Re: [ARSCLIST] Aren't recordings original sources?

[Clark Johnsen <clarkjohnsen@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 4:23 PM, Aaron Levinson
<aaron.levinson@xxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> I do need to weigh in here with my two cents-to suggest as plain old Clark
> does below that a mastering studio is not a "listening" studio is simply
> wrong.


I think I get you... You disagree with me, right?


> That is precisely what a well-designed mastering facility is!


Is NOT!

Certainly not *ipso facto*.

Nor is a well-designed listening studio, a mastering facility.


> They are in fact some of the most meticulous and carefully designed
> acoustical spaces ever built to facilitate critical listening.


You got data on that?

Just kidding, but I see an argument by assertion without any statistical
evidence and I just can't help myself.


> From the tuned room to the various speaker systems and amplification
> choices and playback machines all of those components are exactly what a top
> mastering engineer is known for, but most importantly it is his/her
> incredibly fine ears.


No disagreement there!

But in my several conversations with Steve Hoffmann
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/ , whose mastering/remastering work has been
uniformly lauded, I have learned that he considers his highly-tuned home
system to be better than anything on his work premises. And that is where he
does his evaluations.

Stan Ricker, another lauded engineer, would agree. In fact Stan is a fan of
specialty (high-end) audio and we've attended many CES's together. He can
hear things that others seem not to.

My point being, that an environment expressly designed for listening
generally beats one that's multitasked. My own experience confirms this.

>
>
> We are extremely lucky to have just such a person, named Bob Olhsson in our
> midst.


I've never had the pleasure of meeting the man or visiting his premises. But
I am sure you are correct.

clark

>
>
> AA
>
>
>
> Clark Johnsen wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 8:21 AM, Rob Poretti <r.poretti@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> <SNIP>
>>>
>>> There being no evidence offered, I'll just have to note that on all
>>> wide-range high-resolution audio systems I've ever heard, specialty power
>>> cords have wrought major improvements. Granted that's just observational
>>> data, but it's the only data so far.
>>>
>>> <SNIP>
>>>
>>> Hi Clarke,
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> Jus' plain ol' Clark.
>>
>>
>>
>>> In another life, I too have had the pleasure of working in some of the
>>> very
>>> best mastering facilities in the world - Bernie Grundman, Gateway,
>>> Sterling
>>> Sound, Mastermix, Georgetown, etc...  Many of these I've been to on
>>> multiple
>>> occasions and was involved in various listening tests... but not related
>>> to
>>> AC cables.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> Nice company you keep. I mean it!
>>
>> Ever have occasion to speak to Stan Ricker? I'm sure he would back up
>> everything I've said on this thread -- and probably go further!
>>
>> Ditto Steve Hoffmann.
>>
>>
>>
>>> A few of these facilities use those $1000+ AC cables.  I did not have the
>>> balls to ask them to swap to a standard cable for my own curiosity, but I
>>> can tell you *none* of the mastering engineers described the differences
>>> as
>>> "major improvements".
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Again, the studio environment... these are not listening studios, these
>> are
>> recording (or mastering) studios.
>>
>> Besides, I've never claimed that differences are instantly detectable.
>> They're not, usually. They get to you over an extended period.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>  Do I understand by your comments that the "major
>>> improvements" that you discerned did not require ABX listening tests?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> "Require"? As stated earlier, ABX only blurs the distinctions.
>>
>> Someone locally here once told me he'd done a DBT that proved to the 99%
>> confidence level, that insertion of the ABX box was audible. I chuckled,
>> as
>> I might hope everyone would.
>>
>> Who elected the ABX box as our arbiter?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>  It
>>> was easily audible?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> As I said, sometimes it was immediate, but sometimes not until the DUT's *
>> removal*.
>>
>>
>>
>>> Please elaborate...
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> Hope that helps.
>>
>> clark
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
>>> Rob Poretti
>>> Sales Engineer - Archiving
>>> Cube-Tec North America
>>> Vox.905.827.0741
>>> Fax.905.901.9996
>>> Cel.905-510.6785
>>>
>>>
>>> _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>