Hi fi is a unique luxury hobby. It’s the only one I can think of that comes in kit form, but you also have to procure the parts of the kit with little or no reliable guidance. This sounds like a perfect environment for tinkerers who are looking for something, and they don’t quite know what it is. It’s not a very sustainable model because so few are satisfied with the end results, even over the short term. What can be done?
Tima said: “At root is the inability to describe listening to live acoustic music coupled with an unfamiliarity with the rudiments of music's inherent sonic characteristics. Or lack of experience with music performance while focusing on reproduction. The bottom line is this: the closer we get to describing live music the less effective is the audiophile vocabulary.”
Part of the purpose of these threads is to pull the conversation about hi fi into a simpler discussion that uses more musical terms, rather than hi fi terms. We have already discussed the idea of tonal density. To achieve a believable level of tonal density, a well-optimized system should deliver tonal balance where the harmonic and fundamental frequencies between approximately 100 to 1000Hz hold 90% of the music’s energy. If this seems to be an overstatement, please review the included chart again. To complete the musical picture, a tonally dense system should also reveal all the variations of dynamic range from ppp>fff and every dynamic nuance within that range, the sense of the performance venue's space and scale, and the sound of the fundamentals and harmonics of the instruments reflecting in that space. In other words, the system should have all the attributes to reproduce music on a believable level.
In this thread, we will discuss why a high-end audio system capable of reproducing a believable level of tonal density should also be able to deliver compelling and nuanced dynamics.
Let’s compare the music perspective with the typical hi fi audio perspective.
Audiophiles rightfully expect a lot more out of their sound systems than what a typical hi fi set-up can deliver. They want more out of their hobby than a system that can merely play the tune. Hearing alluring spatial and harmonic details coupled with slamming musical attack and unnaturally delineated transients is very seductive for many, but systems that are set up to favor those stimuli lack the necessary meat on the bones to trigger our hunger for an emotional connection with the music. In these types of systems, the pursuit of better hi fi becomes more of a process that only the owner can relate to rather than a music listening experience that many can share.
Just about any combination of high-end audio components has the power and range to provide a more dynamically exciting level of slam and transients than a typical hi fi system. With little or no guidance on how to use these powerful tools, it’s not too surprising that aspiring audiophiles tend to choose components and set up their systems to emphasize these qualities at the extremes. It’s only natural to want to hear these effects on a level we have never experienced them before in our homes.
Mastering engineers use Fletcher-Munson Curves or the ISO 226:2003 Standard as references to create the best mix for human ears in a typical hi fi set-up. In summary, these equal loudness contours are guidelines for how humans hear frequency and amplitude differences across the audio range. One conclusion to draw from these curves is that when volume is higher, lower and higher frequencies sound louder to our ears than mid-frequencies even though all the frequencies have actually been played back at the same measurable volume level.
If we choose components and set ups that favor the frequency extremes, it will always be at the expense of the critical 100-1000Hz frequency band because the louder the frequency extremes become, the less impact middle frequencies have. When one turns up the volume in these mid-range deficient systems, which is inevitable to satisfy our need to feel more connected with the music, the frequency extremes take on an even greater emphasis while pushing middle band information even further into the background — not a very appealing perspective to music lovers, but it’s like crack cocaine to an audiophile.
These systems do not do well at revealing the natural decay, the contrasting silences, and decrescendos that define the more subtle dynamics of the middle band — the sticky real details where most of the music magic happens.
The question remains, however, how do we get to experience these richly abundant “inner” details?
Not to bring up a touchy subject (again), please consider that different genres of recorded music have different dynamic range capabilities. If we are to evaluate a system’s real dynamic capabilities, we should be using music that has the greatest dynamic range; i.e., opera or orchestral music. Please see the attached chart taken from a study published by NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) in February 2016, in an article entitled “Dynamic Range Across Music Genres and the Perception of Dynamic Compression in Hearing Impaired Listeners”. The study concludes:
“The dynamic range of recorded music across genres based on an audio corpus of 1,000 songs was found to be smaller than the dynamic range of monologue speech in quiet. Samples from modern genres such as pop, rap, rock, and schlager generally had the smallest dynamic range, followed by samples from jazz and classical genres such as chamber, choir, orchestra, piano, and opera. Only in the lower frequencies was the dynamic range of speech surpassed by the dynamic range of music, and then only in the case of chamber music, opera, and orchestra.”
The article goes on to say that one of the reasons that rock and pop have less dynamic range is that these genres have been produced generally speaking with a very high degree of compression so that the music can play relatively loudly in a home setting without damaging hearing. The balance of the mix of these types of recordings also favors the frequency extremes because mastering engineers know that that is what gets our attention. I am not saying that pop and rock have no place in helping to create a good balanced system. I am saying that all indications are, however, that it should not be the primary reference when making system adjustments.
Start by choosing components and system set up strategies that fully reveal the lushness of the critical 4 octaves at volume levels that do not excite room resonances. Add a subwoofer where one can control the volume of the bass to be at a believable level without doing harm to the middle region or exciting room resonances, or if one is using full range speakers without a subwoofer, position the speakers in the room to optimize this balance between low frequencies and mid frequencies. Finding the ballpark spot for a pair of speakers in a room by using the sound of a spoken human voice and listening to the reflections and weight of the voice to determine the most neutral speaker positions in the room works well, and it is a method recommended by some of the most respected speaker manufacturers. A spoken human voice is one of the best tools we have to determine the best location of speakers because it has greater dynamic range than recorded music of any genre, and it definitely covers the critical 4-octave region. Finally, adjust the toe-in of the speakers to more efficiently direct high frequencies to the listeners’ ears, but not to the level where the high frequencies are more prominent than the critical 4 octaves — more on this in the next thread. Protect your hearing, and get a DB meter to check your SPLs so you don’t listen to volume levels greater than 70db over a prolonged period of time. Set volume levels of all your favorite pieces based upon these guidelines, and write down your desired volume levels in playlists so that you can be in the music zone every time you and friends engage with your hi fi.
This all sounds simple, but it’s a bit of a counterintuitive approach to those of you who are on a meandering hi fi path that is full of twists and turns. To have the ability required to pull this off, you really need to have quite a lot of experience to achieve this balance in a predictable and repeatable manner. If you listen to a lot of live, acoustic music, you can probably eventually figure it out. If you also know everything about the use and application of a speaker, amplifier, sources, and cables, you might be able to figure this out. If you are also aware of your listening room’s acoustic properties along with all these other areas of necessary expertise, you might be able to get there. If you work with a good dealer who does business with manufacturers who follow a music model rather than a hi fi model, you will certainly get there and get there sooner. Although you may not get a smashing deal in terms of price on a specific component, you will end up with components and a level of service that will be guaranteed to give you years of value and listening pleasure.
What’s it like to get there?
Bobvin said: “Did I mention I'm having fun listening again? Some of the joy was missing as I knew my system just wasn't delivering what I knew it should. And a further benefit, I am listening at lower volume as I feel I don't have to force the music out, it now just flows so much more smoothly from the speakers.”
Next time we will examine how tonal density is also essential to recreating a more realistic portrayal of instruments playing in a performance space.
Tima said: “At root is the inability to describe listening to live acoustic music coupled with an unfamiliarity with the rudiments of music's inherent sonic characteristics. Or lack of experience with music performance while focusing on reproduction. The bottom line is this: the closer we get to describing live music the less effective is the audiophile vocabulary.”
Part of the purpose of these threads is to pull the conversation about hi fi into a simpler discussion that uses more musical terms, rather than hi fi terms. We have already discussed the idea of tonal density. To achieve a believable level of tonal density, a well-optimized system should deliver tonal balance where the harmonic and fundamental frequencies between approximately 100 to 1000Hz hold 90% of the music’s energy. If this seems to be an overstatement, please review the included chart again. To complete the musical picture, a tonally dense system should also reveal all the variations of dynamic range from ppp>fff and every dynamic nuance within that range, the sense of the performance venue's space and scale, and the sound of the fundamentals and harmonics of the instruments reflecting in that space. In other words, the system should have all the attributes to reproduce music on a believable level.
In this thread, we will discuss why a high-end audio system capable of reproducing a believable level of tonal density should also be able to deliver compelling and nuanced dynamics.
Let’s compare the music perspective with the typical hi fi audio perspective.
Audiophiles rightfully expect a lot more out of their sound systems than what a typical hi fi set-up can deliver. They want more out of their hobby than a system that can merely play the tune. Hearing alluring spatial and harmonic details coupled with slamming musical attack and unnaturally delineated transients is very seductive for many, but systems that are set up to favor those stimuli lack the necessary meat on the bones to trigger our hunger for an emotional connection with the music. In these types of systems, the pursuit of better hi fi becomes more of a process that only the owner can relate to rather than a music listening experience that many can share.
Just about any combination of high-end audio components has the power and range to provide a more dynamically exciting level of slam and transients than a typical hi fi system. With little or no guidance on how to use these powerful tools, it’s not too surprising that aspiring audiophiles tend to choose components and set up their systems to emphasize these qualities at the extremes. It’s only natural to want to hear these effects on a level we have never experienced them before in our homes.
Mastering engineers use Fletcher-Munson Curves or the ISO 226:2003 Standard as references to create the best mix for human ears in a typical hi fi set-up. In summary, these equal loudness contours are guidelines for how humans hear frequency and amplitude differences across the audio range. One conclusion to draw from these curves is that when volume is higher, lower and higher frequencies sound louder to our ears than mid-frequencies even though all the frequencies have actually been played back at the same measurable volume level.
If we choose components and set ups that favor the frequency extremes, it will always be at the expense of the critical 100-1000Hz frequency band because the louder the frequency extremes become, the less impact middle frequencies have. When one turns up the volume in these mid-range deficient systems, which is inevitable to satisfy our need to feel more connected with the music, the frequency extremes take on an even greater emphasis while pushing middle band information even further into the background — not a very appealing perspective to music lovers, but it’s like crack cocaine to an audiophile.
These systems do not do well at revealing the natural decay, the contrasting silences, and decrescendos that define the more subtle dynamics of the middle band — the sticky real details where most of the music magic happens.
The question remains, however, how do we get to experience these richly abundant “inner” details?
Not to bring up a touchy subject (again), please consider that different genres of recorded music have different dynamic range capabilities. If we are to evaluate a system’s real dynamic capabilities, we should be using music that has the greatest dynamic range; i.e., opera or orchestral music. Please see the attached chart taken from a study published by NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) in February 2016, in an article entitled “Dynamic Range Across Music Genres and the Perception of Dynamic Compression in Hearing Impaired Listeners”. The study concludes:
“The dynamic range of recorded music across genres based on an audio corpus of 1,000 songs was found to be smaller than the dynamic range of monologue speech in quiet. Samples from modern genres such as pop, rap, rock, and schlager generally had the smallest dynamic range, followed by samples from jazz and classical genres such as chamber, choir, orchestra, piano, and opera. Only in the lower frequencies was the dynamic range of speech surpassed by the dynamic range of music, and then only in the case of chamber music, opera, and orchestra.”
The article goes on to say that one of the reasons that rock and pop have less dynamic range is that these genres have been produced generally speaking with a very high degree of compression so that the music can play relatively loudly in a home setting without damaging hearing. The balance of the mix of these types of recordings also favors the frequency extremes because mastering engineers know that that is what gets our attention. I am not saying that pop and rock have no place in helping to create a good balanced system. I am saying that all indications are, however, that it should not be the primary reference when making system adjustments.
Start by choosing components and system set up strategies that fully reveal the lushness of the critical 4 octaves at volume levels that do not excite room resonances. Add a subwoofer where one can control the volume of the bass to be at a believable level without doing harm to the middle region or exciting room resonances, or if one is using full range speakers without a subwoofer, position the speakers in the room to optimize this balance between low frequencies and mid frequencies. Finding the ballpark spot for a pair of speakers in a room by using the sound of a spoken human voice and listening to the reflections and weight of the voice to determine the most neutral speaker positions in the room works well, and it is a method recommended by some of the most respected speaker manufacturers. A spoken human voice is one of the best tools we have to determine the best location of speakers because it has greater dynamic range than recorded music of any genre, and it definitely covers the critical 4-octave region. Finally, adjust the toe-in of the speakers to more efficiently direct high frequencies to the listeners’ ears, but not to the level where the high frequencies are more prominent than the critical 4 octaves — more on this in the next thread. Protect your hearing, and get a DB meter to check your SPLs so you don’t listen to volume levels greater than 70db over a prolonged period of time. Set volume levels of all your favorite pieces based upon these guidelines, and write down your desired volume levels in playlists so that you can be in the music zone every time you and friends engage with your hi fi.
This all sounds simple, but it’s a bit of a counterintuitive approach to those of you who are on a meandering hi fi path that is full of twists and turns. To have the ability required to pull this off, you really need to have quite a lot of experience to achieve this balance in a predictable and repeatable manner. If you listen to a lot of live, acoustic music, you can probably eventually figure it out. If you also know everything about the use and application of a speaker, amplifier, sources, and cables, you might be able to figure this out. If you are also aware of your listening room’s acoustic properties along with all these other areas of necessary expertise, you might be able to get there. If you work with a good dealer who does business with manufacturers who follow a music model rather than a hi fi model, you will certainly get there and get there sooner. Although you may not get a smashing deal in terms of price on a specific component, you will end up with components and a level of service that will be guaranteed to give you years of value and listening pleasure.
What’s it like to get there?
Bobvin said: “Did I mention I'm having fun listening again? Some of the joy was missing as I knew my system just wasn't delivering what I knew it should. And a further benefit, I am listening at lower volume as I feel I don't have to force the music out, it now just flows so much more smoothly from the speakers.”
Next time we will examine how tonal density is also essential to recreating a more realistic portrayal of instruments playing in a performance space.