There are some slogans, mottoes and mission statements that through sheer repetition become part of the common language.“Things Go Better With Coke.”“Quality is Job One,” and…
Hearing Is Believing or Believing is Hearing?
For more than a century, it has been an article of faith that the violins made by the Old Italian Masters, Stadivari and Guarneri “Del Gesu” are the finest examples of the instrument…
The Golden Age of Audio
Today’s typical music system consists of a pair of headphones and an MP3 player or an audio streaming device like a phone or computer. If the listener wants to share the tunes with others…
The Dreaded THD: How Low Can You Go?
The harmonics of a pure tone are a series of pure tones at higher frequencies. These are the frequency of the original tone multiplied by whole numbers. For example, a 1 kHz tone has…
Sound Pressure Levels in Live Versus Recorded Music.
I prefer acoustic music played without amplification – particularly the human voice without microphones and PA. Luckily, we all listen to spoken voices every day and have learned from…
Has Sound Reinforcement Destroyed Live Music?
In June, we looked at Can Recorded Music Sound Better-Than-Live? and I confessed to being a purist who prefers as little coming between me and live musicians as possible. I discussed the…
