[Gllug] MP3 player recomendations

[Chris Bell]

On Sun 02 Sep, Nix wrote:
> 
> On 2 Sep 2007, Chris Bell stated:
> 
> > On Sun 02 Sep, Nix wrote:
> >> (I listened to some Sigur Rós on YouTube a while back and was disgusted
> >> by the quality. Then I tried some Steve Reich and decided that *now* I
> >> was disgusted. That site's sound is insultingly awful, worse than FM
> >> radio.)
> >
> >    I assume you mean AM radio
> 
> FM radio's pretty bloody awful as well, to my ears at least. I mean,
> yes, I can listen to it, but I'd much prefer something that doesn't
> scrunch the dynamic range and lop off a huge hunk of perfectly
> audible frequencies, thanks.

   I have listened to music under as near to ideal conditions as possible,
where the expense of equipment is virtually no problem, and have been able
to immediately compare what I have heard with the original live music. The
quality possible is extremely high, but really does depend on the listening
conditions.
   Studio monitoring is done in a very well soundproofed room, with walls
lined with thick sound absorbent covering to avoid colouration, and there is
often a choice of speakers for comparison. Each microphone can be selected
and placed according to the particular task, to match a particular musical
instrument. The microphone feeds are usually split and mixed independantly
for television sound because an attempt is made to match the sound to the
picture, but the quality is identical; the brain just expects to hear what
is shown in close-up, so there can be a little cheating.
   Many microphones are designed to work a little away from the sound
source, but many performers think that they need to almost swallow a
microphone. This can result in continually variable sound quality as they
move, and a number of sensitive microphones were damaged before more robust
microphones were obtained.
   Unfortunately, all of this can be wasted if the final result is severely
bandwidth limited or level compressed. This is not likely to happen with a
"quality" music channel, but may be the result of a deliberate decision if
the intended audience is likely to be listening in a noisy environment such
as a vehicle or workplace.
   There was a carefully considered and calculated write-up in a technical
magazine which compared the dynamic range of sounds in a studio environment
and the average background noise level in a normal environment. Adding the
two together required several kilowatts of sound power in a reinforced
concrete room, with infinite space behind a bank of speakers built into the
wall, and no neighbours for several miles. (Published early one April).

-- 
Chris Bell

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