Friday, July 20, 2012

How to Tell You're an Audiophile (top 10)

Since Sherlock solved the Mystery of the Volume Knob, I have changed my opinion of my rig. It's not that it sounded that bad before, it's just that now it sounds more realistic than ever. Because of this dramatic change in its accuracy, I find myself longing to hear it, much like when you miss your dog after being away on vacation.  I know, just like that mutt greeting me at the door, tail wagging and tongue ready to wash my face, I will flip the power switch on my system and be prepared to hear something new in an intimately  familiar recording. My suspicions have been proven to be 100% accurate for everything I have listened to of this nature to date.
 
For example, Dire Straits produced an amazing album called Brothers in Arms I have used as a reference in evaluating many other systems. This is probably one of the finest productions, mixes, and performances I know of in the pop world of which just about everyone has a copy.  This makes it easier to compare apples to apples, at least from a source material point of view. (Another of my favorites is Norah Jones Come Away With Me).

Brothers in Arms - Original Version
Yesterday, I spun Why Worry Now and was again reaffirmed that this is the finest I have ever heard this recording on any of my systems. There were all sorts of nuances that were there and were evident, it's just that now instead of being casually resolved, such details are up front and center so to speak.  Ambiance, for example, even on the digital version is far better and the decaying echoes much more lifelike, as compared to my prized analog version. Vocals are smoother and transients snappier without sounding artificial or over-emphasized.  Things just sound right!

But this made me wonder: how many audiophiles are like this? How many actually cannot wait to get home from work and twist that good old volume knob knowing what awaits. I bet all of you are like this.

Sitting in your car and listening to the adequate playback system within, listening to your iPod while jogging around the park, or riding up the elevator - well, let's not go there. But coming home - that's what makes it all worthwhile. What awaits you in your magical audio parlor transports you to any event you wish to hear without leaving home.  What other hobby can give you this amount of instant gratification?

So I've come to another conclusion about the characteristics or symptoms one must have to call yourself an audiophile.  Here is what I've come up with so far:

10. Always on the lookout  for or lusting after the newest and greatest piece of gear
9. Wanders into nearby audio salons during lunchtime
8. Eats dinner in front of your rig
7. Can't wait to demo your system to visitors
6. Carries a picture of your rig in your wallet
5. Loves swapping out pieces of equipment with other audiophiles
4. Subscribes to numerous audio-related publications, RSS feeds, and newsgroups
3. Goes on vacation to an electronics show
2. Dreams of new speakers and has nightmares about a house fire
1. Has a longing for sitting down in front of your system over almost any other activity

Does this description fit you? How many of these characteristics do you possess? How many must you work on to know you can really call yourself an AUDIOPHILE? Passion and a lot of it is essential.  I'm sure there are others but these are what I would call the minimum essentials.


Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny

I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QFIAC3G

My other titles include:

Copyright © 2015 by Philip Rastocny. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Deep Bass: Volume 3

Among male audiophiles, deep bass is probably the most highly pursued aspect of a high-end system, especially CLEAN deep bass.  You can hear early attempts at deep bass by the youth on any Friday night at just about every stoplight. Given time, someone will pull up next to you in a car or truck that makes the loose panels in your own car start resonating to the bass sound pressure generated by their car. This kind of bass is very loud, but it's not very clear nor is it truly deep. But it is a start and one day these youngsters will mature and find the audiophile light (no doubt, more than a few of you reading this have made this transition already).
Such systems place the highest priority on going loud and to do so in such a small space requires several large diameter long throw woofers (long Xmax) - plus huge amplifiers to push them to their limits or beyond. Most require the entire trunk so if you want to store anything more than a napkin back there, you're out of luck.  It is pretty cool to listen to one of the better setups at reasonable levels and for a short period of time, but audiophile-demanding bass extends far below what the vast majority of these systems do well.

Such systems focus on over-emphasizing the acoustic merits of two instruments: the kick bass drum and the bass guitar.  But just what are the lower frequency limits of these instruments?  The lowest frequency a kick drum creates is between 80-100 Hertz, depending upon its size.  The lowest note a four-string bass guitar can create is low E (the same note a classical acoustic double bass can create) and its frequency is 41.21 Hz. So to get linear bass down to this point, the lower limit (-3dB point) of the bass system must be at least 1/2 octave below that (say -3dB at 30 Hz).  But in such systems, linearity is not the goal but overemphasis of frequencies between 40-100Hz is, so systems are tuned to have a rising response specifically in this region.

Inexpensive subwoofer add-ons to home theaters do about the same as these extremely loud car systems: they get reasonable bass at loud levels.  Theaters also have joined in on such a bandwagon extending this niche to over-emphasizing  specific noises in sound tracks like fist punches and the good-old random explosion, but again deep clear bass is not the goal.

Long-throw woofers, while providing deep bass from a small box, increase the distortion of the bass as an exponential function of the travel.  Take for example a woofer with an Xmax of 6mm.  If the volume desired moves the woofer in and out 0.1 mm, the distortion will be quite low. But as the sound pressure increases (piston travels in and out over a greater excursion), so does the distortion. At a cone travel of 1.0mm, the distortion may be 10 times that at 0.1mm and at a cone travel of 2mm, the distortion may be 100 times that at 0.1 mm. So the louder the bass from such a woofer, the higher the distortion will be as its Xmax is approached.
JL Audio 12W7AE-3, Xmax=29mm
Fortunately, bass distortion is the frequency band that the human ear is least sensitive to (that is, distortion in the bass region is more easily tolerated by the human ear than mid or high frequency distortion).  So as you mature from Boones Farm wines to a nice Zinfandel, you begin to understand that the original impression of "good wine" has a few things missing. While the purpose of consuming large amounts of Boones Farm is to get drunk (despite the morning after effects) and the purpose of loud bass from small boxes, the purpose of enjoying a fine wine is far from that and the purpose deep clear bass of audiophilia is way far from that.
As the level of an audiophile's ear becomes more discriminating, just like the pallet of a wine connoisseur, listening to such systems for prolonged periods of time becomes intolerable. Like trying to appreciate Boones Farm in a 5-star restaurant, some things just don't quite mix.

One day, if their hearing is not totally destroyed by the carelessness of their youth, such folks will turn their attention to refinement and what sounds real.  At any opportunity, take one of these misguided youths under your audiophile arm and let them hear what a good system sounds like. Then crack open a good bottle of wine and both of you sit down and enjoy some music.



Since Sherlock solved the Mystery of the Volume Knob, I have changed my opinion of my rig. It's not that it sounded that bad before, it's just that now it sounds more realistic than ever. Because of this dramatic change in its accuracy, I find myself longing to hear it, much like when you miss your dog after being away on vacation.  I know, just like that mutt greeting me at the door, tail wagging and tongue ready to wash my face, I will flip the power switch on my system and be prepared to hear something new in an intimately  familiar recording. My suspicions have been proven to be 100% accurate for everything I have listened to of this nature to date.
 
For example, Dire Straights produced an amazing album called Brothers in Arms I have used as a reference in evaluating many other systems. This is probably one of the finest productions, mixes, and performances I know of in the pop world of which just about everyone has a copy.  This makes it easier to compare apples to apples, at least from a source material point of view. (Another of my favorites is Norah Jones Come Away With Me).

Brothers in Arms - Original Version

Yesterday, I spun Why Worry Now and was again reaffirmed that this is the finest I have ever heard this recording on any of my systems. There were all sorts of nuances that were there and were evident, it's just that now instead of being casually resolved, such details are up front and center so to speak.  Ambiance, for example, even on the digital version is far better and the decaying echoes much more lifelike, as compared to my prized analog version. Vocals are smoother and transients snappier without sounding artificial or over-emphasized.  Things just sound right!

But this made me wonder: how many audiophiles are like this? How many actually cannot wait to get home from work and twist that good old volume knob knowing what awaits. I bet all of you are like this.

Sitting in your car and listening to the adequate playback system within, listening to your ipod while jogging around the park, or riding up the elevator - well, let's not go there. But coming home - that's what makes it all worth while. What awaits you in your magical audio parlor transports you to any event you wish to hear without leaving home.  What other hobby can give you this amount of instant gratification?

So I've come to another conclusion about the characteristics or symptoms one must have to call yourself an audiophile.  Here is what I've come up with so far:

10. Always on the lookout  for or lusting after the newest and greatest piece of gear
9. Wanders into nearby audio salons during lunchtime
8. Eats dinner in front of your rig
7. Can't wait to demo your system to visitors
6. Carries a picture of your rig in your wallet
5. Loves swapping out pieces of equipment with other audiophiles
4. Subscribes to numerous audio-related publications, RSS feeds, and newsgroups
3. Goes on vacation to an electronics show
2. Dreams of new speakers and has nightmares about a house fire
1. Has a longing for sitting down in front of your system over almost any other activity

Does this description fit you? How many of these characteristics do you possess? How many must you work on to know you can really call yourself an AUDIOPHILE? Passion and a lot of it is essential.  I'm sure there are others but these are what I would call the minimum essentials.


Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny


I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QFIAC3G

My other titles include:

Monday, July 16, 2012

Sherlock Holmes and the Volume Knob

Most of you who read this probably do not get into the inner workings of equipment, the ins and outs of how things are put together and the interactions between them.  I, on the other hand, study audio designs much like Sherlock Holmes studies people to find the answer to a mystery. In this segment, let's see how my sleuthness hones in on the solution to a simple problem in an episode I call "Sherlock Holmes and the Volume Knob."

Two months ago, the remote control on my preamp started giving Sherlock trouble where it would not allow him to raise or lower the volume level. Turning the knob manually worked and he could hear the motor inside the preamp trying to do the same but without success.  "The issue is elementary, my dear Watson: replace the motorized potentiometer (pot for short) and all should be well." Sherlock is quick as his reputation for investigative analysis speaks for itself.

Tearing into the unit, Sherlock confirmed that indeed this was the source of the problem however the part number used in this preamp was initially not found anywhere on the Internet nor from the manufacturer's representatives in the USA (it's not their fault for being marketing folks and not technical types). So for a while Sherlock just lived with the problem and manually turned the volume up and down.

Enter the driving force for finding a replacement part: Watson's accident. Two weeks ago, Watson fell and shattered her right arm at the wrist joint leaving her very sore and mostly immobile.  Getting out of a chair was an ordeal as was any other feat one would take for granted as being easy, such as adjusting the volume of the stereo or muting the system.  This was motivation enough for Sherlock to finally and permanently repair this problem.

OUCH!

After considerable research, Sherlock finally found reference to a segment of the part number at a Danish web site and began to understand the numbering scheme ALPS used to identify its products. The game was afoot. Correlating this information, Sherlock found a replacement and two days later it was at his doorstep. Last Saturday morning, Sherlock replaced the defective pot but quickly realized that the wiring arrangement for this new version was slightly different from the old one.  The old pot had a custom PC board attached to it and the new wiring arrangement did not allow for a direct swap without some creative intervention.

The Culprit
Five wires ran to this tiny circuit board and two to the motor (not seen in the above photo). It was no big deal for Holmes to connect these wires directly to the pot in essence removing the need for the circuit board. In a few hours, all was well and the remote control feature was completely restored.  Sherlock was pleased.

So fliping on the system is when the really big mystery came to be: IT SOUNDED TOTALLY DIFFERENT!  What's up with that?  This was illogical and Holmes refused to accept that what he had just done could make anything sound better, much less that much better.

Even Watson, a pleasant person who swears she married Holmes for his stereo and mostly nods her head up and down in response to probing questions like, "Did you hear that difference when I swapped these interconnect cables?"  Here, she had to agree that YES, IT DID SOUND VERY DIFFERENT.  OK, Sherlock was not hearing things - nor was he anticipating to hear anything different from the start. Another mystery...

Watson is Holmes' sanity check, one that keeps Sherlock honest and driving him forward to moving the state of their system forward.  In brief, it became a completely new preamp. The change was huge where the top octaves were now completely restored.  The super tweeter never really came on until swapping out the volume knob and for this, both Sherlock and Watson are eternally grateful. They have listened to many, many album cuts in sheer amazement and disbelief knowing that the only thing changes was this tiny, $10 device.

The sound stage was wide, deep, absolutely huge by any other measure and the transients superb if not at times even scary.  The noise floor went down and the inner detailing, went out of the roof.  Clarity is another step closer to reality and a big step at that.  For example, clarinets are one of Watson's favorite instruments and it is really tough to hear the proper timbre not only from the hollow-sounding bell-shaped design but also the nuances of the reed.  But clarity there was and is, at least now that the source of the grunge had be extracted. Simple things like hints of breaths between measures could now be heard effortlessly as before Watson had to strain to even hear a hint of this.

Listening to other familiar pieces such as the soundtrack in the movie The Tourist, revealed all sorts of little delightful tidbits. Tires rolling along the ground, percussion in the sound track, door creaks, and of course the well overdone breaking glass in such action movies were radically changed and now breathtakingly accurate.  Sherlock has yet to spin a vinyl disc but cannot wait to hear what may come from that signal source.

Credits:
Sherlock Holmes was played by Philip Rastocny
Dr. Watson was played by Philip's wife

The point is this: as I have mentioned many times in many other posts before, the clue to quality is in the details.  Most equipment sounds fantastic in the engineer's laboratory but getting that design with all of its details into production is another feat.  In this instance, this small circuit board for whatever reason was literally destroying the superb sound otherwise produced from this preamp.

Some people say, "The Devil is in the Details" and when it comes to thoroughbred audiophile equipment, this thought cannot be overstated.  If something as innocent as a volume control circuit board can impact the sound so dramatically, just think of all of the other little details that must be addressed when designing and producing a truly fine piece of audiophile equipment!

Much like a watch, each piece inside of your thoroughbred audiophile equipment is precision, some brands having greater precision than others.  Like a Breitling compared to a Timex, they both tell time, but which does so in style?  Attention to these details is not cheap to implement, nor is the point-to-point hand soldering method I used in making this repair. Circuit boards save time and can be properly designed. But here is an example of how to do it wrong. The good news is that my tried and true Timex is now a baby Breitling. Which brand of watch does Holmes or Watson wear? You'll have to meet them yourself to see.




Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny


I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QFIAC3G

See my other work at Amazon.com


Copyright © 2015 by Philip Rastocny. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Apples to Apples

I am a member of a local audio club that loves to get together and compare equipment. It is not uncommon for us to toggle between three DACs of different flavors and prices straining to hear the differences. While a great experience and loads of fun with results that can surprise everyone, there is a problem with just getting together and doing this. While some efforts are made to match the output levels between the equipment, this is usually done by ear and is not all that accurate.

Perceptions is differences between product A and product B can easily be attributed to volume levels where the louder of the two will appear to sound "better" (whatever subjective judgement that brings to mind) than the product that was tested at a lower volume level. To really understand what differences there are, one must have trained ears and consistent levels in order to compare apples to apples.
It is well documented that even signals of the same level when masked by other noises can appear to sound completely different from what the original source created. Your mind can play tricks on you and do so with such finesse that you are not even aware it is doing so. Your brain is very creative and crafty when it comes to hearing different things.

Take for example the cocktail party effect.  Here, your brain for some mysterious reason will zoom in on someone saying your name across the room at a crowded party and let you hear it just as if you were joining in on the conversation. Once alerted, you can literally tune out other sounds and focus on what is being said about you. Interesting!

So what about your personal preferences? How does this impact what you "perceive" as better or worse? Does your brain play the same tricks on your impressions that it does at the cocktail party? Yes it does.

What you hear is what you are familiar with; what you do not hear is what your brain screens out. The only way to truly know what the sonic differences are between product A and product B is a prolonged listening test with familiar material from the same listening position at precisely measured and matched levels. Change one thing at a time only and nothing else. This takes time and patience, something in the world of instant gratification few do.

So the next time your first impression of a piece of gear is "that wounds awful," think for a moment about what you are familiar with and what truly "sounds different." Stop and remove your biases and get honest with yourself at a level that transcends money, prestige, color, whatever, and say to yourself, "which sounds more real?"

In hindsight, how many of you have purchased something on your first impression only later to realize that what you believed to be great was in fact not so much? Point made.



Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny


I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QFIAC3G

My other titles include:

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Optimum Clarity


As mentioned in my previous blog on Formula One Race Cars, there is a lesson to be learned about the well understood weight-to-horsepower ratio in making something go fast. If something is very light AND there is a lot of power behind making it move, then it will go fast. The lighter you can make something, the faster it will go with the same pushing force. This is a fine lesson to apply to audio speakers and amplifiers.

From this lesson, it appears that all you have to do is buy a really big power amplifier to create optimum clarity.  But there is a limit as to how much pushing force (power) you can use with your speakers. There is a physical constraint as to their power-handling ability and adding more amplifier power can literally blow them up. So what is an audiophile to do? Let's focus on what musical peaks are first and then look at what can be done about them.

Speaker Specifications
Two pieces of data are supplied by speaker manufacturers: the sensitivity of the speaker and the power handling capacity. This tells you two things: how loud they will go and how big of an amplifier you need to obtain optimum clarity. Let's first look at a typical acoustic suspension speaker with a 1-Watt sensitivity of 85dB (usually stated as 85dB/W/m) and you have purchased an amplifier rated at 128 Watts RMS.

At the 1-Watt level, the speakers deliver 85dBa of sound pressure (at one meter) into the room and at this level the amplifier has a power reserve capable of producing a maximum SPL of 109dB. This means that the dynamic range is the difference between the loudest it will go and the level at which you listen, here 109-85 or 24dB.  If you turn up the volume control for an average listening level of 91dB, your speakers are demanding 4 Watts of power from our amplifier and this translates into a dynamic range of 109-91 or 18dB. So here's the catch: people normally listening to music at loud levels require a system capable of handling and delivering a lot of power if you want to maintain a wide dynamic range (optimum clarity).

The amount of power demanded by your speaker doubles with every 3dB increase of sound pressure, so for a speaker with a 1-Watt sensitivity of 85dB, the power demands go approximately like this:

85dB=1W
88dB=2W
91dB=4W
94dB=8W
97dB=16W
100dB=32W
103dB=64W
106dB=128W
109dB=256W
112dB=512W
115dB=1024W
118dB=2048W

As you can see, power demands for low sensitivity speaker get pretty rediculous once extreme sound pressure levels are approached.

The Listening Position
Question: What audiophile listens to music at one meter from their speakers? Answer: None. So the 1-Watt SPL of 85dB is lower at the listening position depending upon how far away you are from the speakers. The SPL drops off exponentially according to the Inverse Square Law, meaning that the SPL drops off with the square of the distance. For example, if the 1-Watt sensitivity of your speakers is 85dB at one meter, at two meters it is 1/4 that SPL, three meters 1/9 , and four meters 1/16.

Putting it another way, if your speakers have a maximum SPL of 109dB at one meter, at two meters it will be about 103dB (-6dB down), at three meters about 99.5dB (-9.5dB down), and four meters about 97dB (-12dB down). The maximum SPL you can hear from your system at your listening position is lower the further from the speakers you listen.

If your listening position is four meters from your speakers, the loudest you can hear them go is a function of the [Manufacturer's Rated Maximum SPL] minus 12dB.

For example, if your speakers have a sensitivity of 92dB/W/m with a power handling capacity of 150 Watts, and your listening position is four meters from the speakers, then the following is true:
  • Maximum SPL @ 1 meter = 107dB
  • Maximum SPL @ 4 meters = 95dB
You may want your system to go louder but you have a dilemma: it is physically impossible to sustain levels much above the 95dB level at the listening position.

How to Resolve this Dilemma
As mentioned earlier, you could buy a bigger amplifier and hope that you do not toast your speakers one day in a breathtaking but brief experience.  I would not recommend doing this.  Despite your best intentions, someone will one day twist the volume knob on your preamp all the way up after which you will be searching for replacements.

Another way to do this is to bi-amplify your speakers. Now the sound pressure will not change but the clarity will improve giving you the impression that your system can go louder. What's happening is much like several people carrying a heavy chair instead of one person struggling with it alone: it makes carrying the chair easier when two people do it and so does multiple amplifiers attached to your speakers. It's the same chair (same weight) but you've added twice the people (more power) so the load is distributed making it is easier to carry.


Using multiple amplifiers also allow you to choose amplifiers better matched for the job. You have all heard an amplifier that sounds great everywhere except the bass so use such an amplifier for the higher frequencies and find another that better suits your taste at lower frequencies. When done properly - and with a quality electronic crossover to assist in maintaining clarity - your system will respond accordingly. With bi-amplification, you can also have your passive crossover network components removed and the internal wiring modified thereby eliminating the phase distortions and insertion losses introduced by these components.

So there you have it. Another mystery explained and debunked.  Stay tuned for more along this line of additions in the infinite search for high-end audio perfection.

Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny


I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QFIAC3G

My other titles include:

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Two Audio Lessons from Formula One Race Cars

I have always admired Formula One race cars.  These sleek, ultra-light, monstrous acceleration, and sexy vehicles are in a word unique. Engines instead of growing larger have actually become smaller since the weight-to-horsepower ration is still climbing, and total power per pound is what makes one go fast, regardless of displacement. For example, the engines in this year's vehicles are 2.4 liters compared to the 3.0 liter engines of the previous vintage, and next year the size drops to 1.6 liters. It appears that going fast has a new face.

So what are the lessons one can apply to audio from what directions Formula one? There are many if you pull back and look at these issues from 10,000 feet.

LESSON ONE: POWER

First and probably the most important lesson is that to go fast you need a lot of power and in audio, to accurately reproduce an instrument, you do likewise (need a lot of power).

But the power you may be thinking of does not necessarily come from the amplifier alone. Rather, what is important is that the entire system (speakers plus amplifier) has the capability of generating the sound pressure desired. So the ability of your system to recreate accurate music is a function of how loud you listen to it and the louder you want it to go the more insane these power requirements become.

For a speaker-plus-amplifier system to create loud music in an undistorted way, it can be done in two ways:
  1. Use inefficient speakers (say 82dB/W/m sensitivity speakers) and a huge power amplifier (say 512 Watts of power), OR
  2. Use efficient speakers (say 99dB/W/m sensitivity) and small amplifiers (say 8 Watts of power)
The theoretical loudest sound you can achieve (at one meter) is exactly the same from both systems in the above example (108dB) before either amplifier is driven into clipping (the point where distortion rises exponentially). 

What determines the clipping point is the crescendos compared to the average acoustic power (that is, the peak demand power). Pianos are notorious instruments for sucking the blood out of an amplifier, especially in the upper harmonics regions.  So although you may be listening to middle C at an average level of say 80dB at one meter, peaks can occur that demand one hundred times that amount of power for a brief period of time. So if you were demanding 1/2 Watt at 80dB, you would demand 50 Watts momentarily.

What you hear when the demand rises and your amplifier cannot keep up with the demand is audible distortion. There will be a noticeable point to where this distortion becomes objectionable and so you back down the volume control to compensate. Sensitivity to distortion is more easily tolerated at lower frequencies and less tolerated at higher frequencies. But even at a lower average volume level, your amplifier may still be clipping, you just have trained your ears to tolerate it.

LESSON TWO: WEIGHT
Another lesson is that weight in a Formula One racer slows down the car. So weight is also a bad thing in speakers.  Weight should also be kept as low as possible while maintaining structural integrity in the mass of the speaker cones themselves.  Making something too light makes it flimsy so there is a compromise that must be made, especially at low frequencies. But in general, a lighter cone will sound "faster" than a heavier cone.

What one perceives in lighter cones is its transient response, the ability to react quickly to change. It's the clear tinkles - the inner details - and the snappy bass that makes the difference to your ears. What your ears are telling you is that the system's overall distortion is lower and it sounds more like the real thing.

Transient response is two fold: to start moving when the amplifier tells it to go, and to stop moving when the amplifier tells it to quit.

To start fast is a function of two amplifier specifications (ignoring for the moment the speaker wires):
  1. The speed (slew rate) of the devices used in the amplifier (higher means faster)
  2. The ability to dump a lot of current (a big power supply and very low impedance circuits)
To stop fast is a function of two amplifier specifications:
  1. The damping factor (the "brakes" where higher is better)
  2. The impedance of the power supply (lower is better)
Weight determines how fast something can be started and stopped, so it takes more energy to do both.  the lighter the cone weight, the more accurately the cone will track the electrical signal.  But there is a trade off in weight where at some point the cone will undulate and break into sporadic resonances on its own.

WEIGHT TO HORSEPOWER RATIO

When it comes to Formula One race cars, going fast means keeping the ratio of weight to horsepower low. For example, if you want your car to go 200mph, you must have a car that weighs under 3,000 pounds and has an engine that can develop over 500 horse power. This gives you a ratio of 3,000:500 or 6:1 or four pounds of mass per horse power. Formula One race cars weigh 1,367 pounds (including the driver) and the 2006 Toyota engines develop 740 HP for a ratio of less than 2:1. If you add more weight, the ratio goes up; if you reduce the power, the ratio goes up. In either case, the top speed goes down.


I think you get the idea now that it takes more power to push something heavy as fast as something that weighs less with a less powerful engine. This same lesson can be applied to audiophiles: to have your system be as accurate as it can be, these two factors must be considered.

So what is your personal weight-to-horsepower ratio preference for your playback system? Are you a fan of really loud music or clear, dynamic music? Can your audiophile ears tolerate sluggishness at the expense of transient response or do you prefer pristine clarity? Understanding these ratios as they apply to audio components can help you achieve what you desire.

If your system sounds fantastic at low volume levels, BUT you want it to go louder, adding more power may help (remember, too much power can toast your speakers). But with electronics, there are other ways to help with this as we will see soon.


Yours for higher fidelity,
Philip Rastocny


I do not use ads in this blog to help support my efforts. If you like what you are reading, please remember to reciprocate, My newest title is called Where, oh Where did the Star of Bethlehem Go? It’s an astronomer’s look at what this celestial object may have been, who the "Wise Men" were, and where they came from. Written in an investigative journalism style, it targets one star that has never been considered before and builds a solid case for its candidacy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QFIAC3G

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