[GlowWorm]

I've heard the term "crossfeed" around here alot, but I'm not sure exactly what it is? What does it do, and what are the advantages (and disadvantages) of it? Thanks.

 

[KenW]

If I understand it correctly, it's adding sound from one channel to the other to reduce channel separation. I can see where that might make the listening experience more "natural" and lifelike. Some like it and some don't.

 

[Sovkiller]

Just read in the meier audio website and you will have pretty much the idea of what it is, and how it works...Headroom as well have some info on their site, about the liking or not, you need time to get used to it, if you had never used it....I strongly suggest you to try it for a week, and later remove it, and let me know if you can live without it....it makes the presentation a lot "more natural", that is the best definition for me....warning for collapsed soundstage headphones, it is not very good as it will make it even narrower....

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller Just read here and you will have pretty much the idea of what it is, and how it works....From the Corda Audio website....

Interesting..thanks.

 

[GlowWorm]

Thanks for the link Sov!

 

[Sovkiller]

Sorry I was trying to link the page and it seems that you could not link to Meier pages directly, just the main page, so I took the liberty of cutting and pasting here what is there, if any mod feel that it is a violation of any rule, please feel free to remove it, it is only for information sake and it is absolutelly from the Jan Meier website cut and pasted, OK?

"Directional listening:

In normal daily life people use various mechanisms to locate sources of sound.

Firstly, the sound of a source to the right side of the listener (e.g. the right loudspeaker) not only reaches the right ear but, attenuated and delayed, is also heard by the left ear. The level of attenuation and the delay time of this crossfeed signal provide important directional information.

Secondly, the soundwaves are partly absorbed and partly reflected by the tissues of the head. Reflections at the oracles (pinnae) interfere with the soundwaves that directly enter the ear-channel and amplify or attenuate specific frequency components. Since these reflections depend on the direction of the soundwave the "color" of the sound changes with the direction of the source.
Thirdly, reflections of the soundwaves from the walls, ceiling and floor of our listening room produce reverberation that conveys an extra feeling of space.

The information obtained by these mechanisms is further refined by movements of the head. Changes in sound levels, delay times and sound color refine the sense of direction. For a demonstration, blindfold a friend and ask him to locate a ticking clock that you have hidden in the room. He will start turning his head although he can't see anything. With his head in a fixed position an exact localization is much more difficult.

Listening by headphones:

All the mechanisms of directional listening are missing when we use headphones. The sound at the right ear will no longer reach the left ear and pinnae-reflections no longer interfere with the original soundwave. Moreover, the headphones are directly attached to our head, and so head movements no longer add information. Reverberation is also not present.

As a result, the sound heard by headphones seems to stick to the inside of our head and to our ears and an unnatural soundfield is created. The brain misses logical clues for direction and this subconsciously results in mental stress. Some people cannot tolerate this stress and are unable to use headphones.

The natural crossfeed filter:

In principle, digital soundprocessors can simulate all the mechanisms for directional listening but the results are, thus far, not very satisfactory. In particular, pinnae-reflections are very complex and listener-specific and impossible to simulate accurately.

Fortunately, the mean directional information is provided by the time delay and level of attenuation of the sounds that reaches the opposite ear. The CORDA HEADAMP can electronically simulate this process and, with appropriate attenuation and delay, add some of the right audiosignal to the left channel and vice -versa. This considerably reduces the adverse symptoms of headphone listening.

A unique feature of the crossfeed circuitry of the CORDA HEADAMP is that it "recognizes" the virtual positions of the instruments and singers in a recording. The sound of an instrument in the middle of the soundstage will be equally present in both audio-channels and isn't given any crossfeed. A crossfeed signal is only generated for instruments that are not placed at the center. The more off-center the instrument is placed, the stronger the crossfeed and the longer its delay. This feature is called "natural crossfeed"......"

 

[KenW]

Sovkiller....I wasn't being sarcastic. Figured the site wouldn't allow linking directly as several don't. Just did a bit of digging. Seriously, I meant thanks sincerely. Peace.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenW Sovkiller....I wasn't being sarcastic. Figured the site wouldn't allow linking directly as several don't. Just did a bit of digging. Seriously, I meant thanks sincerely. Peace.

KenW, I was not worried at all, becasue of your post, honestly, just that I want to be sure that you guys find what you were looking for, as I own one of these marvels myself, the Corda Cross-1, and honestly after some time with it, it becomes adictive, it makes the weirdest fo the soundstages to sound just right....

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller KenW, I was not worried at all, becasue of your post, honestly, just that I want to be sure that you guys find what you were looking for, as I own one of these marvels myself, the Corda Cross-1, and honestly after some time with it, it becomes adictive, it makes the weirdest fo the soundstages to sound just right....

Thanks. As a relative newcomer here, the last thing I want to do is ruffle feathers.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenW Thanks. As a relative newcomer here, the last thing I want to do is ruffle feathers.

Well I have no feathers to ruffle, but anyway...LOL...