... POORLY RECORDED SONGS THAT ...

Hi Guys

The average playback system (pre-tuning) plays about 1/10 of the recorded content of the source. Note that this number did not come from me only, but from others including me, who have researched and tested this same topic "real space". Real space is the actual space of a recording. Every recording has "real space/real size". Every recording has it’s own "real space" content that differs per recording. I have given the term "recorded code" to this content to make it easier to comprehend, but this understanding goes back to the beginning of the playback soundstage, mono, stereo and multi-channel.

In the 1990’s I toured with several audio reviewers to other reviewer’s systems uncovering the real space of given recordings. We tuned these systems, per recording, using a variable method called "Tuning". Tuning has 3 main ingredients Acoustical, Mechanical and Electrical, all of which host the playback signal at sometime during the audio pathway. Everywhere along the audio pathway is the physical part called the "Audio Chain". Anytime we make a change to the audio chain we affect the audio pathway.

To break it down we have the "recorded code" that becomes the "audio code" once the signal becomes physical (analog) as it makes contact with physical mechanical conduits (parts that host the signal). As the signal travels through the audio pathway it makes contact with the each part of the chain. The audio code is affected by the four fundamental interactions of nature (look up fundamental forces) as it travels making the signal itself variable. Tuning is how we adjust the signal.

michael

http://tuneland.forumotion.com/t268-the-audio-code

"I too would like to know how any system can compensate for elements in a bad recording"

The teaching of the "recorded code" has been limited at best when it comes to quality of recordings. I would say we need to fault the teachers of the hobby, whom ever they are. It also seems that when it comes to compression, dynamic range and efficiencies the explanations are not in line with the actual "doing" of the audio chain. Dynamic range is not necessarily a function of recording compression (limiting) and efficiency but somehow has turned into an excuse for poor performance in playback systems. The term "revealing system" has been used as the justification of a system not being able to play a recordings content, when not being able to play any recording is a function of content being or not being in tune. If your system is not "in-tune" with recording content the music will sound "out of tune". It doesn’t matter what is considered good or bad engineering.

Take your "great" sounding recordings to another system and it will sound different (many times majorly different). Why does it sound so different is a function of system tuning. HEA got off track when they went to discrete system component matching. Here’s why, all recordings have a different recorded code and sound different from each other when played on a system with only one setting.

Let's take any recording and play it at any studio or home setting in the world. Now let's take that same recording and play it in any other studio or home setting, guess what, it sounds different. Does that make the recording or system bad? Of course not, it makes every setup different sounding.

michael

Hi n80

Not dense at all.

"But if you take a recording with a compressed dynamic range how can you expand the range beyond what exists on the recording?"

You can’t. However if your setup is only playing 1/10 of the content there’s a ton of dynamic range your not getting to from the beginning.

What recording are you referring to? I can get the recording and test it for you.

Almost all recordings I test for folks it turns out that their soundstage is limiting the recordings "real space". If the harmonics are shut down on that setting it sounds very compressed until the stage is opened up.

Let me put it this way, your system is a tool, a variable tool.

mg