High Res. Audio Recording WITHOUT compromise.
Jun 2, 2012 12:23:13 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2012 12:23:13 GMT
Have you ever heard High Resolution Audio, using wide frequency response Stereo microphones, WITHOUT compression or Limiting?
Forget the old mixing consoles and crappy monitor speakers,
NO chains of opamps in tandem either . This is how industry veteran Barry Diament creates his high resolution DVDs. Unlike the majors, his artists also get a much bigger slice of the pie too.
However, Soundkeeper recordings are his passion, not his main day job.
Alex
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The following is from an email by Barry Diament of Barry Diament Audio, and the man behind Soundkeeper Records.Barry has kindly given me permission to post this.
Barry is a highly experienced Audio Engineer, and has been involved with many famous recording artists.
Some of Barry's Credits are attached.
Barry uses pure stereo techniques, with wide frequency response stereo microphones. He uses NO compression or limiting, and moves the position of the performers to achieve a balance in level
between different performers and instruments. These recordings are available as high resolution DVDs in various formats,
that are burned individually for each order.For those that are undecided as to which resolution to choose,
Barry has a Formats Comparison page, where selected tracks may be downloaded in different resolutions and compared.
The BDA Site Map also has links to interesting articles that Barry has written, as well as more indepth information about the Studio.
www.barrydiamentaudio.com/site.htm
The Format Comparison page is at
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com/format.htm
BDA - Studio Gear.
"I designed the room myself and built all the acoustic treatments myself. I designed the racks I use as well as the isolation devices I have under everything (including the speakers and subwoofers).
First, there are dedicated AC lines to feed the system. A power conditioner plugs into the lines and the gear plugs into the power conditioner.
The room is fully treated for low frequency resonant modes and early reflections, with diffusion used only for later reflections. (All too many photos of studios and "designed" rooms show diffusion near the speakers where it will, in my experience, *guarantee* early reflections arriving at the listening position, instead of being absorbed.)
All the components, including the power conditioner, loudspeakers and subwoofers sit on roller bearings of my own design (I call them Hip Joints) to isolate from groundborne vibrations in the horizontal and rotational planes, the former being the most prominent sort of groundborne vibration. In addition, all the non-speaker components sit on racks I designed (called Enjoyyourshelf racks) which feature independent vibration isolation for each shelf, comprised of an air bearing and a set of the aforementioned Hip Joints. I call the Enjoyyourshelf racks "the world's first piece of furniture with a fully independent suspension."
Unlike other racks that use an air bearing for the whole rack, the
Enjoyyourshelf provides a separate one for each shelf, allowing inflation adjustment to suit each component rather than the whole rack. Further, unlike any other rack with air of which I know, changing inflation of an air bearing does NOT require disconnection and removal of the gear. I can change the inflation while the music is playing! It can be quite convincing to deflate a bearing during the music and hear the soundstage collapse back toward the speakers.
Response from the system in this room is +/- 1.5 dB all the way down. Well, at least to the 20 Hz signal I used the last time I tested. The subs are spec'd to go to 16 Hz so perhaps the next test will reach down a little further.
Note, there is no EQ in the monitoring path. This is from source to
amplifiers to speakers/subs.
All cabling in the room is from Nordost, whom to my ears, is as unique in the cable world as I find Magnepan to be in the loudspeaker world.
When doing a recording, I carry a power conditioner and vibration isolation with me. The Mac laptop and the Metric Halo (which serves as mic preamps, A-D and D-A) are both plugged into the conditioner and both are isolated from vibrations. My mic cables too are Nordost, which showed me how hopelessly colored my old Mogami (pro) cables are. I got the Nordosts before the second of the two recording sessions for "Lift", the first Soundkeeper release. Everything since then has been Nordost only.
I should mention that placement of items in the room is also as different from a typical studio as can be. In most (practically all) studios, the monitors and the listening position are pushed to the front of the room. If the listening position is further back at all, it tends to be in the middle of the room, which is even worse than the front. The old washing machine sized bass reflex speakers used to be up where the wall meets the ceiling, usually in a corner. I can think of no worse place to put a speaker.
Nowadays, those tend to get less use than the little self-powered "shoe boxes" placed on the meter bridge of the engineer's console (i.e., mixing desk). This is another "worst" place for speakers as it *ensures* a cancellation from a console-top bounce, resulting in a midrange dip at the listening position (which itself tends to be sitting in a room-engendered bass peak or bass dip - more often a peak).
In my studio/listening room, I use no desk, in fact nothing but a small, movable table between the listening position and the speakers. The speakers are placed so their inside front edges are 1/3 of the way along the room diagonals (much as Peter Walker suggested back in the 1950's - as with other things, I believe he was right). There is about 6 feet (a bit over 1.8 meters) behind each speaker. The listening position makes an isosceles triangle with the listener about 10% further from either speaker than the speaker centers are from each other.
This setup is *very* good at getting "out of the way" and providing access to the recording itself. Changes such as those that occur over the first 50-100 hours use of a new cable are clearly revealed. (Switching to an identical but unused set of the same cables after that time, reveals just how much change there is.)
So, I hope you can see my idea of a studio is nothing whatsoever like what you see in photographs and magazines. There are a few photos on the BDA site ( www.barrydiamentaudio.com ). You can also see a small studio I designed for a client at
www.swordinthestonerecords.com/totw/photos.html "
Note the low height of the controls to minimize any cancellation effects. And note the positioning of the speakers, with lots of air around them in the room, to allow a real soundstage to develop (provided the recording contains one). - Barry Diament.
BDA Credits
Some mastering credits:
AC/DC,Aerosmith,Arditti String Quartet,Atlantic Soul Classics,Bad Company
Anita Baker,Tony Banks,Paul Beaudry & Pathways,Tommy Bolin
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians,Jackson Browne,Dave Brubeck
Hiram Bullock,C.S.Angels,Call,Cars,Benny Carter,Coasters
Phil Collins,Jayne Cortez,Cowboy Mouth,Jim Croce
Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young),Jim Crow,Cult
D*Note,Danzig,Divinyls,Dokken,Dream Command,Dreamtime
Eagles,Duke Ellington,Emerson, Lake & Palmer,Enya
Kevin Eubanks,Fears For Art,Firm
Roberta Flack,Steve Forbert,David Foster
Frankie Goes To Hollywood,Robert Gass,Genesis
J. Geils Band,Georgie Satellites,Guns N' Roses
Steve Hancoff,Hanoi Rocks,Helldorado,Gil-Scott Heron
Hoodoo Gurus,INXS,Amhad Jamal,Freedy Johnston,Jolly Boys
Grace Jones,Juster,Tommy Keene,Rusty Kershaw
Kitaro,Eartha Kitt,KMFDM,Al Kooper,Hubert Laws
Led Zeppelin,Alvin Lee,Julian Lennon
Bob Marley & The Wailers,Les McCann,Meatloaf
Medicine Band,Mike & The Mechanics,Milo Z
Modern English,John Mooney,Mötley Crüe
Ivan Neville,Anthony Newman,Gary Nicholson
Stevie Nicks,Nico,Nine Inch Nails,Nu Shooz
Ted Nugent,Of Cabbages & Kings,Onyan Art
David Thomas Peacock,Questionnaires
Robert Palmer,Robert Plant,Rascals,Ratt
Otis Redding,Rise Robots Rise,Rock City Angels
Linda Ronstadt,Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn
John Sebastian,Serious Pilgrim,Shadowland
Simply Red,Slayer,John David Souther,State Of Being
Steps Ahead,Subdudes,Sun and the Moon,Tesla
Dr. Fiorella Tirenzi,Pete Townshend,Twisted Sister
U2,Underworld,Jason Vitelli,Vo-Duo,Danny Wilde
Work Of Art,Yes,Warren Zevon
Forget the old mixing consoles and crappy monitor speakers,
NO chains of opamps in tandem either . This is how industry veteran Barry Diament creates his high resolution DVDs. Unlike the majors, his artists also get a much bigger slice of the pie too.
However, Soundkeeper recordings are his passion, not his main day job.
Alex
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The following is from an email by Barry Diament of Barry Diament Audio, and the man behind Soundkeeper Records.Barry has kindly given me permission to post this.
Barry is a highly experienced Audio Engineer, and has been involved with many famous recording artists.
Some of Barry's Credits are attached.
Barry uses pure stereo techniques, with wide frequency response stereo microphones. He uses NO compression or limiting, and moves the position of the performers to achieve a balance in level
between different performers and instruments. These recordings are available as high resolution DVDs in various formats,
that are burned individually for each order.For those that are undecided as to which resolution to choose,
Barry has a Formats Comparison page, where selected tracks may be downloaded in different resolutions and compared.
The BDA Site Map also has links to interesting articles that Barry has written, as well as more indepth information about the Studio.
www.barrydiamentaudio.com/site.htm
The Format Comparison page is at
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com/format.htm
BDA - Studio Gear.
"I designed the room myself and built all the acoustic treatments myself. I designed the racks I use as well as the isolation devices I have under everything (including the speakers and subwoofers).
First, there are dedicated AC lines to feed the system. A power conditioner plugs into the lines and the gear plugs into the power conditioner.
The room is fully treated for low frequency resonant modes and early reflections, with diffusion used only for later reflections. (All too many photos of studios and "designed" rooms show diffusion near the speakers where it will, in my experience, *guarantee* early reflections arriving at the listening position, instead of being absorbed.)
All the components, including the power conditioner, loudspeakers and subwoofers sit on roller bearings of my own design (I call them Hip Joints) to isolate from groundborne vibrations in the horizontal and rotational planes, the former being the most prominent sort of groundborne vibration. In addition, all the non-speaker components sit on racks I designed (called Enjoyyourshelf racks) which feature independent vibration isolation for each shelf, comprised of an air bearing and a set of the aforementioned Hip Joints. I call the Enjoyyourshelf racks "the world's first piece of furniture with a fully independent suspension."
Unlike other racks that use an air bearing for the whole rack, the
Enjoyyourshelf provides a separate one for each shelf, allowing inflation adjustment to suit each component rather than the whole rack. Further, unlike any other rack with air of which I know, changing inflation of an air bearing does NOT require disconnection and removal of the gear. I can change the inflation while the music is playing! It can be quite convincing to deflate a bearing during the music and hear the soundstage collapse back toward the speakers.
Response from the system in this room is +/- 1.5 dB all the way down. Well, at least to the 20 Hz signal I used the last time I tested. The subs are spec'd to go to 16 Hz so perhaps the next test will reach down a little further.
Note, there is no EQ in the monitoring path. This is from source to
amplifiers to speakers/subs.
All cabling in the room is from Nordost, whom to my ears, is as unique in the cable world as I find Magnepan to be in the loudspeaker world.
When doing a recording, I carry a power conditioner and vibration isolation with me. The Mac laptop and the Metric Halo (which serves as mic preamps, A-D and D-A) are both plugged into the conditioner and both are isolated from vibrations. My mic cables too are Nordost, which showed me how hopelessly colored my old Mogami (pro) cables are. I got the Nordosts before the second of the two recording sessions for "Lift", the first Soundkeeper release. Everything since then has been Nordost only.
I should mention that placement of items in the room is also as different from a typical studio as can be. In most (practically all) studios, the monitors and the listening position are pushed to the front of the room. If the listening position is further back at all, it tends to be in the middle of the room, which is even worse than the front. The old washing machine sized bass reflex speakers used to be up where the wall meets the ceiling, usually in a corner. I can think of no worse place to put a speaker.
Nowadays, those tend to get less use than the little self-powered "shoe boxes" placed on the meter bridge of the engineer's console (i.e., mixing desk). This is another "worst" place for speakers as it *ensures* a cancellation from a console-top bounce, resulting in a midrange dip at the listening position (which itself tends to be sitting in a room-engendered bass peak or bass dip - more often a peak).
In my studio/listening room, I use no desk, in fact nothing but a small, movable table between the listening position and the speakers. The speakers are placed so their inside front edges are 1/3 of the way along the room diagonals (much as Peter Walker suggested back in the 1950's - as with other things, I believe he was right). There is about 6 feet (a bit over 1.8 meters) behind each speaker. The listening position makes an isosceles triangle with the listener about 10% further from either speaker than the speaker centers are from each other.
This setup is *very* good at getting "out of the way" and providing access to the recording itself. Changes such as those that occur over the first 50-100 hours use of a new cable are clearly revealed. (Switching to an identical but unused set of the same cables after that time, reveals just how much change there is.)
So, I hope you can see my idea of a studio is nothing whatsoever like what you see in photographs and magazines. There are a few photos on the BDA site ( www.barrydiamentaudio.com ). You can also see a small studio I designed for a client at
www.swordinthestonerecords.com/totw/photos.html "
Note the low height of the controls to minimize any cancellation effects. And note the positioning of the speakers, with lots of air around them in the room, to allow a real soundstage to develop (provided the recording contains one). - Barry Diament.
BDA Credits
Some mastering credits:
AC/DC,Aerosmith,Arditti String Quartet,Atlantic Soul Classics,Bad Company
Anita Baker,Tony Banks,Paul Beaudry & Pathways,Tommy Bolin
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians,Jackson Browne,Dave Brubeck
Hiram Bullock,C.S.Angels,Call,Cars,Benny Carter,Coasters
Phil Collins,Jayne Cortez,Cowboy Mouth,Jim Croce
Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young),Jim Crow,Cult
D*Note,Danzig,Divinyls,Dokken,Dream Command,Dreamtime
Eagles,Duke Ellington,Emerson, Lake & Palmer,Enya
Kevin Eubanks,Fears For Art,Firm
Roberta Flack,Steve Forbert,David Foster
Frankie Goes To Hollywood,Robert Gass,Genesis
J. Geils Band,Georgie Satellites,Guns N' Roses
Steve Hancoff,Hanoi Rocks,Helldorado,Gil-Scott Heron
Hoodoo Gurus,INXS,Amhad Jamal,Freedy Johnston,Jolly Boys
Grace Jones,Juster,Tommy Keene,Rusty Kershaw
Kitaro,Eartha Kitt,KMFDM,Al Kooper,Hubert Laws
Led Zeppelin,Alvin Lee,Julian Lennon
Bob Marley & The Wailers,Les McCann,Meatloaf
Medicine Band,Mike & The Mechanics,Milo Z
Modern English,John Mooney,Mötley Crüe
Ivan Neville,Anthony Newman,Gary Nicholson
Stevie Nicks,Nico,Nine Inch Nails,Nu Shooz
Ted Nugent,Of Cabbages & Kings,Onyan Art
David Thomas Peacock,Questionnaires
Robert Palmer,Robert Plant,Rascals,Ratt
Otis Redding,Rise Robots Rise,Rock City Angels
Linda Ronstadt,Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn
John Sebastian,Serious Pilgrim,Shadowland
Simply Red,Slayer,John David Souther,State Of Being
Steps Ahead,Subdudes,Sun and the Moon,Tesla
Dr. Fiorella Tirenzi,Pete Townshend,Twisted Sister
U2,Underworld,Jason Vitelli,Vo-Duo,Danny Wilde
Work Of Art,Yes,Warren Zevon