I like this idea, although I fear it may be more complicated than it seems at first.
I would also vote for a BLIND version of this. Even though it hurts sometimes, I always find those useful.
I used to be part of a group that would do blind wine tastings in Chicago; invariably the amateurs would trump the professionals. Would the same thing happen at ARSC...? Are we afraid?
Mischievously yours,
marcos
Tom Fine wrote:If someone can provide me with CD or transfer audio of a source, I'd be happy to make files showing the effects of various tape media.
I agree that this would be a great ARSC seminar.
Perhaps also useful would be the following:
1. a similar comparison with some pure sine and square waves, showing what distortions are inherent to each type of media. Including, by the way, brickwall frequency limiting in the CD format.
2. a similar comparison with a very high-fidelity source, preferably a high-resolution digital original source made in a good acoustic space with minimal mic'ing and little if any sonic "production" after the fact. In this case, I would start with the high-resolution source file, then perhaps a digitally-downsampled CD, then perhaps a CD made from an excellent D-A/A-D chain to show what if any differences there are in the two techniques. The compare to various analog media, starting with late-era tape 1/2" 30IPS master and going down from there. This might be a costly bunch of demo media to cook up, but it sure would be an interesting comparison.
By the way, any comparison like I'm describing is somewhat controversial because conclusions are highly subjective. But I think it's very informative and at least provides some reference for people new to the field. Playback would be through as uniform and transparent a system as possible and I would suggest that both sound and an oscilloscope image be the type of demonstration (ie sound and image).
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message ----- From: <Dnjchi@xxxxxxx> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 6:47 PM Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Pristine Audio and the Milllennials . . .
In a message dated 12/7/2007 6:00:39 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Play back the electronic sources through a decent but doesn't have to be great system, but don't change the amplifier and speakers, and see if you can keep the overall volume about equal. The differences should be pretty clear and it would be interesting to see how the younger folks describe them. This might diverge too far away from the history of music, but one could argue that the technology used to record and reproduce the music is integral to how it was perceived and absorbed by listeners.
-- Tom Fine
Again, this would be an interesting seminar at an ARSC meeting, especially for novice archivists.
Don Chichester
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