6
votes
Accepted
Should I use pedals for guitar effects while recording?
I wouldn't record using FX unless I was very sure about the end result I wanted and how it would sit in the mix, just to leave my options open since you can't go back and remove the FX. On the other ...
- 1,573
5
votes
Does sound lose quality if sped up and then slowed down back to normal speed?
It depends what method is used.
If it's simply played back 'faster' without actually changing the data, then of course there is no lasting damage. This would be how a simple sampler would ordinarily ...
- 8,560
4
votes
Do XLR cables wear out?
Yes, they do wear out eventually. As pointed out already, the life time depends greatly on use and quality. Even with a cable that seemingly works sound quality may get drastically reduced. See below.
...
- 3,782
4
votes
Accepted
In general, what's a good dB level at which to normalize my audio files?
In my experience, it all depends on where the audio is to be used next. If there is a limiter of some kind in the next phase of the process. Sometimes a limiter will be applied at varying levels ...
- 2,526
3
votes
Accepted
Can differences between high quality audio formats be noticed on low quality headphones?
The short answer is "No".
The long answer is:
I did a study in university to find out if people can, as some people say, notice the difference between different audio codecs and different bit-rates of ...
- 2,526
3
votes
What makes low quality speakers become distorted when at high volume?
There are a number of factors involved here but mainly frequency response, transient response, signal to noise ratio (S/N) and total harmonic distortion (THD).
Frequency response is largely dependent ...
- 1,573
3
votes
Accepted
Best volume setting for audio capturing
Gain-staging without meters…
Turn your output device [in this case your phone] up gradually, turning down your listening levels as you do this to keep the sound comfortable.
If you start to hear ...
- 8,560
2
votes
In general, what's a good dB level at which to normalize my audio files?
Best practise these days when considering content normalization is not to normalize to an arbitrary peak level, but to consider programme content and overall loudness when conducting normalization ...
- 8,835
2
votes
In general, what's a good dB level at which to normalize my audio files?
If you normalize all of your samples to -0.1 dB, then use them in your DAW projects, you'll end up clipping your audio tracks all the time as soon as you use a plug-in.
I use Pro Tools where the ...
- 768
2
votes
Panning/stereo problem with Denon AH-MM200BK headphones
This very much sounds like the plugs are incompatible. Compare the looks of the two headphone jacks (those you actually plug in in case you use some kind of adapter), in particular the number of ...
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
How can I detect the sample and bit rate coming from my iPhone?
TL;DR: It appears the iPhone 6 supports 24-bit audio and 48 kHz playback.
So I found a way to empirically test playback.
This first screenshot shows a recording of playback over iPhone USB into ...
2
votes
How can I detect the sample and bit rate coming from my iPhone?
Unlike some earlier models of iOS devices, the DACs and ADCs in the iPhone 6s and 7 support native sample rates of 48000. You can experimentally test for this by writing an iOS app that configures ...
- 171
2
votes
For optimal 3-way sound: should passive speakers be connected to my amplifier/mixer, or to the crossover of an active subwoofer?
Are the subwoofer crossover outputs indeed for passive speakers? Or are they intended for active speakers or amplifier?
I would expect an active subwoofer to have the crossover at line level since ...
- 21
2
votes
What makes low quality speakers become distorted when at high volume?
Schizomorph makes a solid answer for all the technical details, but I'm going to break it down more basically.
Sound consists of pressure changes.
A speaker makes sound by moving a diaphragm that ...
- 8,162
2
votes
What is the difference in controlling volume through the software application, the system, and hardware?
This is known as gain-staging.
In a pro environment this is done by watching the meters at each stage, setting levels to give the highest signal without ever going near distortion (leaving headroom). ...
- 8,560
2
votes
Remove constant noise with Audacity
Audacity has a noise removal plugin, which needs a sample of just the noise to be able to calculate a profile.
From Audacity Manual: Noise Reduction
Noise Reduction can reduce constant background ...
- 8,560
1
vote
General/fundamental question about factors influencing audio quality
I suggest maybe you take a step back for a moment from the detailed list of equipment related things, and just think about what all that equipment is trying to achieve. It may seem counter-intuitive, ...
- 101
1
vote
What's the sound difference between blown out speakers and needing new foam?
Throw those in the bin, unless you want to replace all the drivers.
Anything allowed to get into that state isn't even worth opening to see what may be salvageable.
The cones are free-floating on ...
- 8,560
1
vote
Accepted
Is the quality of a DAC related to software implementation?
The ADC (Analog-to-digital converter) and the DAC (Digital-to-analog converter are the gateways between the real analog world of electrons and the digital binary world; While it is possible that some ...
- 3,782
1
vote
Is the quality of a DAC related to software implementation?
Your title question is different to the main question you ask in the body of your post, so you may want to change it a little! However, in response to your main question:-
DACs, whether external ...
- 1,336
1
vote
How can I detect the sample and bit rate coming from my iPhone?
Bit depth is specific to certain file types, most notably Wav. Because the standard procedure of a music application is to play a compressed version of a file such as Mp3 or Aiff it throws bit depth ...
- 161
1
vote
Accepted
Panning/stereo problem with Denon AH-MM200BK headphones
To extend user20438's answer:
The Denons do one thing that is odd - that is when the sound is panned fully to the right, I hear what I would expect. However, when panned fully to the left, the ...
- 341
1
vote
Accepted
Are BRSTM files lossless?
The Binary Revolution Stream format uses ADPCM to represent audio data. ADPCM uses a lossless compression algorithm.
ADPCM is an adaptation of DPCM, which is in turn, an adaptation of PCM.
...
- 2,526
1
vote
Are BRSTM files lossless?
From a quick read through several of the links above, I believe it's most appropriate to call BRSTM a lossless audio format. For a start, let's define "lossless audio":
For simplicity's sake, a ...
- 341
1
vote
For optimal 3-way sound: should passive speakers be connected to my amplifier/mixer, or to the crossover of an active subwoofer?
I think the manual is pretty clear. Stereo mixer output into the subwoofer, stereo output from the subwoofer into either active speakers or a stereo power amp with passive speakers. The subwoofer ...
- 11
1
vote
Accepted
FLAC --bps setting real meaning
According to the man page, --bps specifies the bits per sample. As far as I can tell, this parameter controls the data that will be encoded using FLAC, and can have a lossy effect. For example, here's ...
- 145
1
vote
What' is the best piece of hardware to use for recording DJ sets?
I'm no expert on portable recording devices, but I'd say your best choice for quality is to buy a portable recorder with a S/PDIF coax input. That way, there's no D/A-A/D conversion.
I just did a ...
- 2,526
1
vote
Accepted
Is there a way to increase WAV quality?
Make sure the waveform does not peak at zero. In theory, you can normalize an audio waveform to zero and it is correct, but in practice, that will cause clipping in some playback situations. Clipping ...
- 621
1
vote
Accepted
How is compression quality related to sample rate?
It has nothing to do with the Nyquist frequency, because you correctly state that there is no significant energy above 20 kHz, and we wouldn't be able to hear that anyway. If you over-sample a ...
- 104
1
vote
How is compression quality related to sample rate?
basically if the sound you have recorded is across the sound spectrum as a whole then that would translate to the sample rate.so fuller sound more possibilities of compression without disturbing the ...
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