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 …
– 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 …
– 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.
– 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 …
– 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 …
– 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 »