You may like what it does, but nothing in your description reminds me of a classical loudness control. As you may know, a loudness control is supposed to compensate for the Fletcher Munson curve imposed by our own hearing apparatus, where mid range frequencies are heard best and extreme low bass and upper treble frequencies are both rolled off. So a loudness control lifts both ends of the spectrum in relation to the ambient sound pressure level of the listening experience. That’s all it does. What you’re talking about seems very different, deliberately adding coloration that you find to be pleasant. Which is fine.
SPL Stereo Vitalizer Mk2-T (tube) a beast of a loudness control at $1295
I like to mess about with the sound of my system and have found this unit. It is, in my estimation, a very sophisticated loudness control.
- 2-channel harmonic exciter
- Can enhance clarity, detail, loudness, and overall musicality
- Innovative filter network "de-masks" transient details
- Bass-focused compressor gives you impressive control over low-frequency dynamics
- Intuitive controls make it easy to shape sounds fast
- Equally effective on individual tracks and full mixes
I love this thing. It takes the flat poorly recorded techno music from the seventies(New Order...) and expands the depth and width of the sound stage as well as the dynamic range.
I imagine feeding this a Dolby B or C output from an old cassette player and being able to expand its dynamics. The same for analog I would imagine.
- ...
- 5 posts total
A link to a Sound On Sound review. The SPL Vitalizer is a piece of pro audio equipment that at heart is an dynamic equalizer. Describing it makes it more complicated than it really is. In fact, it's fairly simple to use and it can definitely make most rock/pop type music sound better. As a practical matter the unit needs to be positioned at the listening position in order to make quick and repeatable adjustments. Not a problem in a recording studio, but could be in a home setup. If you're an electric guitar player you are probably familiar with using the guitar volume and amplifier gain controls interacting for compression and overdrive effects. The Vitalizer can do that (and a little more) with a more precision. |
- 5 posts total