Technical Archives- Intro, Do's and Don'ts

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Technical Archives- Intro, Do's and Don'ts

Postby JackD201 » Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:55 pm

Hi Everybody, as VD said this is the only forum that got fragged by the attack. So here is the do over. :D

Technical Archives- What it is meant to be

The Tech Archives is meant to be a resource for our members to research the more technical aspects of our hobby/passion/addiction. In this forum, we hope over time, to collect the choice threads from all the other fora that have brought enlightenment to our members. In this forum we will also be posting choice links to external resources and white papers that have been contributed by our fellow members.

It is our belief that although music is art, a good understanding of the basic science behind sound reproduction will allow each and everyone of us to get the most from the equipment we have and thus allow us to enjoy music to the fullest. I for one despite formal education and training have learned many, many things here at WS from countless others in the community through many animated discussions. Many of these great discussions, debates, and yes even classic flame wars have been buried over time and it is for the purpose of bringing these back into the light for the benefit of our new members that we have begun to undergo this endeavor.

In time we hope to build up a body of knowledge that will cover everything from room acoustics, analog and digital source components, amplification, cables, basic physics, psycho-acoustics, power conditioning and DIY tips.

Do's

ALL members are encouraged to post links to informative webpages and paste excerpts from informative articles provided that

a: the articles and links are relevant to sound reproduction technology's past, present and future
b: The posts must clearly give proper credit to the author/copyright holder by italicizing the pasted sections and naming the author and publication whenever possible

All moderators are also requested to move mirrors of threads in their forums that they deem of adequate educational value onto the tech archive forum

I will be selecting individual postings and copying them onto this forum they will have this format under the title

Topic c/o Original Poster

Everybody is encouraged to post follow ups, additions to the same topic

Don'ts

Since this is a resource, debating is discouraged here. Debates are however encouraged in the mother forum for whatever topic has been archived here. Dissenting theories and opinions however are most welcome, especially when accompanied by supporting documentation

Please refrain from posting "Wow", "Cool", etc remarks in the interest of saving bandwidth. If you would like to thank or congratulate a poster a PM would be just as appreciated. ;)
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Re: Technical Archives- Intro, Do's and Don'ts

Postby SoLiDtUbEs » Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:09 pm

Hey Jack,

The Tech Archives is meant to be a resource for our members to research the more technical aspects of our hobby/passion/addiction. In this forum, we hope over time, to collect the choice threads from all the other fora that have brought enlightenment to our members. In this forum we will also be posting choice links to external resources and white papers that have been cont,ributed by our fellow members.

It is our belief that although music is art, a good understanding of the basic science behind sound reproduction will allow each and everyone of us to get the most from the equipment we have and thus allow us to enjoy music to the fullest. I for one despite formal education and training have learned many, many things here at WS from countless others in the community through many animated discussions. Many of these great discussions, debates, and yes even classic flame wars have been buried over time and it is for the purpose of bringing these back into the light for the benefit of our new members that we have begun to undergo this endeavor.

In time we hope to build up a body of knowledge that will cover everything from room acoustics, analog and digital source components, amplification, cables, basic physics, psycho-acoustics, power conditioning and DIY tips.


Duh where was the post we made on "To hear or not to Hear?"
There were certainly technical aspects posed on the subject of our hobby was it deleted for being off topic or sent to the recycle bin? We didn't see fit to credit anyone on the brief since it was all a personal contribution on our part in our quest for further audio enlightenment.

Anyway here is the text of the post we made without the illustrations perhaps you may care to share your comments.

Audio .. is it all about beauty in the ears of the listener?

Many audiophiles are asking "In the end .. what really matters?" When we scrutinize an audio equipment before purchase or audition, the order of the day begins with a careful evaluation of the gears technical specifications and measurements. There really is nothing wrong with this practice (actually it is a sound habit) however we can compare this to looking at a racehorse's past performance in determining how it would run in a race. This becomes the basis as to where we place our money on who is to win. We often and most of the time base our choices on a subconcious level. Just like in buying toothpaste, it won't be hard for us to grab a tube of Colgate on the rack than any other brand.

Ultimately (and I feel some may not agree but that's alright) what matters most in audio equipment is not how it measures, not how much it cost, and certainly not how well it was rated by a third party, but simply by how it sounds,and what we hear when listening through it. Now this is not meant to argue on the importance of measuring performances, however.

A well trained ear can surely detect differences that test instruments miss - not because the instruments are faulty ,but because they can only measure differences we have designed them to detect. Or just like the most sophisticated laptop computer you can find, it would still need our human inputs and prodding to put in into any use. Each individual has different levels of hearing just as each person may have different grades of sight and vision. I have a friend who loves Mahler, however he prefers to listen to the 1st Symphony (Titan) towards the end of the first movement when the the bang starts going? I asked him but why? And he simply said I couldn't hear, more so appreciate most of the the musical subtleties at the start anyway so I jump on to the action right away! This could be a hidden factor as to why some people have taken up digital sources on their music due to the convenience it offers.

Again not to say that Digital audio is inferior for it has come a long way since the dark days. What, now with the availability of lossless media transfer Digital just like Analog is here to outlive us all. Although our ears can make subtle distinctions it's measuring ruler can be subject to malfunctions too. For instance do we ask ourselves why our Pride and Joy components sounds impeccable on a nice day after a pleasant dinner? Or don't you think you would agree with me that your amp sounds FANTASTIC, when you don't have a migraine?

Actually whether you admit this or not they also sound better when you expect them to - this is a doctrine common to all human perceptions and one which is subconciously exploited by good salespersons and yes even perhaps by your favorite audio dealer.

May I dare ask if is there anybody in the house who would openly declare that a Mark Levinson amplifier is "inferior?" Maybe a lot more can be said against Mr.Levinson himself however the amplifiers which carries his name has become Immortal. Even without actually listening to this amp we usually give it our nod of approval that it should sound good. Stop for awhile and ask yourself why so? You may arrive at the following conclusion without really hearing the amp yet. Simply because it's a Mark Levinson,it's also highly rated and above all it's expensive and the specification data says so etc. etc.

It would take a fresh innocent mind to see that the King is naked - and an equally fresh and innocent mind once everybody believes the King really is naked, although in reality the King is in full Royal tweeds with Gold pipings.

Fact of the matter is when it comes to Audio subjective perceptions are difficult to communicate. This thinking may be analogous to yours, but they are probably not identical to mine. Often when auditioning speakers the harsh sounding treble on the tweeters I hate may be heard as a desirable touch of crispness by somebody in the same room. And hey I'm not about to confront and be ready to stand my ground based solely on what I heard for it could very well be what he heard and I failed to hear.

In this world we live in learning to balance that which is subjective ( actual hearing experience) to that which is objective (test measurements) is important. Objective measurements never tells you the whole story. However what they do tell is relatively reliable. They may not tell you what our ears will hear (imagine an audiophile who hasn't been cleaning his ears for two years), but they will provide a good baseline or establish a benchmark on which to check the components performance.

Back to the basic questions we go. In the "End .. What really matters?" Is it what we hear or is it .. what was measured?

-S-

Just Pm me if there is a breach of the do's and don'ts so that we may do the necessary editing.

TIA
Adoy/Ron
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Postby JackD201 » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:48 pm

"To Hear or Not to Hear" was not deleted. It was moved to the General Audio Section which is an active and not archive area.

The Archives are where the Technical Threads go AFTER the community has weighed in and contributed their inputs and opinions. The thread was not deleted it was simply put where more people will see it.

Think of me as the scourer of interesting topics. Your librarian if you will. If there will be no more posts on "To Hear or Not to Hear" in the next 6 months, then it will be moved here.

Please note that similar topics are still in the General Audio section. This one I started so I remembered it.

http://wiredstate.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... sc&start=0

Thanks for the reminder though. It's about that time of year when I should be looking over the threads from last September onwards.

;)
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Postby SoLiDtUbEs » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:41 pm

Jack,

Thanks for directing us to that similar thread you started. After reading through it though we still find ourselves "bitin" on which is which between subjective and objective views on audio equipment.

Sana we could read more on the objective (measuring camp) we thinks they got all the marbles but are just keeping the secrets from us.

-S-
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Postby JackD201 » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:12 pm

We live to Serve :)

We have some guys here that are adept at measurements but they themselves say they lack the equipment for psychoacoustic studies. As we know since everyone hears differently it is not an exact science.

For example "flat" is usually undesirable. In most cases trial and error is still the rule of thumb. Personally I don't mind. In fact I relish in the fact that perfect sound is unattainable. There's a saying that it is the imperfections that make a woman beautiful. Same goes for audio I guess. :lol:

When I have time I'll go looking for more white papers from established designers.
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