Audio 102

zakimak

A while back there were some issues between posters about audio which inspired me to start this thread to give some insight of what I’ve learned throughout my studies. This is a general post and is meant to give in general terms. It is not meant to be completely scientific with all the jargon and terms that most would not care to understand or in such details that would be difficult to follow. Hopefully there is enough aspects within to provide people with some insight and knowledge so they can make informed and aware future decisions. Please feel free to make any corrections but more importantly add to the discussion if warranted. Some background before we proceed.

Sound Reproduction

Music reproduction is not limited to car audio. With that, the premise is no different from other forms; be it a home system and its’ many variants or any amplified concerts. The goal is to reproduce “music” or more appropriately, ‘sound’, as faithfully as possible to its’ original source. There really is no perfect system but a more or less a subjective one. This will always going to be contentious issue but nonetheless it is still a system that comprised usually of a source, some form of amplification and a driver/speaker. Debates between each system will vary but in a well designed and executed one, it would be very much evident and satisfying.

The first thing that must be addressed when designing an audio system is that - the only perfect system is the original instrument in which the sound was created; be it a guitar, cymbals, horns, vocalist or even digitally synthesized sounds with some caveat. Another acceptance we must make is; the environment in which we listen to will always be a compromise and will add it’s character to the sound produced. Unless we are listening to live music in the original environment in which it was played, everything is simply a reproduction. Any reproduction in any form will never be as faithful as the original and colourization must be accepted. The best we can do is minimized the effect.

Once we accept that notion, we can accept every system’s limitations and not spending time arguing whether the Mark Levinson Monoblocks are any better than the cira ‘95 Krell’s and simply just enjoy the sweet sound it produces. That said, there are bad gears and good gears and the mythological belief in the ‘best and cheapest’ are left to the uninformed and biased. With all things in life, ‘diminishing returns’ applies and choosing an audio system is no different. The trick is to get the best gears one can afford, be it $1000 or $100 000. On that note, a system is only as good as its’ weakest link so we must choose wisely in order to get the best return for any given budget.

Before we decide on a gear to form our system, we need to understand how sound are reproduced, how we perceive it, what specifications are important and why it is relevant. This knowledge will allow us to understand why manufacturer place importance on certain specifications and how it applies to our purchasing decision.

Continue to Part 2

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