The Plangent Processes....
In simple terms, it takes/measures the bias freq from the analog tape and corrects the wow/flutter IM. By talking to Jamie, this can be used for mag film and even LP's by tracking servo noise. Is this just a fancy DSP that makes it sound different, but not necessarily better, or does the system actually work? I will soon know and give a full review in the next few months. For now... snake oil... or miracle?
From the website:
It is a little-known fact that much of the coloration, much of the "sound" of a particular analog tape recorder results from its mechanical design, often more so than its electronic performance. What’s more, no two tape machines, even of the same make and model, are exactly alike either. Each machine will typically have one or two particularly strong mechanical components that will impart a signature sound, but the problem is that they are intermingling in a semi-random way; the rotation rate of a spindle might be 60 cycles, while the rotation rate of another component in the transport might be 47.1 cycles. None of these are harmonically related to each other, so there is a constant cascading of a variety of different culprits that vary every time you press play.
Similarly, the familiar honky and constricted sound of 50's movies is sourced not within the electronics, but in the fast 96 Hz sprocket cogging, a flutter component which is indistinguishable from classic intermodulation distortion (IM).
To eliminate these mechanical defects would be to regain the neutrality and transparency that existed at the time of the original performance and to minimize the unwanted colorations that distract us from our enjoyment of music. For years, the designers of such fine machines as the 3M series of analog recorders were aware of the theoretical possibility for improved sound based on removing scrape flutter and the "sidebands" caused by high-speed modulation of the recorded material, but the technology of the time made it unachievable.
Now we live in a different era. The best efforts by the original machines' hardworking engineers to minimize these issues via servos and sheer mechanical precision pale by comparison to the resolving power of present-day digital signal processing (DSP). For all the controversy surrounding digital recording, it is a given that digital yields a rock-solid timebase compared to even the best mechanical analog systems, with error measured in parts per million. Even the most stable analog recorders are several orders of magnitude worse than digital, at best.
Plangent Processes is a revolutionary system which uses the power of DSP to forensically identify and remove the ever-present wows and flutters which diminish the fidelity of tape and mag film. The complete system includes a sophisticated set of tape heads and electronics mounted on a highly modified super-stable ATR, followed by analog-to-digital conversion and post-processing through our proprietary pitch-correction algorithm, developed with researchers at Cambridge University in England.
The original intent was to develop a system that could unravel gross defects within stretched or poorly stored tapes, and to repair recordings where the original performance of the machine was obviously flawed. But the actual finished product surprised us; not only did it perfectly restore the pitch stability of obviously wowed tapes, it consistently improved the overall sonic quality of even beautifully recorded material.
As we continued our experimentation, to our amazement, we found that even impeccable recordings made on fine vintage equipment exhibit surprisingly high levels of FM modulation distortion due to the presence of flutter at frequencies ranging from several Hz out to beyond 4 kHz. These are the artifacts – as opposed to the pleasant harmonic distortions which give analog tape its “warmth” – that undermine the audio in subtle ways, masking detail, while adding harshness, cloudiness and “grain.” The Plangent Process cleans up the subtle time-domain smearing within these otherwise excellent recordings (while leaving the harmonic distortions intact), revealing detail, smoothness, depth, and stability previously unheard. In many cases it is even possible to hear an improvement in rhythmic feel and “groove” since the micro-timing accuracy of the processed audio far exceeds the original playback. A radical claim, perhaps, but the results speak for themselves.
Another unfortunate fact is that the classic wow and flutter specification standardized long ago by NAB and AES employed a "weighted" characteristic, which yielded results that numerically looked good but masked the true extent of the flaws present and audible. Many noted designers made efforts to revise the spec, and to work to a higher degree of precision. Indeed, the design brief of one of the best-sounding machines ever made (3M) focused particularly on the problems of HF flutter and scrape flutter, and that was in large part why these classic machines sounded as good as they did. But many of the other machines of the era also seemed to measure well; meeting the specifications in use during the heyday of analog recording was assumed to guarantee results below the threshold of audibility, which we now know was clearly not the case. Our process reveals in dramatic fashion how this overlooked phenonemon diminished the recordings of the past, and it allows us to now hear the recorded material without those flaws.
This has led toward a new understanding of the true nature of "generation loss." Our research indicates that it is not so much a result of the magnetic losses and electronic flaws as has long been commonly believed, but rather is caused by speed instabilities, previously unnoticed, garbling the sonics of recordings that measured "flat" but never sounded right. More likely, the “generational loss” we were hearing was actually FM distortion caused by accumulated flutter.
Happily, all these issues can be addressed today. With the extreme wideband sampling techniques and the subsequent digital forensics we employ, the Plangent system can clock the original recording deductively, even 50 years on, and can then reclock the audio with a fraction of the error found in the original recording, often beyond the resolution of 1 part per sample. In so doing, we undo the errors of the past, restoring much of the fresh and clear sound the mixer and producer originally heard "live" in the control room before the interference of the tape machine was introduced.
Plangent Processes' intent is strict; we take great pains not to modify the original recording in any way, other than to correct mechanically-induced timing and pitch flaws. Our goal is to restore the clarity and neutrality of the signal so that it comes closer to the original console output. To that end, our software algorithm has been carefully designed to be extremely transparent. Based upon a novel proprietary wavelet-based irregularly-shaped sampling theorem developed by Dr. Patrick Wolfe at Cambridge University, England, it utilizes a proprietary resampling algorithm never before used in an audio context. As a result, there is none of the typical harshness of conventional sample-rate-converters and pitch shifters, even though the resampling rate is changing broadly and constantly. What goes in is what comes out, with only its timing subtly altered, nothing more.
Unlike other familiar restoration tools which are additive (such as equalization or companding), or which attempt to subtract noise (but also inevitably subtract ambience and potentially add other artifacts), Plangent Processes does nothing but re-conform the existing waveform to a much more highly accurate timebase, shifting it back to the shape it took on before the tape mechanism distorted its timing. There is absolutely no level-shifting, no frequency response shaping, and no compression. The sonic results include less interstitial haze, increased ambience, less abrasive timbre to the background hiss (with an apparent reduction in the noise floor), sharper transients, and smoother siblilants. The stability in the time domain also results in pinpoint imaging, reduction in "wandering" center, and increased definition of the rhythmic underpinnings (the “groove”) of the music.
As a bonus, our processed result also presents much less of a moving target for single-ended NoNoise™ type systems to work with, since the analytical ability of these systems is affected by the phase accuracy and stability of the incoming audio. And given the improved subjective quality of the tape hiss (which is often made less obtrusive and smoother by the Plangent Process), it is probable that a lighter touch can be employed with all subsequent processing tools.
AES White Paper - Correction of Wow and Flutter Effects in Analog Tape Transfers
In simple terms, it takes/measures the bias freq from the analog tape and corrects the wow/flutter IM. By talking to Jamie, this can be used for mag film and even LP's by tracking servo noise. Is this just a fancy DSP that makes it sound different, but not necessarily better, or does the system actually work? I will soon know and give a full review in the next few months. For now... snake oil... or miracle?
From the website:
It is a little-known fact that much of the coloration, much of the "sound" of a particular analog tape recorder results from its mechanical design, often more so than its electronic performance. What’s more, no two tape machines, even of the same make and model, are exactly alike either. Each machine will typically have one or two particularly strong mechanical components that will impart a signature sound, but the problem is that they are intermingling in a semi-random way; the rotation rate of a spindle might be 60 cycles, while the rotation rate of another component in the transport might be 47.1 cycles. None of these are harmonically related to each other, so there is a constant cascading of a variety of different culprits that vary every time you press play.
Similarly, the familiar honky and constricted sound of 50's movies is sourced not within the electronics, but in the fast 96 Hz sprocket cogging, a flutter component which is indistinguishable from classic intermodulation distortion (IM).
To eliminate these mechanical defects would be to regain the neutrality and transparency that existed at the time of the original performance and to minimize the unwanted colorations that distract us from our enjoyment of music. For years, the designers of such fine machines as the 3M series of analog recorders were aware of the theoretical possibility for improved sound based on removing scrape flutter and the "sidebands" caused by high-speed modulation of the recorded material, but the technology of the time made it unachievable.
Now we live in a different era. The best efforts by the original machines' hardworking engineers to minimize these issues via servos and sheer mechanical precision pale by comparison to the resolving power of present-day digital signal processing (DSP). For all the controversy surrounding digital recording, it is a given that digital yields a rock-solid timebase compared to even the best mechanical analog systems, with error measured in parts per million. Even the most stable analog recorders are several orders of magnitude worse than digital, at best.
Plangent Processes is a revolutionary system which uses the power of DSP to forensically identify and remove the ever-present wows and flutters which diminish the fidelity of tape and mag film. The complete system includes a sophisticated set of tape heads and electronics mounted on a highly modified super-stable ATR, followed by analog-to-digital conversion and post-processing through our proprietary pitch-correction algorithm, developed with researchers at Cambridge University in England.
The original intent was to develop a system that could unravel gross defects within stretched or poorly stored tapes, and to repair recordings where the original performance of the machine was obviously flawed. But the actual finished product surprised us; not only did it perfectly restore the pitch stability of obviously wowed tapes, it consistently improved the overall sonic quality of even beautifully recorded material.
As we continued our experimentation, to our amazement, we found that even impeccable recordings made on fine vintage equipment exhibit surprisingly high levels of FM modulation distortion due to the presence of flutter at frequencies ranging from several Hz out to beyond 4 kHz. These are the artifacts – as opposed to the pleasant harmonic distortions which give analog tape its “warmth” – that undermine the audio in subtle ways, masking detail, while adding harshness, cloudiness and “grain.” The Plangent Process cleans up the subtle time-domain smearing within these otherwise excellent recordings (while leaving the harmonic distortions intact), revealing detail, smoothness, depth, and stability previously unheard. In many cases it is even possible to hear an improvement in rhythmic feel and “groove” since the micro-timing accuracy of the processed audio far exceeds the original playback. A radical claim, perhaps, but the results speak for themselves.
Another unfortunate fact is that the classic wow and flutter specification standardized long ago by NAB and AES employed a "weighted" characteristic, which yielded results that numerically looked good but masked the true extent of the flaws present and audible. Many noted designers made efforts to revise the spec, and to work to a higher degree of precision. Indeed, the design brief of one of the best-sounding machines ever made (3M) focused particularly on the problems of HF flutter and scrape flutter, and that was in large part why these classic machines sounded as good as they did. But many of the other machines of the era also seemed to measure well; meeting the specifications in use during the heyday of analog recording was assumed to guarantee results below the threshold of audibility, which we now know was clearly not the case. Our process reveals in dramatic fashion how this overlooked phenonemon diminished the recordings of the past, and it allows us to now hear the recorded material without those flaws.
This has led toward a new understanding of the true nature of "generation loss." Our research indicates that it is not so much a result of the magnetic losses and electronic flaws as has long been commonly believed, but rather is caused by speed instabilities, previously unnoticed, garbling the sonics of recordings that measured "flat" but never sounded right. More likely, the “generational loss” we were hearing was actually FM distortion caused by accumulated flutter.
Happily, all these issues can be addressed today. With the extreme wideband sampling techniques and the subsequent digital forensics we employ, the Plangent system can clock the original recording deductively, even 50 years on, and can then reclock the audio with a fraction of the error found in the original recording, often beyond the resolution of 1 part per sample. In so doing, we undo the errors of the past, restoring much of the fresh and clear sound the mixer and producer originally heard "live" in the control room before the interference of the tape machine was introduced.
Plangent Processes' intent is strict; we take great pains not to modify the original recording in any way, other than to correct mechanically-induced timing and pitch flaws. Our goal is to restore the clarity and neutrality of the signal so that it comes closer to the original console output. To that end, our software algorithm has been carefully designed to be extremely transparent. Based upon a novel proprietary wavelet-based irregularly-shaped sampling theorem developed by Dr. Patrick Wolfe at Cambridge University, England, it utilizes a proprietary resampling algorithm never before used in an audio context. As a result, there is none of the typical harshness of conventional sample-rate-converters and pitch shifters, even though the resampling rate is changing broadly and constantly. What goes in is what comes out, with only its timing subtly altered, nothing more.
Unlike other familiar restoration tools which are additive (such as equalization or companding), or which attempt to subtract noise (but also inevitably subtract ambience and potentially add other artifacts), Plangent Processes does nothing but re-conform the existing waveform to a much more highly accurate timebase, shifting it back to the shape it took on before the tape mechanism distorted its timing. There is absolutely no level-shifting, no frequency response shaping, and no compression. The sonic results include less interstitial haze, increased ambience, less abrasive timbre to the background hiss (with an apparent reduction in the noise floor), sharper transients, and smoother siblilants. The stability in the time domain also results in pinpoint imaging, reduction in "wandering" center, and increased definition of the rhythmic underpinnings (the “groove”) of the music.
As a bonus, our processed result also presents much less of a moving target for single-ended NoNoise™ type systems to work with, since the analytical ability of these systems is affected by the phase accuracy and stability of the incoming audio. And given the improved subjective quality of the tape hiss (which is often made less obtrusive and smoother by the Plangent Process), it is probable that a lighter touch can be employed with all subsequent processing tools.
AES White Paper - Correction of Wow and Flutter Effects in Analog Tape Transfers
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