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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: IMO that is a very interesting topic posted by Analog Scott on December 2, 2021 at 17:55:47:
To supplement your comment, spatial perception in an acoustic venue comes mainly from direct sound from the instrument(s) on the stage w/o any delay except that of the speed of sound. Volume, strength, and impact comes from early reflections, mainly from the side walls. That is why wide rooms tend to sound bad compared to the traditional shoe box shaped halls. Warmth, richness, blend and fullness come from the millions of later reflections coming off of one or more surfaces and arriving at the listeners nano seconds apart for up to 2 to 3 seconds after the direct sound. Note: the reported "reverb time" of a hall is the time it takes the initial reflection to decay 60dB from the initial sound pressure level (1/64th the volume). Of course, the next series of notes are happening as the earlier notes decay. Coupled volumes to the main volume of the room, can be skillfully designed to increase reverb time without loss of clarity, but overly large, tunable reverb chambers can often lead to muddy sound and loss of speech intelligibility.
Now almost all modern recordings except those done in concert venues or simply mic'ed live recording have none of this going on. Most recording studios are made "dead" with absorption, and reverb is electronically added. Most recordings these days use either closely mic'ed instruments or musician not even in the recording studio at the same time. They are "placed" in the so-called soundstage by engineers. Singers often provide their own background vocals with these "singers" appearing behind and off center. It's sound effects, not music.
Home audio also lacks actual layering of reflections. We use room treatments to prevent strong reflections. The goal is direct sound from the speaker which create the illusion of space based on what has been recorded, not actual sound from elsewhere in the space. That is why some love the allure of horns if their rooms are large enough. There are almost no reasons why anyone would want to add diffusion to their listening rooms, yet diffusion is a major component of concert hall design.
That said, visual clues are part of "psycho-acoustics" which do impact how we perceive live music. How much wood is in the room finishes (warmth), the colors (warm v. cold), and even if the players are on risers on stage (increased visibility of the sound source(s)*) all contribute to the aural experience as interpreted by our pea brains. *Risers also have an actual sonic impact as well.
Ciao,
"Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's too complicated. That's what's so simple about it." - Yogi Berra.
Cpwill
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Follow Ups
- RE: IMO that is a very interesting topic - Cpwill 10:03:56 12/03/21 (1)
- I would go so far as to say - Analog Scott 17:01:26 12/03/21 (0)
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