| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 265.1 | | THORBY::MARRA | | Thu Jan 23 1986 07:15 | 10 |
| You answered your own question:
> but I noticed that when
>I turn up the high frequencies on the equalizer I hear a hiss. This is
>most disappointing. Has anyone else come across this phenomenon?
10000:1 saya that it's your Equalizer thats putting out the hiss
(read distortion and noise)...
.dave.
|
| 265.2 | | EDEN::ROTH | | Thu Jan 23 1986 08:57 | 15 |
| If the hiss is not obtrusive with normal equalization, I wouldn't worry
about it; just put on an LP for comparison, and hear all the surface noise
you're missing!
In every CD player I've listened to (not really that many) the noise level
of the player has been substantially lower than the program material,
even on recordings of the calibre of Telarc. The only noise related thing
that has bothered me has been a slight background 'squegging', much
like SCA interference on FM, such as WCRB; some of the cheapest players
are built on one non-ground-plane circuit board and the inadequate
shielding causes this (multiple clocks).
Even the best microphones have background hiss after all...
- Jim
|
| 265.3 | | HUGO::PETRARCA | | Thu Jan 23 1986 12:15 | 18 |
| The use of digital techniques eliminates many (not all) of the complications
(read degredations) caused by multiple analog steps (recording, mixing, etc.).
I once worked on a prototype digital (broadcast quality) Quadrature video
recorder - the 19th generation copy was indistinguishable from the master.
But, just like computers - GIGO. What is being recorded is not degraded
through the recording process. For example, some noises present at the
recording session are masked in the analog process, but they are there in the
digital process. Listen to the Christopher Hogwood (DDD) CD of Bach's
Brandenberg Concertos - there is all sorts of acoustic noise in the
background, which is understandable, since they were recorded in the
environment where they were intended to be performed. Also, Michael Murray's
organ works on (DDD) TELARC - you can hear the air pump running.
The message: noise (be it hiss, turning pages, air pumps, etc.) is part of our
world. The recordist may minimize it, but it cannot be eliminated.
Bruce
|
| 265.4 | | EDEN::ROTH | | Fri Jan 24 1986 07:53 | 14 |
| Response .3 reminds me of something which happened to the BBC. They
pioneered the use of digital transmission in the early '70's for their
various links (32 kHz sampling with near-instantaneous companding over
about 12 bits, I think).
They got a *rash* of complaints about the sound of the new system -
from listeners where hearing for the first time air conditioner noise,
traffic rumble, all sorts of low level detail previously masked by the
analog systems.
Their experiences provided some extremely valuable real world input for the
design parameters of the CD...
- Jim
|
| 265.5 | | OCALA::BECK | | Fri Jan 24 1986 10:01 | 4 |
| Similarly: I heard that the telephone company (dunno which, or if this was in a
local market) put it some equipment to reduce the background noise level and got
nothing but a rash of calls from customers complaining that their phones were
dead. They had to reintroduce hiss.
|
| 265.6 | | FUSION::FRIEDMAN | | Fri Jan 24 1986 13:06 | 5 |
| OK!OK! I love the hiss! I wouldn't know what to do without it! Thank you
thank you for opening my eyes to the eternal verity that is HISS!
:-}
Marty
|
| 265.7 | | CRVAX1::KAPLOW | | Fri Jan 24 1986 20:12 | 7 |
| From the selections you mention, I think I know what your problem is. It really
isn't that much the digital medium, as it is that Telarc knows how to mike a
performance, and DG doesn't. DG is likely still using dozens of mikes, mizing
them down, and recording 2 track digital. Telarc uses 2 mikes and no mixing
before tape. Von Karijan gives good performances that are wasted on DG.
Unfortunately, Telarc is an upstart, and has to sign whoever is available,
rather than the best there is.
|
| 265.8 | | AKOV75::BOYAJIAN | | Sat Jan 25 1986 06:05 | 6 |
| I've long maintained that one of the reasons that the anti-CD camp doesn't
feel that CD's sound "right" is that their ears have been trained to hear
analog LP's as "correct", and since CD's sound different, they are thus
"not correct".
--- jerry
|
| 265.9 | | GRAFIX::CHALTAS | | Sun Jan 26 1986 11:38 | 16 |
| re .7: Some groups recorded by Telarc (Cleveland Orch., Boston Symphony,
Royal Philharmonic,...) are among the "Best Their Is". Others (Cincinatti
Pops...) are not, but all are at least adequate, and well recorded.
I thought that Telarc actually used 3 mikes, not 2, the 3rd being placed
back in the hall to pick up some sense of the acoustical space.
I'd agree that a probable source of the aforementioned hiss is microphones
and associated electronics. The obvious way to eliminate this is to
generate the samples directly, and not bother with distortion producing
analog instruments (clarinets produce quite a bit of hiss, for example)
:-)
George Chaltas
|
| 265.10 | | PISA::WINALSKI | | Sun Jan 26 1986 14:45 | 7 |
| You also might be hearing dither noise. This is a very low volume (low-order
bit) random white noise added as part of the digital recording process to
compensate for sampling error distortion. Failure to add dither noise
results in harsh and unnatural-sounding playback. Adding the noise makes
the music sound better, but at the expense of a -90db or so background hiss.
--PSW
|