Forum Replies Created
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In reply to: What distinguishes a “Mastering” loudspeaker from a “Mixing” one
April 11, 2023 at 8:05 pm #5763Thanks for the correct terminology Bob. I’ll use “horizontal polar pattern with respect to frequency” to be more precise. I’ve heard many speaker designers refer to the “dispersion characteristics” in conversations with laypersons. I guess that’s easier to grasp…LOL. Yes, my 8361A are vertical. Tweeters are ear level, when I’m seated, and they are 63.5 inches apart, center to center, and 56-57 inches to my ears, slightly toed in so they cross about a foot behind my head at about 63.5 inches from the tweeters. And I experience the same thing as you described with your Dynaudio: One person can stand behind me and still get a decent stereo image, but as soon as you go an inch or two off centre it’s not so good. :-))
In reply to: Fun With Stereo Pairs!
April 10, 2023 at 9:33 pm #5761Here’s a link to an interesting article about Tony Faulkner’s mic setup.
In reply to: Seeking Advice and Opinions on Mastering EQs
April 10, 2023 at 8:57 pm #5760Hi Bob,
I get quite a variety of projects to master. Some are home hobbyist recordings, some are pro studio stuff. Genres are quite varied as well: metal, rock, jazz, acoustic, classical. And of course, my own recordings which are all minimal mic, acoustic ensembles, in natural spaces. All your suggestions are great, and maybe someday I’ll be able to afford them all…LOL. I’m leaning more towards a neutral, more transparent sounding EQ rather than something with a lot of mojo. I was also considering the Millennia NSEQ-2 for it’s twin topology, even though it’s not specifically for mastering. Any experience with Millennia?
I will post our thread in the forum too, thanks.
GregoryIn reply to: Seeking Advice and Opinions on Mastering EQs
April 10, 2023 at 8:57 pm #5759Hi, Greg.
Thanks for your kind words. Please tell me more about your application: what kind of music? Are you looking for total transparency, or a bit of warmth or cold box tone?I don’t have a “value for the money” EQ for you….
1- If you want transparency, Elysia makes a very very transparent, equalizer, the Museq, and that’s what I’d recommend if you want transparency.
2) If you want real musicality, and subtle warmth — if the Maselec MEA-2 is still available I’d get it hands down. You may have to supplement it with some in the box digital because the MEA-2 is only 4 bands so it doesn’t have a high pass or low pass. But its bell shape is unique and EXTREMELY musical. No other bell sounds as musical to my ears as that of the MEA-2. And the HF shelf is to die for, at 28 kHz. Subtle and perfect, no peakiness to that one.
3) If you like the tiniest bit of edge without sounding harsh, just a bit more forward and extreme versatility, then I highly recommend the Bettermaker Mastering EQ.
I have the Maselec, I have the Bettermaker and I have the Elysia’s little brother. I wouldn’t part with any of the three and I use each of them for their individual strengths.
Feel free to post this and my reply in the recording forum somewhere. You’ll get some more replies!
BobIn reply to: The power supply is the most important part of an amplifier’s sound
April 10, 2023 at 4:22 pm #5754I purchased the headphone preamp. Listened to a variety of genres for a week on Sennheiser 800s cans. Compared the sound to my Bryston BHA-1, the headphone output on my Lynx Hilo and my Lynx Aurora. Not really a fair comparison, but it stood up well. Then, I did Bob’s suggested mod. Made quite a significant improvement! I’m going to use it as a portable preamp to take with me when I travel so I can get better sound from my laptop. What a bargain!
In reply to: Fun With Stereo Pairs!
April 10, 2023 at 3:13 pm #5749I’ve used Blumlein fig 8s with small ensembles successfully, and have only needed to use a pair of omni outriggers to capture some additional ambience a few times. I’ve also used Tony Faulkner’s setup which uses a pair of Fig 8’s spaced 20cm apart parallel to each other. I hung out at a couple of his recording sessions in London, England, and observed him using that setup for a large choir and a chamber orchestra. The recordings turned out very nicely. I’ve tried (unsuccessfully) using EBS and a slightly modified ORTF setup, but ended up using a Jecklin disc with two omnis in one case, and the Faulker setup in the others, both of which yielded more satisfying results. Has anyone else used Faulkner’s setup? If so, were you happy with it? And, under what conditions did you use it?
In reply to: What distinguishes a “Mastering” loudspeaker from a “Mixing” one
March 30, 2023 at 6:51 pm #5628Interesting topic. In addition to the characteristics already stated, what about dispersion? I describe my mastering monitors (Genelec 8361A) as ‘selfish’ because there is just one sweet spot! And the sound stage depth and width imaging is very precise from that sweet spot. Most of the mix monitors I have heard have a bit more dispersion, and home audio speakers generally have a lot of dispersion to accomodate multiple listeners sitting dispersed around the room. I have used a binocular analogy to describe it to non-technical friends: I can ‘see’ the hairs on a fly with my perfectly focused binocs, and you can still see it’s a fly, but lacking precise details, with your slightly ‘out of focus’ binocs. Sure, I have a few crazy audiophile friends (the kind that spend $5 k on interconnects…) who have point source speakers focused on a single listening position, but that’s not the norm in home audio.
In reply to: The power supply is the most important part of an amplifier’s sound
March 13, 2023 at 7:29 pm #5492Is there a particular capacitor brand you would suggest, or are they all the same quality?
In reply to: Bob’s Review of the Liquid Spark bargain headphone amp
March 13, 2023 at 7:24 pm #5491Oops…never mind, I found it under your ‘power supply’ comments.
In reply to: Bob’s Review of the Liquid Spark bargain headphone amp
March 13, 2023 at 7:21 pm #5490Bob, can you please post the mod you did to the LS?
Thanks!In reply to: The power supply is the most important part of an amplifier’s sound
March 12, 2023 at 3:28 pm #5415I know very little about electronic design, but I remember Chris Russel of Bryston stressing that same point about the power supply way back in the early 90’s. I think they were one of the first companies to use outboard power supplies for their pre-amps too.
Now I’m curious enough about Bob’s enthusiasm for this little headphone amp to buy one myself! I’ll have to find someone locally to do the mod for me though…LOLIn reply to: The Quest to Restore Notre Dame’s Sound
March 12, 2023 at 3:20 pm #5412The link doesn’t work. Is the article available elsewhere? I’d like to read it.
I’ve been in Notre Dame twice, once for a choral concert and once for a visit, before the fire of course.
In reply to: CLAP: An new plugin format
March 12, 2023 at 3:15 pm #5410What makes this different from the other formats other than it being open source? How does that benefit the end user? And, do we really need another format?
In reply to: Mastering Without A Limiter?
March 7, 2023 at 1:14 pm #5114Bob, thanks for the translation! I think I get it, sorta kinda maybe…LOL. And a big thank you to the math geniuses Alexey and RBJ who took the time to illuminate us mere mortals and expose the magic behind the tools we take for granted.
In reply to: Does anyone have insight into the current manufacturing stall at DPA mics?
March 3, 2023 at 2:53 pm #5080I asked my contact at a Canadian retailer (the largest pro audio retailer in Canada) and he said they could get the DPA 4006a in about two weeks. I was surprised, given what I heard from my Danish friend, but who knows, maybe the Canadian agent has some in stock. Here is the contact info if you want to make a further inquiry with them. He quoted $2,845 Canadian each.
Marc-Andre Demyk is my contact there. You can talk to Francois for now, Marc-Andre is away until March 7th.Studio Economik
http://www.economik.com
[email protected]215 St-Augustin
Montréal, QC
Canada, H4C2N7
T: 514.937.2000