CD Quality Is Not High-Res Audio
- Thread starter NorthStar
- Start date
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Yeah and I've seen some other quite nasty responses where much of it is sheer jealousy that these poorly paid slobs that work in the studio can't afford the gear we buy.
Where did the jealous Pro Audio peasants trash the audiophile elite? In this thread?
Tim
I think that the main problem is expecting a reviewer to judge equipment. IMHO a review should be mainly descriptive, avoiding judgement, and trying to establish correlations with what is heard. It is why he should be able to have good writing skills and an analytical capability of listening, expressing properly what he heard. Audio reviewing is highly subjective and has a strong personal bias - and should be accepted as so.
It is known that some rooms will have a synergistic match with some equipment and will not help other equipment. Some french and german magazines always have listening opinions of two reviewers in different rooms and systems - and most of the time they have different preferences and rank the equipment differently, explaining why.
I would not risk opinions on sound quality of rooms based on photos or measurements - the best sound I have listened was in untreated rooms, and most of the treated rooms I have been in sounded poor.
Just that your question raises two questions - what should we expect from a review and what is a good room for a reviewer.
I subscribe to both the Ampex and Studer mailing lists, which are private email distribution lists for mostly pro audio guys. I mostly lurk to learn stuff about RTR decks.
they are filled with 'anti' audiophile comments of varying degrees but little if any evidence of any actual listening to the gear that they trash. there are exceptions, of course. i've listened to enough pro gear to understand that pro audio guys have no better grip on great sound than any cross section of people might have.
i've been reading the lists for 6 years so far.
Basically, it seems the two most important things that the PRO guys listen to are dynamics and noise floor. Nothing else seems to matter eg. timbre, staging, finesse, etc. Of course as MikeL said, there are exceptions to the rule.
equipment [Especially Speakers] heard with the "best sound" in untreated rooms
Thank you for the information.
Respectfully,
zz.
microstrip, would you please mention some of the equipment [Especially Speakers] heard with the "best sound" in untreated rooms?
Thank you for the information.
Respectfully,
zz.
Actually, the question is, do some just "think" they have a "grip" simply because they're "pro's".
Some of the worse sounding gear I've ever heard was "Pro". Phasey & sonically rough as hell. Might as well listen to a early 70's high-feedback transistor systems ... much the same thing to my ears.
It's no wonder so many masters/transfers sound like dung.
tb1
I actually have no doubt that pro audio guys dis audiophiles from time to time, I just hadn't seen it here, and wondered what the inspiration for the comment was.
On the other hand, I have very serious doubts that the only thing that studio pros worry about are dynamics and noise floor. I'm sure, in fact, that they're quite concerned with timbre, staging and finesse, though they call none of it by those names.
Tim
Well, they might think they have a grip because they listen critically, and professionally, many hours a day, and are well-trained and experienced at hearing nuances that most of us would miss - blind or otherwise.
With that said, I've heard really bad "pro" audio systems (they usually err in the opposite direction of bad audiophile systems). And I've heard some control room monitoring systems that exceeded the capabilities of every passive audiophile system I've ever heard, if the objective of audio reproduction is to reproduce the recorded audio signal. If the objective is something else, well, we can imagine anything we like to be what's best.
Tim
I no longer buy into the "well trained ear" scenario ... just the opposite ... I think ANYONE can hear the differences, if it's presented properly. I've proved that very fact within my own system on numerous occasions. People, audiophile or not, nearly always leave the room with a completely different view of "stereo" reproduction. I really appreciate those "I didn't know that recording sounded like that" or "that's what a real cymbal strike sounds like" ... just to name a few. To me, hi-end sonic requirements should sound obvious.
Tim, most of the "pro" gear I've heard includes unrefined-high-frequency content that's beyond my enjoyment capability. That said, I own a Sony pro digital recorder which makes truly excellent dubs, but as a playback machine it's got that typical unrefined "pro" sound. If the high freq are wrong, listening for "nuances" becomes nothing more than a frustrating -moot- activity.
As far as the nuances is concerned, I think we're talking about two different things. I would agree that even non-audiophile civilians can hear the difference between good and just average reproduction. What pros hear that most of us find hard to pick up are anomolies, small distortions, etc.
On the other point, I think you need to hear better pro equipment. Most of the pro gear I've heard that has the harsh high frequency your talking about is simply not very good stuff. it is exaggerated treble trying to pass for detail. The audiophile side of the business is not immune from this either, though more often than not it is the opposite -- exaggerated lower mids and/or rolled-off trebles trying to pass for warmth and musicality.
Tim
The kinds of control you're talking about can impede stereo effect when applied across the entire mix. Used properly on individual tracks, they should help differentiate instruments in space. I'm mostly talking about recording and mixing engineering, not mastering. Mastering, unfortunately, seems to have become the part of the process where the non-audio professionals in the business impose their greatest influence and that influence has not, for the most part, had a positive effect.
Tim
Last edited:
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
I think what was given away at TAVES was a sampler like this:
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |