Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

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hearing the big picture?

Posted by tomservo (M) on June 18, 2006 at 19:40:03

Hi guys (and girls if there are any here)

It is cool that that there are all the different views here but I wonder if stressing out on dithering and possible flaws in the current digital logic isn’t looking at the minutia vs the big picture.

I presume people talk about hearing things here but I wonder.
The first recording I did was on open reel tape, a professional deck had a S/N ratio of say 45-50 dB, my Teac 3340 at 15ips, about 35 dB s/n.
The obvious flaw in the Teac was that often the noise floor was audible.
Regardless, many fine recordings were made on analogue tape that had vastly less dynamic capacity than even a crappy computer sound card.

I wonder also: If one takes a DSP program like Hypersignal and looks at the peak to average ratio of music one finds some curious things.
In fact one can capture FFT’s while the music is playing and display the highest peak, average level and lowest level (during the song) all VS frequency.
I will be no surprise that a quick spin on the FM dial finds the most compressed music.
One can fine music were the VU on a tape deck is nearly motionless, a result of a low peak to average level. Here, one can see (only) a 6 to 10dB difference between the loudest signal and the average level.
Jumping to what I would call “hifi demo quality” recordings, one can find 10 to 20 dB difference. Classical music (generically) has the greatest dynamic range because there are often many quiet parts with a difference approaching 30dB or a little more.
In all cases, the frequency range where the greatest range was, was in the mid range.

I would be tempted to think that what your hearing (unless you also recorded the music) is not in the lowest 48dB of a CD’s range but rather the loudest 48 dB since that is where the recording is and playback level due to the listening room noise floor.
Also, have you guys considered what real world microphones can do RE: the digital process. They are a key part of this process, with far less dynamic range than the CD.

Lastly, I have to admit most of what they talk about is over my head but I have a friend who is seriously into this stuff for a living. He explained the reason studio consoles go so overboard on bits and sampling rate is not from “audibility” but rather it gives more freedom in setting “gain structure” while recording (a critical concern in maximizing S/N).
Sadly, it appears the move in the recording industry towards “loud” CD’s (compressed) is one driven by the artists and promoters, possibly similar to the old Hotrod adage, “if it don’t go chrome it”.
Anyway, some thoughts.

Tom Danley

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