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Lavry Engineering Paper on Hi-Res


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The Lavry Report is a well done, professional document and is exactly the kind of post that computeraudiophile needs. Design methodology always involves listing the criteria that effect the design objective. In most real systems the variables are dependent on one another. Because of these dependencies an optimal design result can only be achieved by an optimal combination of the criteria. For example, a strong aircraft wing is heavier, but you want an aircraft light enough to fly. In this case, strong and light are dependent on one another. It does no good to have the strongest wing ever made on an aircraft that's too heavy to fly. In general, after obtaining a list of all the parameters that effect the design, and testing their effects on the system, a design decision must be taken that chooses the optimal compromise between all the competing criteria. This field of engineering is called "Design of Experiments" and I have some experience in it.

The Lavry report is great news for Audiophiles, because it means that we do not have to chase after the latest and greatest bit depth and sample rate recordings by spending ever more and larger amounts of money on the latest and greatest equipment. There are other criteria effecting sound quality that need to be considered at this point in time. The identification of these other factors and their optimization should be the area of concentration of this blog. We all know it when we hear a great recording and when we hear a mediocre one, but what really made the difference between the two? The Lavry report indicates that we need to start looking in areas other than just bit depth and sample rate.

 

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This is a truism:

"I've also said my experience has been that 90-95% of the ultimate sound quality of any recording has already been determined by the time the signal is leaving the microphones - long before any other gear, analog or digital, high res or low, comes into the equation."

 

I can hear the difference between good recordings and bad and I'm convinced now that high resolution has been over sold. It becomes a focus because it's something that can be measured and controlled. The microphone and mixing is beyond the control of the playback system, yet it is by far the most important factor.

 

We need a test apparatus by which a recording can be simply measured and rated. Human ears can do it, why then couldn't a machine? These ratings could be stated in the sales material alongside bit depth and sample rate. This measure/rating does not exist yet. I can't understand why it hasn't been done yet. Music playback equipment could even come with this test circuit, once it's invented, that determines a quality rating just like bit depth and sample rate is now. Whoever invents this would be the next "Dolby."

 

TEST - listen to some high resolution radio stations using your browser. Then listen to http://www.sky.fm/. Specifically, there is something the SKY.fm nature sounds channel has that makes it very satisfying on my DAC and it is not resolution, after all this is just low quality internet radio. The classical and romantic channels also sounds better. What are they doing that makes the music sound so much better?

 

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