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#1
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almost "transparent" recording
Having calibrated my speakers anew with more precision, I received a
friend's visit over the weekend. He had helped me already for several years to tweak my pupazzo loudspeakers to more and more realistic reproduction. This time we took an incredible step forward. We fixed a lot of damping material on all reflecting surfaces near the speaker and moved them closer with the centers only 1.8m apart. The listening distance to the front is only 80cm and the angle is over 45° to the left and right of the center line. The speakers are almost in the center of the room with around 1.75m distance to the closest wall. Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. It is very similar to using the Jecklin Float Headphones. The most convincing demonstration occurred when my friend copied the stereo sound of his video camera to a CD. He had filmed around an hour of video material during a walk through the city. We had been at spaces like the seaside with the waves hitting the pebbles, the pedestrian tunnel under the railway line, some Karaoke bar, on the promenade with people talking all around. Each acoustic space was absolutely recognizable and it seemed we were again walking there. The simple microphone of the small camera could draw an almost perfect picture of the environment, in fact you could understand how a blind man will "see" his surroundings. The shortcomings were mostly due to the microphone colouring the sound. Most disturbing was the "phasing"due to too much distance of the capsules and a bit "tinny" or bucket like resonances. Later we used a better mike and the phasing disappeared, but the bass was a bit too strong on that one. When a certain level of reality is reached the conscioussness jumpes "into" the soundfield, as it does with any ambience. Anybody has experienced this phenomenon? -- ciao Ban Bordighera, Italy |
#2
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almost "transparent" recording
OK, you're done a sort of binaural recording and pretty much reproduced
it by speakers as you would through headphones since you're sitting in the extreme near field with almost no reflections. It's interesting but, I'm afraid, not unique and doesn't add anything much to the sum of current knowledge. (Yes, I know it's not truly binaural since it doesn't take into acount the head interference. True binaural is done with dummy heads and microphones in the "ear canals" as I recall. For the purposes of this discussion, and the effects Ban describes, it's close enough I think.) -- Bob T. Ban wrote: Having calibrated my speakers anew with more precision, I received a friend's visit over the weekend. He had helped me already for several years to tweak my pupazzo loudspeakers to more and more realistic reproduction. This time we took an incredible step forward. We fixed a lot of damping material on all reflecting surfaces near the speaker and moved them closer with the centers only 1.8m apart. The listening distance to the front is only 80cm and the angle is over 45° to the left and right of the center line. The speakers are almost in the center of the room with around 1.75m distance to the closest wall. Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. It is very similar to using the Jecklin Float Headphones. The most convincing demonstration occurred when my friend copied the stereo sound of his video camera to a CD. He had filmed around an hour of video material during a walk through the city. We had been at spaces like the seaside with the waves hitting the pebbles, the pedestrian tunnel under the railway line, some Karaoke bar, on the promenade with people talking all around. Each acoustic space was absolutely recognizable and it seemed we were again walking there. The simple microphone of the small camera could draw an almost perfect picture of the environment, in fact you could understand how a blind man will "see" his surroundings. The shortcomings were mostly due to the microphone colouring the sound. Most disturbing was the "phasing"due to too much distance of the capsules and a bit "tinny" or bucket like resonances. Later we used a better mike and the phasing disappeared, but the bass was a bit too strong on that one. When a certain level of reality is reached the conscioussness jumpes "into" the soundfield, as it does with any ambience. Anybody has experienced this phenomenon? |
#3
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almost "transparent" recording
Ban wrote:
Having calibrated my speakers anew with more precision, I received a friend's visit over the weekend. He had helped me already for several years to tweak my pupazzo loudspeakers to more and more realistic reproduction. This time we took an incredible step forward. We fixed a lot of damping material on all reflecting surfaces near the speaker and moved them closer with the centers only 1.8m apart. The listening distance to the front is only 80cm and the angle is over 45° to the left and right of the center line. The speakers are almost in the center of the room with around 1.75m distance to the closest wall. Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. It is very similar to using the Jecklin Float Headphones. The most convincing demonstration occurred when my friend copied the stereo sound of his video camera to a CD. He had filmed around an hour of video material during a walk through the city. We had been at spaces like the seaside with the waves hitting the pebbles, the pedestrian tunnel under the railway line, some Karaoke bar, on the promenade with people talking all around. Each acoustic space was absolutely recognizable and it seemed we were again walking there. The simple microphone of the small camera could draw an almost perfect picture of the environment, in fact you could understand how a blind man will "see" his surroundings. The shortcomings were mostly due to the microphone colouring the sound. Most disturbing was the "phasing"due to too much distance of the capsules and a bit "tinny" or bucket like resonances. Later we used a better mike and the phasing disappeared, but the bass was a bit too strong on that one. When a certain level of reality is reached the conscioussness jumpes "into" the soundfield, as it does with any ambience. Anybody has experienced this phenomenon? I found a few papers describing similar phenomena http://homepage.mac.com/cooperbauck/...blications.htm Some more observations: 1) Most CDs have been recorded in an erroneous way. There are most instruments crowded on three spots: on the speaker positions and in the center, with the center carrying most. 2) I found a few records with positions between these, which seem to have been recorded with a stereo mike only. The instruments are in both of my records with this recording technique arranged in a horseshoe-shaped placement. Maybe this results from different angles from recording/reproducing. 3) With the video-camera built-in mike I get a perfect angle localization. What is disturbing is a slight "phasiness", like a comb filter, which I now contribute to the different diameters of the mike and head. The listening angle of the speakers is almost 120°, that is also the recording angle of the mike. The mike has also a 90° angle which gives much less phasing, but not so good localization. -- ciao Ban Bordighera, Italy |
#4
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almost "transparent" recording
Ban wrote:
Having calibrated my speakers anew with more precision, I received a friend's visit over the weekend. He had helped me already for several years to tweak my pupazzo loudspeakers to more and more realistic reproduction. This time we took an incredible step forward. We fixed a lot of damping material on all reflecting surfaces near the speaker and moved them closer with the centers only 1.8m apart. The listening distance to the front is only 80cm and the angle is over 45? to the left and right of the center line. The speakers are almost in the center of the room with around 1.75m distance to the closest wall. Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. It is very similar to using the Jecklin Float Headphones. I'm not quite sure from the description, but it could be you have created a well-implemented near-field listening setup. I have experienced remarkable 'three-dimensionality' of the front-to-back soundstage with such a setup. Although 'near-field' implies that room effects are minimized, I've found that both the speaker/listener distances *and* the room prep have to be 'just right' to get the effect. It sounds like may have adjusted both to good effect. -- -S. "We started to see evidence of the professional groupie in the early 80's. Alarmingly, these girls bore a striking resemblance to Motley Crue." -- David Lee Roth |
#5
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almost "transparent" recording
Hello, Ban,
Ban wrote: Some more observations: 1) Most CDs have been recorded in an erroneous way. There are most instruments crowded on three spots: on the speaker positions and in the center, with the center carrying most. While I've found this to be true for early pop/rock recordings, I do not find this to be true in general for the majority of CDs that I own. With the arrangement you've described, you might try some selective room treatments on the left and right walls, midway between the line through the loudspeakers and the corresponding parallel line through the listener's location. The treatment could be as simple as an angled 1m x 1m smooth reflective panel at ear level to direct early loudspeaker reflections away from the listener's position. You might find that you suddenly have fill between each of those "three spots". My own notes on room treatments might be useful, but YMMV: http://homepage.mac.com/tzagar/results.html Best regards, Terry |
#6
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almost "transparent" recording
Ban wrote:
....snip to content...... The most convincing demonstration occurred when my friend copied the stereo sound of his video camera to a CD. He had filmed around an hour of video material during a walk through the city. We had been at spaces like the seaside with the waves hitting the pebbles, the pedestrian tunnel under the railway line, some Karaoke bar, on the promenade with people talking all around. Each acoustic space was absolutely recognizable and it seemed we were again walking there. The simple microphone of the small camera could draw an almost perfect picture of the environment, in fact you could understand how a blind man will "see" his surroundings. Actually I think it rather well demonstrates that it's easier to make a convincing recording of natural spaces that you're familiar with. Whether you get the same realism with another recording of unfamiliar spaces is not as easy; especially if its a performance space and sound, such as music, that is not as "familiar" such as traffic, conversation, surf is being recorded. |
#7
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almost "transparent" recording
I think that most anyone who has been drawn into the quest for "the
Holy Grail" of audio has had such an experience. Many dedicated listeners have painstakingly set-up their systems and rooms to try to achieve just that. As you point out, it does not compensate for poor recordings but it does make all more realistic even if not as much so as the best stereo recordings. Tannoy recommends such a positioning for their Dual-Concentric speakers, although I believe that most folks arrive at a bit different location than you have in terms of space utilization in the room, for more practical and domestic reasons. The use of that technique, allows the listener to be relatively free from the constraints of the "sweet spot" as it takes maximum advantage of the inherent design properties of the speakers radiating patterns. Of course it is also a big hit as it creates a more "user friendly" environment for those who would just as soon work about the space as to be nailed to their chairs. More traditional designs don't benefit as much from such a narrow angle as their radiating patterns are not as broad or as uniform. That does not make them automatically inferior, just different in their ideal positions. I have been living with a similar set-up for a couple of years now. Ah, - it's about time for a change! -Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "Ban" wrote in message ... Having calibrated my speakers anew with more precision, I received a friend's visit over the weekend. He had helped me already for several years to tweak my pupazzo loudspeakers to more and more realistic reproduction. This time we took an incredible step forward. We fixed a lot of damping material on all reflecting surfaces near the speaker and moved them closer with the centers only 1.8m apart. The listening distance to the front is only 80cm and the angle is over 45° to the left and right of the center line. The speakers are almost in the center of the room with around 1.75m distance to the closest wall. Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. It is very similar to using the Jecklin Float Headphones. The most convincing demonstration occurred when my friend copied the stereo sound of his video camera to a CD. He had filmed around an hour of video material during a walk through the city. We had been at spaces like the seaside with the waves hitting the pebbles, the pedestrian tunnel under the railway line, some Karaoke bar, on the promenade with people talking all around. Each acoustic space was absolutely recognizable and it seemed we were again walking there. The simple microphone of the small camera could draw an almost perfect picture of the environment, in fact you could understand how a blind man will "see" his surroundings. The shortcomings were mostly due to the microphone colouring the sound. Most disturbing was the "phasing"due to too much distance of the capsules and a bit "tinny" or bucket like resonances. Later we used a better mike and the phasing disappeared, but the bass was a bit too strong on that one. When a certain level of reality is reached the conscioussness jumpes "into" the soundfield, as it does with any ambience. Anybody has experienced this phenomenon? -- ciao Ban Bordighera, Italy |
#8
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almost "transparent" recording
Robert Trosper wrote in message news:RuMGc.36710$%_6.1939@attbi_s01...
It's interesting but, I'm afraid, not unique and doesn't add anything much to the sum of current knowledge. Gosh, imagine how absolutely *empty* usenet would be if all posts had to meet that requirement! Ban wrote: Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. As a recording engineer I will occasionally make use of this phenomena: Normally the nearfield monitors are set up approx. 1m apart and 1m from the listening position, but periodically I will lean way forward over the mixing console so that my ears are within 300cm of the speaker plane (still equidistant between the two). Listening this way tends to cause realistically recorded (or constructed) soundstage imaging to "open up", or "bloom" in an enveloping fashion, & conversely it causes poorly recorded (or constructed) soundstage imaging to collapse into a two-dimensional mess. Nice way to check the integrity of a mix's ambience. |
#9
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almost "transparent" recording
Nousaine wrote:
Ban wrote: ...snip to content...... The most convincing demonstration occurred when my friend copied the stereo sound of his video camera to a CD. He had filmed around an hour of video material during a walk through the city. We had been at spaces like the seaside with the waves hitting the pebbles, the pedestrian tunnel under the railway line, some Karaoke bar, on the promenade with people talking all around. Each acoustic space was absolutely recognizable and it seemed we were again walking there. The simple microphone of the small camera could draw an almost perfect picture of the environment, in fact you could understand how a blind man will "see" his surroundings. Actually I think it rather well demonstrates that it's easier to make a convincing recording of natural spaces that you're familiar with. Whether you get the same realism with another recording of unfamiliar spaces is not as easy; especially if its a performance space and sound, such as music, that is not as "familiar" such as traffic, conversation, surf is being recorded. These ambience sounds have always had a fascination for me since I heard "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" on the backside of Pink Floyds "Atom Heart Mother". And yes, it is easier to "jump into" familiar spaces, but the mind also does the same with any recording, as long as a certain quality of the recording/reproduction chain has been reached. And it happens instantly, no effort is needed like when fixating a "Magic Eyes" graphic. But still a similar process happens, in the link it was called "3d-Audio". I have observed this phenomenon for 4years now and managed to extend the "sweet spot" to a big solid area where head movements do not break up this sensation. The omnidirectional design of my prototype speakers has its roots in this observation. I also attribute this spacial effect to the satisfying sound of many car-stereos, at least I explain it this way(treble projected thru the windshield, no corners of the baffle, absorbing material on many surfaces) -- ciao Ban Bordighera, Italy http://www.pupazzo.page.ms/ |
#10
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almost "transparent" recording
Zagar wrote:
Hello, Ban, Ban wrote: While I've found this to be true for early pop/rock recordings, I do not find this to be true in general for the majority of CDs that I own. With the arrangement you've described, you might try some selective room treatments on the left and right walls, midway between the line through the loudspeakers and the corresponding parallel line through the listener's location. The treatment could be as simple as an angled 1m x 1m smooth reflective panel at ear level to direct early loudspeaker reflections away from the listener's position. You might find that you suddenly have fill between each of those "three spots". My own notes on room treatments might be useful, but YMMV: http://homepage.mac.com/tzagar/results.html Best regards, Terry Terry, I like your pages, interesting measurements. What I miss is depicting the room modes with the Eigenfrequencies of the room. You seem to have focused on early reflections and initial time-delay gap. Your advise with room treatment is valid and there is a little variation. My room is about the same size as yours, but more square and the ceiling is at 3m, almost 10'. But my speakers are very close, 2.5' from my ears. I also have moved the speakers more and more into the center of the room. I could observe less exitement of standing waves. The first reflection from the floor is far more ahead than 10ms, I guess that is the case in any normal environment and unavoidable. Since my bass-speakers radiates only 5cm above the floor, I thought of adding a delayed inverse signal, which could compensate up to 500Hz, the linear bandwidth of the 12" woofer. The imaging is superb with the microphone recordings and with a few CDs. Most classic CDs are good, maybe I own too many 70s and 80s records, these are observably with the 3 zones. The center zone has an extension of maybe +/-15°, the same from the sides to the middle, whereas to the outside the imaging quality extends very far. New electronic music which I have a lot (trance, ambient, chill-out) has some voices travelling on phantastic curves even layered in height, but the rest is again the "conventional arrangement". I tried moving big matrasses, but could not get improvements. But still the speakers itself disappear completely, with a blindfold you will not guess where they are situated, in fact when opening the eyes, you cannot believe they are so close. -- ciao Ban Bordighera, Italy |
#11
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almost "transparent" recording
"Buster Mudd" wrote in message
news:b%eHc.12826$WX.1244@attbi_s51... Robert Trosper wrote in message news:RuMGc.36710$%_6.1939@attbi_s01... It's interesting but, I'm afraid, not unique and doesn't add anything much to the sum of current knowledge. Gosh, imagine how absolutely *empty* usenet would be if all posts had to meet that requirement! Ban wrote: Now we encountered a phenomenon: When the listening distance was below 1m, there was a jump of the listening experience from a distance where you heard the music "in front" to the point where you were "inside" the music. It is as if you enter a solid soundfield. Movements of the head(in all three dimensions) hardly disturb this sensation. As a recording engineer I will occasionally make use of this phenomena: Normally the nearfield monitors are set up approx. 1m apart and 1m from the listening position, but periodically I will lean way forward over the mixing console so that my ears are within 300cm of the speaker plane (still equidistant between the two). Listening this way tends to cause realistically recorded (or constructed) soundstage imaging to "open up", or "bloom" in an enveloping fashion, & conversely it causes poorly recorded (or constructed) soundstage imaging to collapse into a two-dimensional mess. Nice way to check the integrity of a mix's ambience. Would that be "within 30cm" ? |
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