frequently asked questions
– Acoustic decay, or decay time, describes how much time is required for a sound to decay after it stops. Think of a cathedral when the music / singing stops, there is a certain amount of time for the sound to decay to the point where you no longer hear it. – Typically, this […]
What is ‘acoustic decay’ and does it matter? Read More »
– In general, most concert halls have been conceived with their acoustics ‘designed in’. This does not mean that there is a deficit, however, it can be advantageous to understand the decay times (often referred to as the RT60 time) as a function of location in the hall or club. – Depending upon the
Why should a concert hall, or for that matter, my club be analyzed for its acoustics? Read More »
– There are several facets of room acoustics measurements, but the most commonly used method is to measure the uniformity of the sound. – This approach uses a random noise signal (played out through your system) that is then measured using instrumentation-grade microphones placed in designated areas of your listening room. – The result
How would Immersifi analyze my listening room? Read More »
– Strictly speaking, you don’t need to have it analyzed, but it is a good way to determine how uniform your system sounds in your room.
I have a home theater, why do I need it analyzed? Read More »
– This is a technique whereby we record your audio system placing binaural mannequins at a given listening position (or positions) so that you may listen to the differences in your room’s acoustics. – Also, we can leave the mannequin(s) in-place, move the speakers, and compare the results obtained. This is a great way
What do you mean by ‘real time playback comparisons’? Read More »
– In general, most recordings do not require 24-bit resolution; this is especially true of rock and pop music which has very little dynamic range. – However, for recordings of very high dynamic range, such as an orchestral performance, 24-bit techniques may yield a bit more detail as the sound can be broken into
Are there other advantages to 24-bit? Read More »
– There are a few reasons. The biggest of these is the resulting file size compared to 16 bit, and what this would mean for how much music could be stored on a compact disc (if the compact disc format were 24-bit capable) or other types of media. Thus, 24-bit files require considerably more
OK, so why are not all recordings done using 24-bit if it’s so much better than 16-bit? Read More »
– Wav files are the parents of other formats such as MP3, FLAC, et al. As such, they possess the full dynamic range and bandwidth supported by the CD format. – MP3 files use a ‘lossy’ codec that throws out – forever – what you purportedly can’t hear. If you use a high bit
Why are wav files so much larger than MP3 files? Read More »
– Lossless compression is a process by which the file size is compressed, but the data are reconstructed on the fly in the media player. – Truly lossless codecs restore the compressed file to its original content, giving the listener all the fidelity that was present in the original file. – The down side
What is ‘lossless’ compression? Read More »
– This is a misnomer. Strictly speaking, any file that has been compressed using a lossy codec (MP3 etc) can never be CD-quality. – Ask yourself this: If a track on a CD is 47 MB and its compressed MP3 is 6.2 MB, how can they contain the same information? Unless the codec is
So why do people say that MP3 and other formats are CD quality? Read More »