Nov 15, 2009, 12:58 PM
Thanks for the responses so far. I want to differentiate between audio engineer and audiophile. While some audiophiles are truly in the pursuit of quality audio, but the folks that pay $6000 (that's not a typo) for a 6 ft cable are insane. The acoustics guy I'm working for knows folks who have dropped 120K on speakers that actually sound like ass. There are many parts of the audiophile scene that are totally a racket. While most consumers will never be able to tell the difference between 44.1kHz/16bit and 192kHz/24bit recordings, having a room that sounds good can improve the either experience for the listener.
Per the argument of not wanting good headphones because you can't hear above a certain frequency:
Yes, most people can't hear above 20kHz, and most people don't even get that high (my hearing tops out at 16kHz+, so I have to be really careful considering that audio is my job). But, these frequencies in the "air band" DO affect frequencies in the audible range. This is why mp3s sound like ass. They are compressed and have harmonic frequencies missing. While I can't hear those frequencies, most of the time I can tell the changes they create.
I've recorded violins that have significant harmonics all the way up to 44kHz. And if I had recorded at a higher sampling rate, I'm sure there would have been more (I'll post a screen shot when I get home later tonight). If you were to roll off the highs after 20kHz, some engineers would be able to tell that something was off. There are mixes I've listened to that are "good" except for the fact that they are grating as hell, and I'm not talking about a mix being too bright. Popping those audio files into a spectrograph often times reveals some funky shit going on above 16kHz.
@OZA
Damping a room is one way to do it, but if you have good drivers, diffusion (depending on the room) can make the room sound great. The key to acoustics is balancing damping and diffusion. And you're right, few gamers have been in a room that has been properly tuned, let alone considered having it done. And it's amazing the difference a good headphone amp can make. This is due to having a better slew rate (that's a lesson for another time) and that the output is more linear. You should see what many op-amps do to audio signal. There are some really good bodies of research that test things like intermodulation distortion in op-amps. It amazes me how many people buy a sub and all of a sudden thinks it sounds good...cross-over frequency...what's that? Room nodes...huh? I have sennheiser hd650s myself that I plug into my old pioneer (back when they were actually quality) 240 watt power amp (quad FET design). That amp also drives some old AR-3's, which were one of the first high quality bookshelf monitors back in the early 60's.
@Tarquin
Out of curiosity, what is your setup, and what is the room like? Since you have invested in the audio, have you considered that the room itself plays just as important part as your gear? Thanks for the suggestion, I will check out that forum.
@coop
Those Sony's are everywhere. They are great for live audio, seen in radio stations all over, and are in most studios. They are a great tool for verifying mixes. What all have you done audio wise? SourceOP seems to have a handful of people in the audio industry hanging around.
Do you all think if gamers were put into a room that was properly designed would it increase the enjoyment level enough to make them want to spend money to achieve that experience?
Per the argument of not wanting good headphones because you can't hear above a certain frequency:
Yes, most people can't hear above 20kHz, and most people don't even get that high (my hearing tops out at 16kHz+, so I have to be really careful considering that audio is my job). But, these frequencies in the "air band" DO affect frequencies in the audible range. This is why mp3s sound like ass. They are compressed and have harmonic frequencies missing. While I can't hear those frequencies, most of the time I can tell the changes they create.
I've recorded violins that have significant harmonics all the way up to 44kHz. And if I had recorded at a higher sampling rate, I'm sure there would have been more (I'll post a screen shot when I get home later tonight). If you were to roll off the highs after 20kHz, some engineers would be able to tell that something was off. There are mixes I've listened to that are "good" except for the fact that they are grating as hell, and I'm not talking about a mix being too bright. Popping those audio files into a spectrograph often times reveals some funky shit going on above 16kHz.
@OZA
Damping a room is one way to do it, but if you have good drivers, diffusion (depending on the room) can make the room sound great. The key to acoustics is balancing damping and diffusion. And you're right, few gamers have been in a room that has been properly tuned, let alone considered having it done. And it's amazing the difference a good headphone amp can make. This is due to having a better slew rate (that's a lesson for another time) and that the output is more linear. You should see what many op-amps do to audio signal. There are some really good bodies of research that test things like intermodulation distortion in op-amps. It amazes me how many people buy a sub and all of a sudden thinks it sounds good...cross-over frequency...what's that? Room nodes...huh? I have sennheiser hd650s myself that I plug into my old pioneer (back when they were actually quality) 240 watt power amp (quad FET design). That amp also drives some old AR-3's, which were one of the first high quality bookshelf monitors back in the early 60's.
@Tarquin
Out of curiosity, what is your setup, and what is the room like? Since you have invested in the audio, have you considered that the room itself plays just as important part as your gear? Thanks for the suggestion, I will check out that forum.
@coop
Those Sony's are everywhere. They are great for live audio, seen in radio stations all over, and are in most studios. They are a great tool for verifying mixes. What all have you done audio wise? SourceOP seems to have a handful of people in the audio industry hanging around.
Do you all think if gamers were put into a room that was properly designed would it increase the enjoyment level enough to make them want to spend money to achieve that experience?