a simple
signal path was designed with sonic purity in mind.
The Constellation was developed to offer the absolute best in
sound quality without adding all the bells and whistles. Whether enjoyed in an
existing system or coupled with the new Hercules power amplifier, the
Constellation will be a source of years of musical enjoyment for you without
breaking the bank.
The Constellation preamplifier is currently available for
purchase through Audio Electronics by Cary Audio’s online store (www.aebycary.com) or through your local Cary
Audio dealer.
Weight: 22 lbs.
Dimensions: 13” L x 14.25” W x 7.5” H
Retail price: $1,495
Esta sí es una joya de la corona: Wilson Benesch
A diferencia de otras tantas compañias "inglesas" o de sede inglesa con manufactura "overseas" Wilson benesch ofrece diseños que solo a la vista develan su refinamiento técnico, no mencionada muy a menudo no es de extrañar en un mercado y sociedad que vive para marcas y no así para productos de calidad.
Presento a modo de muestra estos ejemplos:
Presento a modo de muestra estos ejemplos:
Una brutalidad Burmester 111
Descuella por todos lados, la revista Stereo de Alemania le da la portada de Noviembre y dice sin tapujos que es la referencia en cuanto a servidores. Esta maravilla como era de esperarse no llega de modo fácil pero si reune 29000 Euros podrá ser suyo. Con todo mi respeto y admiración lo he dicho hacia otros y lo digo de nuevo: hacer un gran equipo por mucho dinero no es tan complicado, hacer uno excelente a un precio razonable es lo meritorio.
Pero cual sea el caso deleitémosnos con este aparatazo, una ventaja es que la construcción interior es de primer nivel, magnífica, si la vieran lo comprobarían.
El CD cumplió 30 años
El CD cumplió 30 años
El 1ro de octubre de 1982 comenzó a venderse el CDP-101 en Japón: fue el primer reproductor de discos compactos de la historia, y llegó para pelearle el lugar de reproductor de música por excelencia al disco de vinilo y al cassette de cinta (que la propia Sony había ayudado a popularizar con su línea Walkman).
El disco compacto había nacido años antes, a fines de la década de 1970, como un proyecto de investigación de Philips; su nombre remite, justamente, a ofrecer un soporte físico más pequeño que el disco de vinilo, y al mismo brindar una mejor calidad de audio (aunque los defensores del vinilo siguen discutiendo esto). En forma simultánea Sony había estado trabajando en un esquema similar. Así, ambas compañías se unieron y definieron el estándar del Compact Disc; luego se sumaron CBS (discográfica de Sony) y Polygram (propiedad de Philips).
El primer álbum elegido fue el sexto disco solista de Billy Joel, llamado 52nd Street .
![[Imagen: pic604-300x300.jpg]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tTtce3iwjOsEYKxr2YocW2YcUZMKe8TLhocpykPq50BOOohQg5wQgk7iYgrSvm6QDmEipQZcwxNGiwOxySMkwotsfBM3ClGW6WzqdeKo0D9M_mcWQpRPzeFiQFTHtiisXxwcZYU9yLlhqF=s0-d)
El CD llevó a las masas la posibilidad de escuchar audio de alta fidelidad, registrado en 16 bit y una tasa de muestreo de 44,1 kHz (es decir, que toma 44.100 muestras de sonido por segundo, y codifica cada una usando 2 bytes de información).
El CD original tenía una duración de 74 minutos y 33 segundos, y la leyenda popular sugiere que se hizo así porque la esposa de Norio Ohga, vicepresidente de Sony, quería poder escuchar la 9na Sinfonía de Beethoven en un solo disco, algo que también figura en la historia oficial de Philips. Sin embargo, Kees Schouhamer Immink , uno de los desarrolladores del diseño original del CD, argumenta que Sony apostaba por un disco de 10 cm y Philips de 11,5 cm. Como Philips ya estaba construyendo una fábrica para ese formato, Sony hubiera quedado en desventaja si hubiera aceptado la propuesta de Philips.
Finalmente se tomó el tamaño de 12 cm, aunque las discográficas sólo podían grabar, al principio, hasta 72 minutos; la versión de 74 minutos de la 9na Sinfonía de Beethoven, registrada en 1951 en el Bayreuther Festspiele con la conducción de Wilhelm Furtwängler, pudo ser plasmada en CD recién en 1988.
Según Sony, la idea original era que el CD se usara en forma vertical, pero luego se dieron cuenta que usarlo en forma horizontal era más sencillo (hoy muchas compacteras, sobre todo de PC. pueden ser usadas en ambas posiciones). La primera lectora de CD llevaba el número de modelo 101, un homenaje nipón a la condición binaria de toda la información que se almacenaba allí.
![[Imagen: im_Cd%20Player.jpg]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tSnahbqz0t5ak5OpVLdq203WaURAlkzkaLtM5EqseiHRXOZW_pd9r7iW9ERyDRNVsSAanOVlRZcbnG5XxygqnyrHVL-4cN2cruQmtRUFv-oS_muTjPLKFs3NG7LLDu=s0-d)
El CD fue un éxito, y cambió la manera en que se escuchaba música. También, y probablemente sin que sus creadores lo anticiparan, la forma en que la música se distribuye: una vez que se volvió digital, y con el crecimiento de las computadoras capaces de leer estos discos (el CD-ROM nació en 1985) fue imposible detener su copia. La creación y posterior estandarización del MP3 (técnicamente, la capa III del estándar MPEG-1) en 1991 fue el principio de una lenta (y no concluida) retirada del disco compacto como soporte físico preferido para la música.
Con motivo del 30 aniversario de la entrada del CD al mercado, Universal Music ha lanzado esta semana en Japón una serie especial de CD que incluye, como no podía ser de otro modo, la Novena Sinfonía de Beethoven en homenaje a su influencia en el disco que marcó una nueva era en el audio.
El disco compacto había nacido años antes, a fines de la década de 1970, como un proyecto de investigación de Philips; su nombre remite, justamente, a ofrecer un soporte físico más pequeño que el disco de vinilo, y al mismo brindar una mejor calidad de audio (aunque los defensores del vinilo siguen discutiendo esto). En forma simultánea Sony había estado trabajando en un esquema similar. Así, ambas compañías se unieron y definieron el estándar del Compact Disc; luego se sumaron CBS (discográfica de Sony) y Polygram (propiedad de Philips).
El primer álbum elegido fue el sexto disco solista de Billy Joel, llamado 52nd Street .
El CD llevó a las masas la posibilidad de escuchar audio de alta fidelidad, registrado en 16 bit y una tasa de muestreo de 44,1 kHz (es decir, que toma 44.100 muestras de sonido por segundo, y codifica cada una usando 2 bytes de información).
El CD original tenía una duración de 74 minutos y 33 segundos, y la leyenda popular sugiere que se hizo así porque la esposa de Norio Ohga, vicepresidente de Sony, quería poder escuchar la 9na Sinfonía de Beethoven en un solo disco, algo que también figura en la historia oficial de Philips. Sin embargo, Kees Schouhamer Immink , uno de los desarrolladores del diseño original del CD, argumenta que Sony apostaba por un disco de 10 cm y Philips de 11,5 cm. Como Philips ya estaba construyendo una fábrica para ese formato, Sony hubiera quedado en desventaja si hubiera aceptado la propuesta de Philips.
Finalmente se tomó el tamaño de 12 cm, aunque las discográficas sólo podían grabar, al principio, hasta 72 minutos; la versión de 74 minutos de la 9na Sinfonía de Beethoven, registrada en 1951 en el Bayreuther Festspiele con la conducción de Wilhelm Furtwängler, pudo ser plasmada en CD recién en 1988.
Según Sony, la idea original era que el CD se usara en forma vertical, pero luego se dieron cuenta que usarlo en forma horizontal era más sencillo (hoy muchas compacteras, sobre todo de PC. pueden ser usadas en ambas posiciones). La primera lectora de CD llevaba el número de modelo 101, un homenaje nipón a la condición binaria de toda la información que se almacenaba allí.
El CD fue un éxito, y cambió la manera en que se escuchaba música. También, y probablemente sin que sus creadores lo anticiparan, la forma en que la música se distribuye: una vez que se volvió digital, y con el crecimiento de las computadoras capaces de leer estos discos (el CD-ROM nació en 1985) fue imposible detener su copia. La creación y posterior estandarización del MP3 (técnicamente, la capa III del estándar MPEG-1) en 1991 fue el principio de una lenta (y no concluida) retirada del disco compacto como soporte físico preferido para la música.
Con motivo del 30 aniversario de la entrada del CD al mercado, Universal Music ha lanzado esta semana en Japón una serie especial de CD que incluye, como no podía ser de otro modo, la Novena Sinfonía de Beethoven en homenaje a su influencia en el disco que marcó una nueva era en el audio.
El "spaghetti-western" del audio: McIntosh, esa clásica marca "italina", se une a las otras "italianas" Wadia y Audio Research
Pues con la novedad que D+M Holdings (Denon + Marantz) vendió McIntosh, el insigne fabricante de audio de excepción al consorcio italiano Fine Sound que ya cuenta no solo con la muy italiana Sonus Faber sino con las ahora "spagheti western" Audio Research y Wadia.
http://www.residentialsystems.com/residential-systems/0001/dm-sells-off-mcintosh-to-fine-sounds-/83914
High End: Cómo ser un buen audiófilo
High End: Cómo ser un buen audiófilo
Un breve y entretenido artículo en donde uno de los entrevistados es nuestro buen amigo Eliseo Vega, editor de Musitech (Home:Tech/Sound:Check/Music:Life)
Un breve y entretenido artículo en donde uno de los entrevistados es nuestro buen amigo Eliseo Vega, editor de Musitech (Home:Tech/Sound:Check/Music:Life)
4 magníficas marcas para México
Nos hemos enterado que marcas espectaculares como lo son AVM de Alemania, Ayon de Austria, Raysonic de Canada y Audioblock de Alemania se empezarán ser promovidas por Armonia AV para México.
Un buen reproductor de CD de la olvidada Sherwood
En estos tiempos es cada vez más difícil encontrar un reproductor CD de buena calidad y un precio razonable. Sherwood, una marca bastante olvidada presenta este interesante aparato en su linea Newcastle.
Single CD Player with Professional
Performance
The CD-772 Newcastle CD Player and its perfectly matched RX-772
Stereo Receiver, are designed for the purist. The Profesisonal performance of
the CD-772 delivers concise audio reproduction with full detail in a
contemporary, simple to use solution.
» Plays CD-DA, CD-R/RW & MP3
» 192kHz/24Bit High Quality D/A Converter
» 8 Times Oversampling
» CD Upsampling to 192kHz/24Bit
» 1 Optical Digital Output
» 1 Analogue Output
» Frequency Response 20Hz to 20kHz
» Dynamic Range 95dB
» Vibration Resistant Design
» High Accuracy Master Clock Oscillator to Supress Jitter & Noise
» One-Touch Auto Function Operation
» Remote Control
» Colour Availability: Titan
» 192kHz/24Bit High Quality D/A Converter
» 8 Times Oversampling
» CD Upsampling to 192kHz/24Bit
» 1 Optical Digital Output
» 1 Analogue Output
» Frequency Response 20Hz to 20kHz
» Dynamic Range 95dB
» Vibration Resistant Design
» High Accuracy Master Clock Oscillator to Supress Jitter & Noise
» One-Touch Auto Function Operation
» Remote Control
» Colour Availability: Titan
El mal uso de la metodología AB para pruebas de audio
AB
TESTING, A MISAPPLICATION OF VISUAL CRITERIA IN AUDIO
©2006 Mark B. Anstendig
(AB testing
is a form of testing designed to compare different qualities of sound. In audio,
it is used to compare and evaluate the differences in sound between components.
The most prevalent form is to switch back and forth between components while a
single sound source, usually a recording of music, is playing. Similar methods
are used in aural research.)
For
decades, controversy has raged in the audio world over the validity of AB
testing. While the controversy primarily concerns the AB comparison of audio
components, AB testing is also used extensively in scientific research into
human hearing and in the evaluation of recorded sound quality. In fact,
scientific investigation of human hearing in more than a rudimentary fashion and
the investigation of complex sounds, containing both timbral distinction and
details of nuance as the sounds flow in time, first became possible with the
advent of recorded sound. Before sound recordings, it was impossible to repeat
any such sounds exactly the same way, especially humanly produced sounds such as
the expressive nuances of music.
The senses
differ markedly in their characteristics. In order to investigate any of the
senses, it is necessary to differentiate the characteristics of each of the
senses, recognize how each works, and apply only procedures pertinent to the
sense being investigated. Above all, while testing one of the senses, it is
important to not misapply procedures that only apply to another of the senses.
Unfortunately, most methods of testing hearing do just that by trying to
duplicate the visual procedure of direct comparison. Direct visual comparison
has been accepted for centuries as scientifically accurate. But direct
comparison is possible only with sight and impossible with all the other senses.
That fact is probably the most pertinent scientifically established fact about
all sensory perception.
It
has long been known that the only capacity of any of the five senses that meets
scientific standards for accuracy and dependability belongs to sight. That
capacity, known in the optical world as direct comparison, is the visual
comparison of objects lying directly next to each other (not an inch or a
centimeter apart, but absolutely next to each other. In color testing, the one
color is laid directly on top of the other color). This direct comparison of
immediately adjacent visual images reaches its highest level of precision in the
comparison of shades of color and gray tone (scientifically accurate color
charts, determined by direct visual comparison, have existed for
centuries).
That direct
visual comparison is the only scientifically accurate capacity of any of the
senses was well known in the first half of our century, when it was acknowledged
that there was a need to devise a focal-point-exact method of focusing optical
lenses in cameras. (The original method of focusing in cameras, the ground
glass, is highly inaccurate, mainly because it does not utilize the highly
accurate sensory capacity of direct comparison.) But, in the second half of the
century, mention of direct comparison has been pointedly avoided in the
optical-photographic fields, because the only device that succeeded in utilizing
direct comparison and, thereby, achieving absolutely exact (focal-point-exact)
focusing, the Messraster, was not owned by the leaders of the industry. From
1939, when that patent was first introduced, until the inventor's death, the
large firms that controlled the German optical industry fought to keep that
patent off the market. All of the manual focusing devices that have been
available to the public fail to achieve focusing accuracy because they do not
utilize the only accurate capability of sight, direct
comparison.
In
the experience of the author, who was born in 1936 and reached maturity in the
second half of this century, the ascendancy of direct visual comparison over all
other sensory comparison has been mentioned only once. That was in 1960, in
West
Berlin , by Joseph
Dahl, the inventor of the Messraster focusing device. Mr. Dahl, from whom the
author bought a number of Messrasters in the early 1960's, took great pains over
quite a number of months, to explain and demonstrate the problems of sensory
comparison to the author in order to show why the Messraster, by using direct
comparison, is the only device in photography that can focus
accurately.
Only the
visual comparison of unmoving objects directly next to each other, with no space
between them, can claim scientific accuracy. All other forms of comparison using
any of the senses, including other forms of visual comparison, do not begin to
meet scientific standards of accuracy and dependability. A clear understanding
of why that is so, as well as an understanding of why direct comparison is
impossible with the other senses, is essential to valid comparison-testing
in audio and, in fact, all comparison of sensory
impressions.
Why is
direct visual comparison the only accurate form of comparison in all five
senses? Because it is the only form of sensory comparison that places no demands
upon our memory. All other forms of comparison, including visual comparison of
objects not directly adjacent to each other, depend on our memory for sensory
impressions. And our immediate memory for sensory impressions is notoriously
undependable. Place minutely varying shades of color next to each other and we
have absolutely no difficulty telling which ones are lighter, shinier,
warmer-toned, cooler-toned, etc. But showing them to us one after the other
introduces a profound degree of uncertainty and doubt and we will often guess
wrong as to their differences. (Mr. Dahl demonstrated this by showing me two
pieces of paper, one after the other, and then asking me which was the lighter
in tone. I remembered wrong.) That uncertainty can only be definitively resolved
by again placing them next to each other, i.e., by direct comparison. This truth
is the reason that the first, most basic through-the-lens focusing device, the
ground glass, proved inaccurate.
Understanding
why the basic ground glass fails to achieve accuracy is fundamental to defining
and understanding the problems of comparison, not only in sight, but in all
sensory perception. With a ground glass, it is necessary to focus
back and forth over the apparently sharpest setting, remembering how far one can
go in each direction before the image becomes obscured. Not only is our memory
for the images at the various stages of focus undependable, but the eye quickly
loses acuity and begins to see longer stretches as sharp the longer one tries to
focus. Experienced photographers using a ground glass know that focusing should
be done quickly, going back and forth over the point of apparent focus as few
times as possible. Otherwise, whatever little bit of accuracy the ground glass
can deliver will suffer, as the memory vacillates more and more the longer the
process continues. Absolute accuracy through direct comparison was achieved with
a ground glass in the Messraster, which is simply a divided ground glass that
eliminates the use of memory by allowing the viewer to compare directly the too
far and too close settings, right next to each other. The main reason this
little known, but very important, device achieves its accuracy is that it
utilizes the only accurate sensory capacity, direct visual comparison, and
eliminates the need to use the memory.
The other
senses have the same problem: memory of sensory impressions is undependable and,
with even slightly extended non-direct comparison, the characteristics of the
different sensory stimuli blend into each other and the differences become
blurred. With smell, the longer one compares different scents, without long
waits in between, the more the difference blurs. And the longer one sniffs a
scent, the less strongly one can smell it, to the point that one eventually
stops smelling it. With taste, flavors quickly weaken and our palate also
quickly blends the flavors, losing its ability to differentiate them. For
example, salt lovers know that the more salt they use the more they have to add,
because, like being subjected to a particular smell for a long period of time,
the palate quickly stops tasting the salt until more is
added.
Evaluations
of delicate differences in tea and coffee flavors, perfume scents, and other
similar sensory products, have to be performed by highly sensitive, specially
trained experts under specially controlled circumstances. Even the slightest
distraction can ruin their work, because of the great demands these activities
place on the memories even of those trained individuals who are intimately
familiar with the various pitfalls of their work. And great demands are made on
these people in regard to physical discipline, poise, personal delicacy and
refinement in order to preserve their physical
sensitivity.
The body of
the listener is another variable to which differences perceived in AB testing
can be attributed. The body changes throughout the day. Disciplined people are
usually not as sensitive when they wake up as later in their progress through
the day. Physically undisciplined people's bodies also vary throughout the day,
though not necessarily in the sense of becoming more sensitive over the course
of the day. All sensory perception is conveyed to us through our bodies. There
are no abstract sensations. It is well-known that various states of tension and
relaxation bring with them differing amounts of sensitivity. Disciplines like
Yoga, Zen, etc. can heighten sensitivity through manipulation of the
body.
The point
that must be especially emphasized in regard to activities that demand great
sensitivity is that, no matter how naturally gifted the person, a high degree of
physical sensitivity is a cultivated thing that has to be purposely achieved and
sustained. (Even Mozart, probably the most naturally gifted human being with
regards to sensitivity, had to go through long training, had to be subjected to
the finest examples of art in Europe , and had
to mingle with the most refined, cultivated people of great artistic
discrimination and personal discipline in order to develop that gift. Yet most
people think they can simply sit down at any time, in any physical state, and
discriminate between subtle differences in the nuances of musical performance
and the small but often crucial differences in sound qualities between sound
components.) The need to cultivate physical delicacy and discipline during
activities involving sensory perception is well known in the fields of touch,
taste, and smell. In those fields, not only are controlled circumstances
considered necessary for all critical perception, but the people doing the
perceiving are expected to preserve the physical delicacy and discipline
necessary for such perception. On the days they work, tea tasters, perfume
testers, and wine-tasters follow strict physical and dietary regimens designed
to keep them in the most sensitive physical state. And their surroundings are
carefully controlled to provide an ideally calm and non-distracting environment
for extremely delicate perceptive work.
But similar
conditions regarding the listener's physical discipline, refinement, and
surroundings etc., are seldom, if ever, insisted upon in attempts at audio
comparison, even though hearing is the most complex, most variable, most easily
disturbed, least dependable and most difficult to monitor of all the senses.
That is partly because hearing is also the most taken-for-granted of all the
senses, and the least often tested.
There is
also an enormous range of differences in hearing acuity. There are people barely
able to hear a loud sound and those who hear that sound so loudly that it is
almost painful. There are those who can concentrate on a sonic event intensely,
for long periods of time, and those who cannot sustain their concentration for
more than a second or two and allow any little thing to distract them. There are
those who can keep their mind firmly on what is happening in the exact juncture
of the present, and those who are either anticipating what is coming or, having
missed some detail or lost their concentration, lose themselves in reviewing
what they have heard, while the music or other sonic event continues, thus, in
effect, missing everything. In truth, most normal people who have not had
specific training, exhibit some form of these aberrations in their manner, i.e.,
habits, of hearing. In normal life, without utilizing complicated testing that
is not completely dependable, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, even
to notice let alone differentiate differences in the way we hear. However,
correct habits of listening can be trained, and with the help of basic yoga-type
disciplines, both Eastern and Western, concentration, the ability to resist
distractions, and the ability to keep the mind empty and concentrated solely on
the (sonic) events of the moment (of the present) can be
developed.
But the
usual assumption in society is that people who do not need a hearing aid (i.e.,
do not have a medically proven hearing disability) all hear essentially alike.
Because most of our hearing is used to receive dispassionate information, which
is conveyed in the meaning of words and does not depend on the nuance of how it
is conveyed, we do not think about all the different ways a sound can be
produced or all the different ways we can hear it. Because most of us can make
out the basic information in the sounds we hear, i.e., words and their meanings,
and most daily communication is mainly to convey such information, we generally
do not make demands of sensitivity, especially sensitivity to nuance, upon our
hearing and we ignore the differences in hearing that our different physical
states (moods) will produce. Yet AB testing deals mostly with the perception of
differences in sound qualities and nuances, and not at all with the conveying of
information.
It
has been necessary to establish the role of physical refinement in sensory
perception because it is an important factor in attempts at AB testing in sound,
and, for that matter, in all comparison of sonic impressions. There is always
that distinct possibility that any differences in the way sounds were heard
could be just as much because the listener moved, became upset, tensed, or
otherwise changed his/her physical state as because the sounds actually differed
in the manner they were produced at the source.
There is
also the distinct probability with AB testing when one performance or component
is less delicate than another to which it is compared, that the listener will
still be vibrating in the vibration of the more coarse example when the finer
one is played. Since we actually hear the vibrating of our own bodies, the
delicacies of the finer example will be filtered through, i.e., produced by, the
listener's own more coarsely vibrating body, and, therefore, changed or not
heard at all.
In
fact, except for an extremely few people with the natural talent of the true
orchestra conductor, who can hear with great acuity even when physically and
mentally active, the only time people--any people--are actually able to hear and
experience the nuances of finely-performed, high-quality music, is when they are
absolutely calm, quiet, fully concentrated, and perfectly still. Without
specific training, few people are able to place themselves in such a state at
will and, therefore, have to wait for the moments when it happens by itself,
i.e., when they just happen to gravitate into the right mood. Most of us have
certain recordings that can make us cry, or uplift us, or cause such piercingly
exquisite experiences that we feel like our heart has jumped into our throat, to
utilize a particularly apt colloquial description. But we also know that we
cannot just sit down and have those experiences happen at will. We have to wait
until we are in the right "place" to be able to experience
them.
Since fine
music is seldom available at the same moment that most people are physically
able to be receptive to it, few people ever hear and enjoy the felicities of
fine musical performance, and those that do are not able to do so very often or
for very long periods of time. Therefore, few people have even the slightest
preparation for any kind of sonic comparisons. They lack the necessary acuity,
awareness of the need for physical discipline, practiced concentration over long
periods of time, etc. to be dependable subjects. In AB, or other relatively
quick forms of comparison, there always has to remain the suspicion that
differences in how the sound was heard were as much due to physical instability
in the listener as to differences in the sound.
I
have made the point that, because direct visual comparison is generally easy to
perform and the most often utilized method of differentiation in our lives, we
tend to take it for granted that we can accomplish the same thing with the other
senses. I have also shown that direct comparison is simply not possible with the
other senses because no sensory comparisons with sound, smell, touch, or taste
can utilize direct, simultaneous comparison and must, therefore, use the memory
(touch would seem to come closest to visual comparison because most things being
touched do not change appreciably over the short periods of needed to attempt
comparison, and we can simultaneously touch two different things with our two
hands. But no two hands or fingers are exactly the same. Alternately touching
two objects with the same body part again makes demands on our undependable
memory). I have also made the point that, in sound, there must be even greater
uncertainty than with other senses, because sound is the most fleeting of
sensory stimuli. Sound cannot linger, as in taste or smell, and cannot remain
still, as in touch and direct visual comparison. Only carefully engineered
mechanical sounds can be absolutely steady and unwavering. All other sounds,
even seemingly sustained ones, are constantly changing, i.e. fluctuating, in
time.
Am
I saying that sonic comparisons are impossible? Not at all. I am saying that
they must be accomplished in a completely different, unrelated manner from
visual comparisons and with even more care than the extraordinary care taken in
serious comparisons of taste, touch, and smell.
But how?
The answer lies in understanding that quick, immediate comparisons do not work.
The way to make dependable comparisons is through great familiarity with the
audio components, sounds, performances, etc. that are to be compared. They must
be listened to enough times for the persons doing the comparing to be sure they
have really heard and experienced all of the subtle content of the sounds. And
once they are sure they have accurately heard the content of the sounds, they
must become familiar with it. That usually means living with the sounds over an
extended enough period of time to allow the listener to be fresh and attentive
during listening periods. The whole process can take hours, days, or even weeks.
With familiarity, memory becomes dependable, as long as proper precautions have
been taken to maintain the same sound-quality, the same room conditions, a
refined state of body, etc., during all listening.
Furthermore,
to be truly accurate, all listening comparisons, including those in medical
testing of hearing, should be made under circumstances in which the listeners
feel completely comfortable, as they would in their own homes. Listening periods
should not exceed the listener's comfortable span of attention, and the sonic
programs to be compared must be repeated often enough for the listeners to be
absolutely sure they are familiar with the programs. Above all, during these
periods, there should be no interruptions or physical exertions on the part of
the listener that might disturb his/her physical equilibrium, which means that
the programs have to be turned on and off by someone other than the
listener.
But these
preconditions should not be misconstrued as possible means of better conducting
AB comparisons. AB testing has absolutely no validity in audio
comparisons. Far from being a means of bringing scientific accuracy to
audio evaluations, as believed by many audio practitioners, AB testing is based
on human capacities that are undependable and do not at all fulfill the
requisites of scientific accuracy. There are no exceptions. But the invalidity
of AB testing is particularly true when music is used for the comparison,
especially when a comparator device is used to switch back and forth between
audio components while the music is playing. For that process to be at all
logical, the exact same portion of the music would have to be heard each time
the switch is operated. But the repetition of exactly the same short sequence of
music (or any other sonic program) would bring with it its own irritations that
would disturb the listener and negate the test.
The
Anstendig Institute strongly recommends that all people professionally involved
in AB testing and other comparison of sensory impressions thoroughly study and
understand, through first-hand experience and demonstration, the principles
involved in the various available photographic focusing devices. It is important
to an understanding of all sensory perception to know why these devices that use
the human eye are inaccurate. It is also of the greatest importance to
understand the truth about depth of field, in the photographic sense: that it
really pertains to unsharpness, not sharpness; that depth of field does not
exist in the sense of depth of sharpness, but is, rather, a description of the
extent to which increasing unsharpness can be tolerated before it disturbs the
viewer, a parameter that is entirely subjective and, therefore, undependable
because it is determined by and changes with the sensitivity and mood of the
individual viewer.
This
understanding of photographic images and the effect of sharpness is so crucial
because it is with visual comparisons that the human being usually begins
conscious, purposely initiated sensory comparisons. With visual comparisons, we
first and most dependably develop our sense of discrimination, i.e., our ability
to differentiate and evaluate subtle differences in all things. But there are
important shortcomings and misunderstandings in photographic imagery that carry
over into all visual imagery and, unless can we are aware of them, ultimately
affect our powers of discrimination. Along with sounds, photographic imagery is
probably the most omnipresent element and influence in our modern life. It
pervades everything we do, especially when we mistakenly attempt to utilize
processes pertinent only to sight in our work with the other senses.2 The misuse
of visual criteria in hearing would by itself be bad enough. But the fact that
our understanding of visual images is based on wrong assumptions makes the use
of visual criteria all the worse.
Unfortunately,
a large part of the audio research that has already been published has utilized
AB or similar testing that is simply a misapplication of visual criteria in the
realm of sound. All of that research has, therefore, to be considered invalid.
If any valid conclusions have been reached by these methods, their acceptance
will have to wait until they can be confirmed by means that are scientifically
accurate. It is difficult to comprehend the enormity of this situation. Whole
edifices of scientific thought, methods, and practice have been built upon this
scientifically invalid procedure. No matter how the procedure is refined (as in
double-blind AB testing, using two or more blindfolded subjects and comparing
components, etc., in such an order that the subjects could not guess their
identity), there is no possibility of dependably recognizing subtle differences.
In AB testing, any differences being recognized and compared have to be so large
that they should be apparent to the same people in any kind of
listening.
An
argument has blazed for years between those in the audio community who swear
they hear subtle differences between components they have lived with and those
in the AB testing community who insist that AB testing has proved those people
wrong -- that those people must be imagining the differences, because carefully
controlled AB testing has shown that the differences do not exist. There are
many pitfalls in any kind of listening. But we have seen that those who live
with their components before evaluating them could very well be correct in their
evaluations. At least they are using a valid procedure.
What is
clear is that those using AB testing have not been using a valid procedure.
Unless the misconceptions of sight and sound in the scientific world are quickly
cleared up, when current or future generations finally realize the truth, they
will have to throw out most previous research and, therefore, almost their whole
fund of knowledge, because it will all have been based on invalid premises and
carried out under invalid conditions.
1
See
Messraster patents of 1939 and 1966, in
USA
2
See our
paper, “The Misapplication Of Visual Criteria In
Sound”.
The Anstendig Institute is a
non-profit research and educational institute that studies the vibrational
influences in our environment, particularly those of sight and sound, and how
they affect sensory perception. Its papers on sound reproduction, problems of
focusing in photography, psychology of hearing and seeing, and erratic
vibrational influences that affect our lives are widely distributed throughout
the world. All are available free of charge.
Bonita foto ¿Verdad?
Fotografía de un artículo sobre tornamesas en Mecánica Popular en español de mayo de 1988.
Todos los derechos propiedad de sus respectivos dueños.
Todos los derechos propiedad de sus respectivos dueños.
SBIC tecnología patentada para medición y calibración de sistemas
Esta tecnología - sliding band
integration curve - con una patente ya otorgada, mide la respuesta electroacústica de un sistema de audio en cuartos pequeños de modo que mediciones y ajustes/entonación se correlacionan directamente con lo que los escuchas realemente perciben.
Es decir esta tecnología se desarrollo no solo para que mida bien sino para que suene bien.
SBIC measures the directfield
sound from
the speaker
to
the
listener
position,
and
the total reverberated field of sound at the listener
area. SBIC then conducts frequency-weighted averaging
of
the
two
responses
and
yields
a
resulting
curve.
According
to
Grimani,
because
the
SBIC
response
curve
is the
closest approximation
to what
a human
would
actually hear,
the room correction, equalization,
and voicing
can all
be performed
faster
and more
accurately.
Notas breves
-AVC Group, SpeakerCraft, y Panamax/Furman se unen bajo un solo techo de negocios de perfil de desarrollo de producto cliente-céntrico, inovación de marca y apoyo a detallistas.
-Behringer adquirió Turbosund
-Premios InfoComm 2012: Para instalación comercial, bocina premiada del año JBL CBT-1 | En audio profesional hubo dos ganadores: Renkus-Heinz por su linea Ralph Heinz signature y Eastern Acoustic Works Sub.two
-Premios about otorgados por los lectores a las mejores marcas de bocinas: B&W (53%), followed by KEF (23%), Klipsch (14%), RBH (6%), and Magnapan (1%)
-Behringer adquirió Turbosund
-Premios InfoComm 2012: Para instalación comercial, bocina premiada del año JBL CBT-1 | En audio profesional hubo dos ganadores: Renkus-Heinz por su linea Ralph Heinz signature y Eastern Acoustic Works Sub.two
-Premios about otorgados por los lectores a las mejores marcas de bocinas: B&W (53%), followed by KEF (23%), Klipsch (14%), RBH (6%), and Magnapan (1%)
Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy
According to Wilson Audio, the Watt/Puppy was introduced in 1986, and during its 23-year life span sold more than 23,000 units, and is considered perhaps the most successful $10,000-plus speaker ever to grace the audiophile market.
Fuente: Voice Coil 08/12
Revel finaliza y da forma su nueva linea Performa3
Revel Finalizes Performa3 Loudspeakers Lineup
Revel Performa3 loudspeakers offer a choice of high-gloss walnut or piano black finishes that are overseen by master Italian craftsmen for unparalleled quality. Models F206, M105 and C205 are also available in high-gloss piano white. Model S206 is only available in matte black. All Performa3 passive loudspeakers will be available in December 2012, with both subwoofers available in early 2013.
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La nueva creación de Bob Carver
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The VTA20S lists for
$2,100 and will ship in July.
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