Audio-Music

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=160 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.hifine.nl" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.hifine.nl"><U><IMG SRC="a3682280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AudioMusic"><U><IMG SRC="a3782280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A NEW SOUND FOR CHRISTMAS"><U><IMG SRC="a3882280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Back"><U><IMG SRC="a3982280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U><IMG SRC="a3a82280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="http://www.fotobelle.nl/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fotobelle.nl/"><U><IMG SRC="a3b82280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Furrier studios"><U><IMG SRC="a3c82280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="No Limits"><U><IMG SRC="a3d82280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paul Hattink Band"><U><IMG SRC="a3e82280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Projecten"><U><IMG SRC="a3f82280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rosegarden"><U><IMG SRC="a4182280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="http://home.wanadoo.nl/hattink/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://home.wanadoo.nl/hattink/"><U><IMG SRC="a4082280.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="40" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=65 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div>                            <IMG SRC="a47582f0.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="47" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=415 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="806" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2642 ><NOBR><div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#888888" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>                     </B></FONT><B><U>Hi-fi is like Black and White Photography</U></B><B>. </B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="787" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2526 WIDTH="393"><div> When recording acoustic instruments the prerogative of the technician must be to capture a realistic impulse,</div> <div>  a true to life transient response and delicate details on tape. Transient responses need electronics with a wide f</div> <div> requency band and minimum phase shift. </div> <div> Detailing the signal to the full asks for a high degree of resolution. The current digital formats of CD and DAT are </div> <div> limited in the extension of the frequency band, the resolution and are prone to shift the phase Hence they have </div> <div> difficulty in establishing a true to life transient. </div> <div> The nature of the analogue recording technique can provide transient response to a very great extend. Nevertheless </div> <div> many technicians and music lovers report that they hear a loss in natural harmonics and hear hampered transients </div> <div> when old tape recordings that were made on machines with valve equipment are played back on modern, </div> <div> transistorized tape recorders. This phenomenon can be heard by everybody listening to Lp's that were remastered</div> <div>  in the seventies or eighties from recordings that were made before the transistor came into use. The 'sound' of valve</div> <div>  equipment differs from that of transistor circuits. </div> <div> Not too many people however talk about the fact that this is more true for some instruments than for others. Each i</div> <div> nstrument has its own colors and specific character. It all depends on the nature and the amount of harmonics that</div> <div>  are arranged in a special blend of dynamics. For example: let's take two cymbals that are made of different sorts o</div> <div> f brass, the difference depending on the relationship of copper and tin in these alloys. The difference in warmth </div> <div> of sound these cymbals produce is clearly discernible. Let's take two different tweeters. One has a 1" dome of plastic,</div> <div>  the other</div> <div>  is of the aluminium-coated type. You can hear a difference, not only in frequency response but also in 'sound' that</div> <div>  only partly depends on the tweeter's inability to produce square waves. </div> <div> Still another example. Let us consider three loudspeaker units for midrange reproduction, one with a cone </div> <div> made of bextrene, another with a cone of coated paper and a third is molded of polypropylene. For our test we </div> <div> assume that their frequency responses and the technical parameters are identical. Yet all three loudspeaker units </div> <div> do sound </div> <div> differently. Vibrations are measurable. The material that is used however has its own 'color' and this color cannot easily be measured but can clearly be heard. The same is true for the many musical instruments, some do sound warmer </div> <div> than others. As long as we make recordings with microphones that also have their own character, we will be unable </div> <div> to discern the real differences in color and warmth of these instruments as we listen to the recording. Also monitor </div> <div> speakers have their own specific 'sound'. </div> <div> When we make a recording of a harpsichord and a flute (traverso) and reproduce the recording via a loudspeaker </div> <div> system that has a metallic characteristic, then both instruments will sound metallic. </div> <div> The result is that we will not be able to hear the difference between a cold and warm character to the full, while </div> <div> during a live performance however, we could interpret the harpsichord as warm and the traverso as cold. While we </div> <div> can perfectly perceive the difference in sound between the two instruments, we cannot hear the different colors of </div> <div> sound and the warmth to the same degree. Although there are loudspeaker systems that have extended, flat frequency responses and dynamic capabilities for nearly all frequencies of the </div> <bR> <div> audio band, listening to the reproduction of music via extremely well conceived hifi-systems still remains an illusion. </div> <div> Music lovers as well as manufacturers of high end products do not readily accept this truth. </div> <div> The same discrepancy occurs in photography. </div> <div> If you look at a black and white photograph and compare it to a color photograph which depicts the same object, </div> <div> you will agree that the color picture looks more like reality. Hence the heading of my article. Well, I have made a </div> <div> study of 'characters of sound', listening via various hifi-systems and the results were peculiar. It is of importance</div> <div>  to remember that the speaker-amplifier-combination always plays a dominant role. That is to say that certain </div> <div> combinations work better than others. Nevertheless, I want to list some findings with both transistor and tube</div> <div> <I> amplifiers. I mention instruments and groups of instruments that I listened to and noted my preferences as follows. </I></div> <div> <I>                         </I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="383"><div> Tube amplifier </div> <div> strings </div> <div> harp </div> <div> bassoon </div> <div> timpani </div> <div> harpsichord </div> <div> trumpet </div> <div> saxophone </div> <div> voices </div> <div> acoustic guitar (nylon strings) </div> <div> mid and high registers of church organ </div> <div> pamphlet </div> <div> recorder </div> <div> and: applause</div> <bR> <div> Transistor amplifier: </div> <div> piano </div> <div> electronic bas </div> <div> synthesizer </div> <div> flute (traverso) </div> <div> snaredrum </div> <div> horn </div> <div> Linn drum </div> <div> electric guitar </div> <div> guitar with steel string </div> <div> tambourine </div> <div> mandolin </div> <div> triangle </div> <div> banjo</div> <bR> <bR> <div> From these listings you can conclude that most of today's instruments have their place with transistor reproduced</div> <div>  sound. </div> <div> The sound of transistors is generally experienced as cold and the sound reproduced via tube circuits as warm.</div> <div>  If you listen to piano via tubes the sound could be easily too warm. Hence my preference for transistors in this case.</div> <div>  Also it is interesting to know that old tube amplifiers reproduce the </div> <bR> <div> brass section and harpsichord for example beautifully, and sometimes with a timbre that reminds me of real to life </div> <div> performance; which indicates that the ability of rendering second harmonics is of great importance. </div> <div> You must understand that these findings do not establish a worldwide reference since they are based on personal</div> <div> , practical experiences that only I can subscribe to. In reality we have to guess the true nature. </div> <div> I do not think that these experiences can be explained technically. The perception as well as the wish to </div> <div> experience the reproduced sound as a reality make listening such a personal affair. </div> <div> At the end it all remains to a great extent a matter of illusion. </div> <bR> <div> <I>                           Paul Hattink </I></div> <bR> <bR> <div>               </div> <bR> <div>                <IMG SRC="a6bc8400.gif" border=0 width="200" height="320" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>                 <IMG SRC="a97c87f0.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="383" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                       S</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF00FF" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>ound</B></I></FONT><I><B>f</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF00FF" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>ountain</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>                                                                     A u d i o </B>& M u s i c </div> <div>                                                                                    </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div>                                                                                    </div> <bR> <div>  <embed src="HTMLobj-2860/bas_rudy.mp3" autostart="true" hidden="true">    </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>