[nelamvr6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awk.Pine Since we're talking about the effects of a driver on a signal, I doubt altering the signal to mimic those effects would be practical. Still, if someone has a high quality means of recording various headphones, and the differences are audible on the low-end cans of the target audience, then this would be an excellent resource. Why not compile a list of reference tracks so that we have a common set of recordings for us to talk about? When I started listening to hifi equipment, my audiophile mentor pulled out a few albums and picked a few tracks and told me what to listen for on each one. It would be more meaningful to newbies if one could say, "the sibilance of x cans makes the singer's voice on y recording harsh," or "m recording sounds dry on the analytical, n cans, but comes to life on the warm, p cans." Even, "the mp3 compression artifacts are noticeable right here." We could even post sample clips of a few seconds to the website, which could then be taken down to the local hifi shop and given a whirl. (Not whole songs out of respect for copyright, but I imagine that clips accompanied by reviews and not being sold would fall under fair use.) There's no replacement for displacement. Er. Experience. I cannot tell you how Manet is different from Van Gogh. But I can tell you to look at representative paintings that will help your understanding. Headfi newbies, myself included, need to listen to different cans to really grasp their different sounds. Still, we want to make this process as easy as possible. There's my $0.02: the HeadFi Sound Reference Library. Such a thing, of course, should include demo tracks on how to handle an empty wallet and confused spouse.

Another wrinkle is that the site could run into legal issues if we post tracks that are not public domain.

The last thing we want if the RIAA sicking their lawyers on us.

 

[bonethugz]

it can be twice as hard to understand the words for non rock fan or non classical fan

 

[aufeuer]

This is one of the terms I do not understand. What does it mean when you say "sweet midrange" or "sweet highs"?

 

[ComfyCan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awk.Pine Why not compile a list of reference tracks so that we have a common set of recordings for us to talk about? When I started listening to hifi equipment, my audiophile mentor pulled out a few albums and picked a few tracks and told me what to listen for on each one. It would be more meaningful to newbies if one could say, "the sibilance of x cans makes the singer's voice on y recording harsh," or "m recording sounds dry on the analytical, n cans, but comes to life on the warm, p cans." Even, "the mp3 compression artifacts are noticeable right here." We could even post sample clips of a few seconds to the website, which could then be taken down to the local hifi shop and given a whirl. (Not whole songs out of respect for copyright, but I imagine that clips accompanied by reviews and not being sold would fall under fair use.)

Good point.
Even simple references to readily recognized tracks that demonstrate a phenomenon can be useful. See, for example, this article discussing the problem of poor dynamic range in many new CD's, which identifies specific albums:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articl...nd-forever.htm

While such articles would arguably be more useful with included sound clips, at least the reader has a reference he can go to if he wants to *hear*, not just read about the phenomenon discussed.

Amazon.com includes links to clips from many tracks, some of which may be useful in demonstrating particular characteristics, (at least where they are inherent in the recording regardless of equipment utilized to play them, and independent of the clip's bitrate, which admittedly, eleminates the utility of Amazon sound clips in illustrating many audio phenomenon).

 

[ComfyCan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelamvr6 Another wrinkle is that the site could run into legal issues if we post tracks that are not public domain. The last thing we want if the RIAA sicking their lawyers on us.

You don't seriously think that bunch of pansies on the RIAA legal team would pick on little ole' us, do you??

(Actually, this is a very good point, and why links to existing clips, where available and appropriatley illustrative, would be a handy fix).

And, of course, there are indeed many tracks that are in the public domain.

Yet, for truly exagerated examples, which may be best for demonstrating all but the most subtle and subjective terms, someone with simple recording eqipment and a microphone could probably whip up clips that illustrate many concepts. (like THX sound balancing test tracks--nothing fancy and they aren't even music, yet they get the job done).

I'm just tossing stuff against the wall here, to keep the creative juices flowing.

 

[denl82]

Here's a link I've been using to look up audio terms. Pretty good link, too

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/index.html