BBC report on AV

Philip King

Philip King

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"Consumers spend thousands of dollars on a flat panel display but often buy the cheapest, most inferior speaker package available, almost as an afterthought"

"but some audiophiles say listening is a skill that was lost long ago thanks to a blizzard of sound that now follows us through everyday life"

Hmmmm


BBC Web site
 
The article ends:

5.1 is slowly creeping into TV shows and there are adaptations of the 5.1 experience, called 6.1 and 7.1, which add speakers to the setup.

But for the vast majority, it seems as though sound is a low priority, merely something that goes in one ear and out the other.

Sad but probably true.
 
"but some audiophiles say listening is a skill that was lost long ago thanks to a blizzard of sound that now follows us through everyday life"
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The above seems to be casting a moral judgement on the way in which we use our ears. i.e pop music, trash films and the cultural depravity of merely 'hearing' vis a vis serious 'listening' and cultural enlightenment. Whether or not this is the case, it strikes me as just being a bit snobbish, with no actual motive along the implications of the line in which it is cast, other than highlighting the credibility, justification, specialist knowledge and wisdom of the connoisseur of fine audio equipment. Looking at this i can appreciate why sideshowbob has his doubts about the authenticity of the 'audiophile', not that it matters.
 
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surely the only way to combat the audio visual menace is through the power of BLIND testing......
i'll get me coat.
cheers


julian
 
Originally posted by julian2002
surely the only way to combat the audio visual menace is through the power of BLIND testing......
Click to expand...

He he he - as a partially sighted person, I can categorically say that most movies are horrifically badly recorded; there's little point buying really good speakers when even obvious stuff like main actors' lines are lost in crackle, distortion and impedence mismatches. Listen to things like Detroit Rock City ("why not give Albert Einstein here the f***ing Nobel Prize"), the bit in Go! when Ronna is outside talking to Todd on the intercom, and even on Titanic (THX etc etc), where you can CLEARLY hear a marked change in timbre and clarity on the scene just before Jack pulls Rose back onto the ship (when she's about to jump) - listen out for the sudden increase in clarity when he says "Anyway, I fell through some thin ice" (I think that's what he says) - it's like someone's taken a towel off of the tweeters... And I could tell all that even on my crappy old Wharfedale Modus centre (before it fell off the telly and exploded into 3 pieces!!).
 
Funny, I think many soundtracks are better recorded than most CDs, at least playing through my AV system... :JPS:
 
Changing the subject slightly did anybody read that report about vynil in the Metro today? It basicaly said Djs are using MP3s instead so this means Vynil is now nothing more than an anique collectors item. Erm I am sure half the people in my local records shop would not agree with that. Also its funny how you go to HIFI shops and have just as many turntbales as CD players these days.

I hate it when reporters get their facts wrong! As for the speaker package thing I think its just the current trend. When everybody has brilliant TFT and Plasma screens they will suddenly want better sound once the vovelty of good picture quality wears off.
 
Originally posted by lowrider
Funny, I think many soundtracks are better recorded than most CDs, at least playing through my AV system... :JPS:
Click to expand...

I'll go with Antonio on this one but you first have to realise tht movie soundtracks are not eq'd to be realistic. Early DVD's, (such as Titanic) will no doubt suffer from mastering issues (both sound & picture); which may actually relate to the amount of compression required to fit a film of that length on an older disc, but the current standard of [decent] DVD releases is, IMO, very good.

If you want the best, I'd recommend purchasing something from the Criterion Collection . Mind you, only Region 1 NTSC but even their mono soundtracks are exquisite :MILD:.
 
Also, most people forget that the center speaker is the most important for DVD playing, and maybe the "crappy old Wharfedale Modus centre" didnt do justice to the recordings... :latte:
 
Originally posted by domfjbrown
......main actors' lines are lost in crackle, distortion and impedence mismatches.......
......my crappy old Wharfedale Modus centre....
Click to expand...

:rds2:

;)

Matt.
 
Originally posted by voodoo
I'll go with Antonio on this one but you first have to realise tht movie soundtracks are not eq'd to be realistic. Early DVD's, (such as Titanic) will no doubt suffer from mastering issues (both sound & picture);
Click to expand...

Ah - but it also did it in the cinema... As someone who saw it FIVE TIMES in the cinema - I can say that :) I've been interested in the Titanic since 1982, so had to see the most accurate repo of the ship. Shame about the totally insipid love story tacked into the middle of it...

Re the Modus - it was very unrevealing; it still revealed those kinds of faults. I've even noticed it on standard NICAM tellies... The Modus certainly wasn't the last word though; the Paradigm CC170 I have now is a lot better; I'd not stick a Rega Centa in my system on general principle - it looks cheesy as hell!
 
Originally posted by domfjbrown
Ah - but it also did it in the cinema... As someone who saw it FIVE TIMES in the cinema - I can say that :) I've been interested in the Titanic since 1982, so had to see the most accurate repo of the ship. Shame about the totally insipid love story tacked into the middle of it...
Click to expand...

Yup, I can appreciate that Dom :). Certainly no different to listening to a piece of music [regularly] and being able to pick out the little faults and of course, with yourself being partially-sighted, you naturally devote an extra percentage of your senses to your hearing.

Funnily enough, I actually went to see it twice at the cinema (They have the best cinema here: Period. I've been to a few, including the ones in Leicester Square (How much for a ticket :eek: !!!!) and they don't even come close.) and I noticed soooooooo many faults the 2nd time round but all visually related. George Lucas always stated that cinema is 50% visual/50% audio.
Just a shame that some of Jim Cameron's crew appear to have paid as much attention to the sound as they did in hiding some attrocious gaffs :rolleyes:.

Must watch again ;) .
 

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