What Do We Mean By "Resolution"?

[Carlos269]

Hello Carlos,

No, no, no..... I am not, although I have met him in the past. I am more "sinful" than he is!

Deflection rather than Reflection is often the norm here.

Hi Kostas,
Good to hear about that down under spirit. Kostas Metaxas is one of the great pioneers of high-end audio. By the way, that was my attempt at conflation.

 

[KostasP.]

This thread got me thinking about speakers and room interactions. If your speaker is a dipole of any sort, or a rear ported speaker, it seems there is no way to eliminate out time reflected waves from influencing the primary sound wave. And then there are all the other waves from the side, top and bottom.

Isn't a big part of resolution keeping reflected waves from cancelling certain frequencies were sound is lost. As well as keeping waves from coupling, where they oversaturate and bury other.

As well as timing errors that blur.

So what can you do?

Over damp and get rid of all reflections? I see all these engineeed rooms that appear as such. Isn't a big piece of resolution ridding outside influences to keep the primary signal pure?

I have used FIVE pairs of electrostatic speakers ( Tympani 1Ds, QUAD 57s, 2805s, 2912s and currently ML CLXs ). IF you adhere to the proper parameters of speaker placement in relation to the boundary effects on such speakers, with panel dipoles the direct sound-field is much less affected by the reflected field ( including ceiling and floor ) than with conventional cone speakers. My dedicated space meets adequately these conditions. Cheers.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I have used FIVE pairs of electrostatic speakers ( Tympani 1Ds, QUAD 57s, 2805s, 2912s and currently ML CLXs ). IF you adhere to the proper parameters of speaker placement in relation to the boundary effects on such speakers, with panel dipoles the direct sound-field is much less affected by the reflected field ( including ceiling and floor ) than with conventional cone speakers. My dedicated space meets adequately these conditions. Cheers.

It does.I was impressed when I came over for a listen.

 

[KostasP.]

Hi Kostas,
Good to hear about that down under spirit. Kostas Metaxas is one of the great pioneers of high-end audio. By the way, that was my attempt at conflation.

...That is why one needs to be resolute and of high resolution to see through the embedded haze and hash.

 

[KostasP.]

The end result is what matters and if the AddPower products increase your musical enjoyment then more power to you.

You know I have to laugh, when I see the holier-than-thou purist audiophiles who use tube-rolling, footers, specialized equipment racks, grounding boxes, different phono cartridges and phonostages for particular sound, power and interconnect cable selection to fine tune their system as they don’t realize that it is nothing but altering the frequency response and phase timings of the signals reaching the listener‘s ears. This is altering the original signal which = distortion of the original sound signal and corresponding sound wave.



Notice that I did not include bespoke listening rooms as these are the worst offenders and their owners are clueless about their actual contributions with any particular set system or pieces of equipment.

For those with no technical insight this audiophile hobby is one big swindle.

The best thing one can hope for and do is enjoy the music since this pursuit of the magical oasis has cost us all so much time and money.

Time to get out from under the dark cloud and go back to listening and enjoying some music.

It may just help....a little if one learns to use a couple of microphones and realise what actually happens during a recording, let alone witness the manipulations and "machinations" ( not to mention the intentional musical and technical choices of producers \ engineers ) of post-recording in general, as there are a few exceptions.

 

[KostasP.]

This post got me thinking that in all this time some prominent audiophiles have still not seen the light and continue chasing the big yellow bus, to no avail. So there is no enlightenment for everyone …….just like in Scientology.

We all do not realise that the more we climb the tree of ignorance, semi-knowledge and even ever-changing knowledge, the more ( like a monkey ) we expose our proverbial backsides!

 

[KostasP.]

Hi there Atmasphere,
Quick discussion on this point. As far as I am aware, any soundstage information should be part of the original recording. For an echo to sound realistic it needs to have a combination of characteristics. It should have a time delay, which corresponds to the distance to and from the reflection point, it should have an amplitude that corresponds to the amplitude of the original sound, less losses for the distance travelled and it should have a frequency spectrum related to the original sound, with losses caused by the distance travelled and the resulting loss of amplitude. But we also need to remember that in music an echo isn’t a one time event….music is continuous so too therefore is the echo, so ultimately the echo becomes a low amplitude, delayed part of the signal….in other words a signal colouration.
And its that colouration that imparts the characteristic of the venue on the music. For example, music played in a large, reverberant church will sound echoey, while jazz played in an intimate venue will have a very impactful and dynamic character with little or no echo but a lot of energy, intimacy and presence. That’s the recording…..the soundwaves that leave the loudspeakers and impinge on your ears. Now add the reflected back wave from the loudspeakers, which will have a delay and decay related to the listening room size that is in no way related to the actual performance venue. Worse, the back wave will be exactly the same for every single recording, so in essence its simply a non-correlated reflection that interferes with and blurs the recording’s natural ambience.….Essentially one gets 2 soundstages….that which is embedded in the recording and different for every album or even every track plus the overlay of fixed room echo, which is applied uniformly to every recording.

Not to mention that with box speakers, there are TWO storage chambers- the speaker enclosure AND the second "enclosure", the room!

Also consider that each listener will have a different "ear frequency response" and different "brain circuitry measurements"! Cheers.

 

[Kingrex]

I have pulled them pretty far in but never spent real time trying to dial it in. They generally rest about 44" from the back wall. How far should a open baffle be from the wall.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

It does.I was impressed when I came over for a listen.

I'm impressed by your answer too!
Especially by your initial response after the actual visit. Your comments were if I recall- harsh, hard hitting, no bass and a few other negatives...
You don't like CLX's but now all of a sudden, it's impressive!

Ah! I see .... entry level kitchen systems don't float your boat. No worries mate, I get it.
Must be a sudden epiphany!

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I'm impressed by your answer too!
Especially by your initial response after the actual visit. Your comments were if I recall- harsh, hard hitting, no bass and a few other negatives...
You don't like CLX's but now all of a sudden, it's impressive!

Ah! I see .... entry level kitchen systems don't float your boat. No worries mate, I get it.
Must be a sudden epiphany!

I enjoyed his system and it sure sounds much better than what I heard at your place.I actually do like the clx when the right equipment is used and in a good room.

 

[BruceD]

I just received the Mullard M8080 tubes, ordered from Watford Valves UK. It took 3 weeks and I'm heading off for some exciting vibes.
Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
Best, RJ

Ah yes Derek Rocco at Watford is my go to guy for Valves as well over the years- excellent and honest !

BruceD

 

[Big Dog RJ]

I enjoyed his system and it sure sounds much better than what I heard at your place.I actually do like the clx when the right equipment is used and in a good room.

I very highly doubt that Gary.
On the way back as we drove back to your place, which I had to drop you off... I clearly remember what you said. Plus you've mentioned it on other posts, you didn't like any of it, just admit it man.

At the end of the day, no one can take you seriously simply because you really don't know what you're actually hearing, although you claim to be an expert!

One day it's not good enough but on another day it's very impressive... like I said I'm impressed!

This particular post you made on Kostas system is for you to gain validation, since you want to be part of the group / community and not get dumped like what happened at Stereo Net Aus...

Whatever floats your boat Gary. You the man!
Keep up the good work and be well.
All the very best.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Ah yes Derek Rocco at Watford is my go to guy for Valves as well over the years- excellent and honest !

BruceD

Yes, I looked far and wide and tried many, including CJ but they take awfully too long.
Watford it is! Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
RJ

 

[KostasP.]

I have pulled them pretty far in but never spent real time trying to dial it in. They generally rest about 44" from the back wall. How far should a open baffle be from the wall.

If this is directed at me, it is not appropriate for me to give a specific, prescriptive opinion, since I don't know your room and have no experience with open-baffle speakers, although my friend has a DIY pair. Consider your room dimensions and volume, distance between speakers and distance to your listening position and the type of soundstage and tonal personality you prefer. Distance between speakers, toe-in and distance from boundaries ( primary and secondary reflections will affect all these parameters ).

My space is approximately 9x5.6x3 metres and I have the distance between the curved panels of the CLXs to be about 85% of the distance from the middle of the speakers to my listening position. The speakers are 1.7 metres from the wall behind them. Listening distance is 3.2 meters. This formula works for me and is generally a wise formula for many set-ups.

If you prefer a more a denser, "saturated" tonality ( but with a narrower soundstage ), then reduce the distance between the speakers and vice versa (ie. for a more airy, open presentation, increase the distance ). For levels of depth of soundstage and immediacy of presentation, experiment with speaker \ front wall distance and toe-in. Distance from the side boundaries will influence image specificity and since this aspect is mainly determined by the upper frequencies, these drivers should not be close to the walls ( in my case, the curved panels are 1.5 metres away ).

Finally, my strong opinion is to NOT over-dampen the room. Never have SPLs ( especially with over-compressed music ) that will compress \ overload the system and\or the room. Having a space that "breaths" freely helps, therefore, try NOT to have a wall straight behind your listening position. Depending on the level of recorded compression, the difference in peak playback SPLs can be 7-10 dBs ( in my case and I do not play really bad recordings on my system at all ).

With uncompressed music of wide dynamic range, I have peaks of between 107 and 109 dBs ( C-weighted, Fast at 3 metres, remembering that the CLXs are of extremely low distortion ( the mylars do not store acoustic energy, unlike boxes, but this of course does not apply in your case ), transparent and rather neutral, so these levels are never unbearable.

I hope that there is some relevance for you in what I said. Cheers, Kostas.

 

[bonzo75]

Although, I do add milk to coffee, simply cannot drink coffee without it. Plain black coffee is darn awful,

What kind of coffee do you drink? If you were referring the Starbucks or Costa or normal grocery store type coffee, you are correct. However if you buy from good roasteries and learn to make a cup properly at home you will enjoy the actual different flavors of the black coffee.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

What kind of coffee do you drink? If you were referring the Starbucks or Costa or normal grocery store type coffee, you are correct. However if you buy from good roasteries and learn to make a cup properly at home you will enjoy the actual different flavors of the black coffee.

Probably but still prefer cream/ milk. We all enjoy different flavours and have preferences just like in audio. That Turkish coffee is not bad though.
The type I mostly have is the freeze dried kind, Moccona or Nestlé Smooth Gold, it's "entry level."

I would certainly enjoy the premier stuff when visiting other places/ homes but simply don't have the time to fuss...
Just hit the kettle to the desired temp settings, wait for green light, pour that brew add milk and enjoy those fine tunes!
That's the way I prefer it. Cheers, RJ

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Hey Ron boss,
Sorry for the slight derailment ... looks like some threads are in shreds due to meds ... (due to the usual suspects, including myself!) At least I'm man enough to admit it.

Although, most posts here are very valid, certainly learnt a few new things. Always a great learning curve WBF, cheers to all.
Oh! And most of all enjoy those fine tunes!
Best, RJ

 

[bonzo75]

Probably but still prefer cream/ milk. We all enjoy different flavours and have preferences just like in audio. That Turkish coffee is not bad though.
The type I mostly have is the freeze dried kind, Moccona or Nestlé Smooth Gold, it's "entry level."

I would certainly enjoy the premier stuff when visiting other places/ homes but simply don't have the time to fuss...
Just hit the kettle to the desired temp settings, wait for green light, pour that brew add milk and enjoy those fine tunes!
That's the way I prefer it. Cheers, RJ

The reason I asked is, if you are taking milk, I know that you are nestle or so. Similarly in audio, sometimes it is easy to tell if the person is using nestle or a well brewed coffee.

 

[tima]

The reason I asked is, if you are taking milk, I know that you are nestle or so.

Swiss ?

 

[bonzo75]

Swiss ?

Not about Swiss, though nestle is Swiss, but it just means this low quality grocery store coffee. Nescafe is also instant cafe