4 ms·

I for one, WISH, people would worry about audiophile stuff for "venue audio or PA". Man, some of the s* setups I have heard in my time.

gareim 13y ago
I wish some of these "DJs" at colleges these days understood what distortion is. And what is with the trend where volume has to always be at 100% even when you're playing in a small room? It's nuts out there.
rdl 13y ago
There's a difference between "caring about sound quality" and "audiophile 0.001% improvement". The first priority of pro audio is mechanical stuff and reliability, then sufficient coverage with adequate quality, then it becomes a tradeoff of budget (and hassle) vs. improvements in audio quality. I don't think anyone would really have a problem with "normal mid-range (~$500-1000?) home system quality sound" at a sports stadium as an upper bound of quality, which is hard to achieve for every seat. (the other funny thing about the pro group is we all had sennheiser or beyerdynamic or grado headphones at our desks, and mostly stuff like Martin Logan/Paradigm/PSB/NHT/Magnepan or (for me, since I was a poor college student) a reuse (mit dumpster-diving equivalent) Klipsch La Scala from the 1970s setup at home.) Bose Aviation headsets also rock; I like the Dave Clark for the military standardness but the Bose were the first ANC I think.
- starky 13y ago
  >(the other funny thing about the pro group is we all had sennheiser or beyerdynamic or grado headphones at our desks, and mostly stuff like Martin Logan/Paradigm/PSB/NHT/Magnepan or (for me, since I was a poor college student) a reuse (mit dumpster-diving equivalent) Klipsch La Scala from the 1970s setup at home.) This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Just because you make products that you wouldn't necessarily choose yourself doesn't mean you aren't an excellent audio engineer. This same principle applies to the brewmasters at macro breweries. The fact that they make a difficult to brew beer extremely consistently shows how good they are, but they still wouldn't choose to drink it.
  - wozniacki 13y ago
    On your point about brewmasters at macro breweries: Light beer may be easy to drink, but it's hard to make. Here's why the weakest brews deserve more applause. It's common to disparage light beers. As craft beers have elbowed their way into American refrigerators and taps, light beers have become punch lines. What few drinkers know, however, is that quality light beers are incredibly difficult to brew. The thin flavor means there's little to mask defects in the more than 800 chemical compounds within. As Kyler Serfass, manager of the home-brew supply shop Brooklyn Homebrew, told me, "Light beer is a brewer's beer. It may be bland, but it's really tough to do." Belgian monks and master brewers around the world marvel at how macro-breweries like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors have perfected the process in hundreds of factories, ensuring that every pour from every brewery tastes exactly the same. http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12940/scientific-reasons-respect-light-beer http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12940/scientific-reasons-...
niels_olson 13y ago
Edward Tufte has a good thread going back years, "Public performances: music always too loud?" http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000cX=1 http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0... Tufte actually consulted for Bose and has said it was a great experience. He still uses Bose gear for all his tour stops. Also, in New Orleans, if you're smart, go to the Marginy. Frenchman St. Find the places where the players just play. No amplification at all. That city produces enough fresh music to supply three local stations 24 hours a day. I'd tell you some exact spots, but no. No I won't. Sorry.
- rdl 13y ago
  That thread is awesome. Is everything on his site like that, or is it a huge outlier? I know a fair number of speakers who bring their own mics (either to a recording studio or a live venue). Bringing the whole kit is pretty serious though.
  - niels_olson 13y ago
    He very actively culls low-quality content from his site. You might find this thread interesting, "Moderating internet forums" http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000fT http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0...

gareim 13y ago

I wish some of these "DJs" at colleges these days understood what distortion is. And what is with the trend where volume has to always be at 100% even when you're playing in a small room? It's nuts out there.

rdl 13y ago

There's a difference between "caring about sound quality" and "audiophile 0.001% improvement". The first priority of pro audio is mechanical stuff and reliability, then sufficient coverage with adequate quality, then it becomes a tradeoff of budget (and hassle) vs. improvements in audio quality. I don't think anyone would really have a problem with "normal mid-range (~$500-1000?) home system quality sound" at a sports stadium as an upper bound of quality, which is hard to achieve for every seat. (the other funny thing about the pro group is we all had sennheiser or beyerdynamic or grado headphones at our desks, and mostly stuff like Martin Logan/Paradigm/PSB/NHT/Magnepan or (for me, since I was a poor college student) a reuse (mit dumpster-diving equivalent) Klipsch La Scala from the 1970s setup at home.) Bose Aviation headsets also rock; I like the Dave Clark for the military standardness but the Bose were the first ANC I think.

starky 13y ago
>(the other funny thing about the pro group is we all had sennheiser or beyerdynamic or grado headphones at our desks, and mostly stuff like Martin Logan/Paradigm/PSB/NHT/Magnepan or (for me, since I was a poor college student) a reuse (mit dumpster-diving equivalent) Klipsch La Scala from the 1970s setup at home.) This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Just because you make products that you wouldn't necessarily choose yourself doesn't mean you aren't an excellent audio engineer. This same principle applies to the brewmasters at macro breweries. The fact that they make a difficult to brew beer extremely consistently shows how good they are, but they still wouldn't choose to drink it.
- wozniacki 13y ago
  On your point about brewmasters at macro breweries: Light beer may be easy to drink, but it's hard to make. Here's why the weakest brews deserve more applause. It's common to disparage light beers. As craft beers have elbowed their way into American refrigerators and taps, light beers have become punch lines. What few drinkers know, however, is that quality light beers are incredibly difficult to brew. The thin flavor means there's little to mask defects in the more than 800 chemical compounds within. As Kyler Serfass, manager of the home-brew supply shop Brooklyn Homebrew, told me, "Light beer is a brewer's beer. It may be bland, but it's really tough to do." Belgian monks and master brewers around the world marvel at how macro-breweries like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors have perfected the process in hundreds of factories, ensuring that every pour from every brewery tastes exactly the same. http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12940/scientific-reasons-respect-light-beer http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12940/scientific-reasons-...

niels_olson 13y ago

Edward Tufte has a good thread going back years, "Public performances: music always too loud?" http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000cX=1 http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0... Tufte actually consulted for Bose and has said it was a great experience. He still uses Bose gear for all his tour stops. Also, in New Orleans, if you're smart, go to the Marginy. Frenchman St. Find the places where the players just play. No amplification at all. That city produces enough fresh music to supply three local stations 24 hours a day. I'd tell you some exact spots, but no. No I won't. Sorry.

rdl 13y ago
That thread is awesome. Is everything on his site like that, or is it a huge outlier? I know a fair number of speakers who bring their own mics (either to a recording studio or a live venue). Bringing the whole kit is pretty serious though.
- niels_olson 13y ago
  He very actively culls low-quality content from his site. You might find this thread interesting, "Moderating internet forums" http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000fT http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0...