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Need help with a sound term/symptom please

post #1 of 6
8/22/11 at 3:35pm
Thread Starter 

At times while listening to digital music ( ripped from CD, lossless on computer or portable player) I hear an echo of the phrase that is about to be played in a piece of music.

 

For example; I hear it a lot in Miles Davis recordings where I faintly here his trumpet entrance right before the melody.

 

Is this latency? No clue what it is or why it happens, but I'd love to know what it is.

 

Thanks

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post #2 of 6
8/22/11 at 3:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Double C View Post

At times while listening to digital music ( ripped from CD, lossless on computer or portable player) I hear an echo of the phrase that is about to be played in a piece of music.

 

For example; I hear it a lot in Miles Davis recordings where I faintly here his trumpet entrance right before the melody.

 

Is this latency? No clue what it is or why it happens, but I'd love to know what it is.

 

Thanks


Pre-echo, if I'm understanding correctly. If so, make sure any EQs and other effects are disabled, which might cause or exacerbate it.

 

It could just be part of the recording. Which songs specifically have the problem? I can check mine, I've go some Miles.

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post #3 of 6
8/26/11 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 

Thanks,That sounds like what I'm hearing but I am almost sure that the file I was listening to was a lossless format and the description said it is a symptom of lossy format. I'll try to find the songs and post back.

 

Thanks again,

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post #4 of 6
8/26/11 at 8:33am

What you are most likely hearing is an artifact from the analog tape tays.  It was a very common phenomena in the good old days. As the recorded tape sits, all wound up on the tape reel, the magnetization from one layer of wrap begins to magnetize wrap layers above and below.  If the tape is left undisturbed long enough, you will eventually get exactly what you describe.  Pre-echo.  Tapes that were cared for properly are stored tail end out to minimize the recognizable effect.

 

Occasionally, I've heard the pre-echo effect on vinyl too, as adjacent grooves in the record modulate one another.

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post #5 of 6
8/26/11 at 9:27am
Thread Starter 

Thanks Kwkarth,

 

I'm listening to album 'Miles Ahead' and can hear the pre-echo on a bunch of tracks. Very faint, but noticeable. I'm guessing folks with way better equipment then I (read: everyone frown.gif) will hear it more distinctly.

 

 

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post #6 of 6
8/26/11 at 12:55pm
There was a thread a couple of months ago where someone mentioned a similar artifact on a recent Radiohead album. You could hear the echo of a second guitar pattern that had been picked up by the mic.
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