2. misc-audio
  3. 1375840071

Does it bother you?

I'm a recording engineer who has worked in some of the world's top facilities. Let me walk you though an example signal path that you might find in a place like, say, Henson Studio A:

1. Microphone: Old. Probably a PCB inside. Copper wiring.
2. Mic cable: Constructed in house with $1/ft Canare Star Quad, solder, and a connector that might have been in the bottom of a box in the back.
3. Wall jack: Just a regular old Neutrik XLR connector on the wall.
4. Cable snake: Bundles of mic cables going to the control room.
5. Another XLR jack.
6. Another cheap mic cable.
7. Mic preamp: Old and lovely sounding. Audio going through 50 year old pots.
8. Patchbay: Another cheap copper cable is soldered into a patchbay where hundreds of connectors practically touch.
9. TT Cable: Goes from one patch to the next in the patch bay. Copper. No brand preference.
10. DB25 connector: Yes, the same connector you used to connect a modem to your computer in 1986. This is the heart and soul of studio audio transfer.
11. DB25 cable to the console: 25 strands of razor-thin copper wire, 8 channels of audio, sharing a ride.
12. The mixing console: PCB after PCB of tiny copper paths carry the audio through countless op amp chips.
13. DB25 cable to the recording device: time to travel through two more DB25 connectors as we make our way to the AD converters or tape machine.
14. AD conversion: More op amp chips.
15. Digital cable: nothing fancy, just whatever works. USB and Firewire cables are just stock.

...and this is just getting the audio into the recorder.

Also:

None of this equipment has vibration reducing rubber feet, it's just stacked haphazardly in racks. Touching.

No fancy power cables are used, just regular ol' IEC cables.

Acoustic treatment is done using scientific measurements.

Words like "soundstage" and "pace" are never uttered.

Does it bother you? Do you find it strange that the people who record the music that you listen to aren't interested in "tweaks," and expensive cables, and alarm clocks with a sticker on them? If we're not using any of this stuff to record the albums, then what are you hearing when you do use it?
trentpancakes
donjr
1,335 posts
 
"If we're not using any of this stuff to record the albums, then what are you hearing when you do use it?"

We're correcting your poor recording from sounding worse in our homes.

Seriously though, why should you bother? 99.9% of music listeners listen on their car stereo. I'm sure the decision to use old crap is out of your hands. It's just too bad so few studios try to do better. It's kind of like having a choice between McDonalds and nothing. There is no Eleven Madison Park or even Ruth's Chris.

You guys could be helping out the entire industry. Musicians would sell more music. Hi fi manufacturers would sell more gear. Auto manufacturers would have more stereo options available and I'd be happier. Instead, we have little or no choice but to buy from the industry that doesn't care about their craft.
pops
2,273 posts
 
Its a business and business needs competition, apparently there is no competition to make sonically superior music so there is no reason to spend any money doing it.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,183 posts
 
"there is no competition to make sonically superior music so there is no reason to spend any money doing it."

That is an excellent point!

Fact is most get much better sound quality overall these days via even portable devices and headphones than ever in the past. Plus mobility and mobile applications including entertainment is where it is at these days. Nothing there really to push high end home audio anywhere much beyond where it already is as a niche. Plus most people can't afford a lot of high end audio stuff. So we should be happy that sound quality of modern recordings is as good as it is, which overall I would say may also still be the best as a whole overall than ever as well.
pops
2,273 posts
 
Mapman +1 great point!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,183 posts
 
One thing I notice is that a lot of world music CDs I hear produced outside the US has surprisingly good sound quality. I've heard some recent reggae compilations that I would have to assume were produced in Jaimaica that will knock your socks off. A lot of Putumayo CD tracks are very well recorded. So maybe there is some hope for better sound in a "global economy".
More to discover