Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

In article ,
William Sommerwerck wrote:
You should hear what happens to mono recordings when a bit of stereo
ambience is added to the room. The improvement is drastic.

I think you forgot the parenthesis round improvment.

I've yet to hear any decent mono recording improved by adding stereo
ambience - and that includes pro attempts.

--
*It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

Chel van Gennip wrote:

IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good hall
to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.


I couldn't agree more. I'd also like to start a campaign against the
complete swamping of almost every recording of 'early' music with
reverberation, as if (a) we'd not realise it was early music unless this
big audio sign was up saying 'this is early music, listen to the reverb'
and (b) all pre-baroque music was played and listened to in vast
cathedrals and caverns...

--
Andrew Rose - Pristine Classical

The online home of Classical Music: www.pristineclassical.com

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good hall
to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.

Yes, but how do you do that with existing, commercial recordings, which is
what the OP was asking about?

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

You should hear what happens to mono recordings when a bit of
stereo ambience is added to the room. The improvement is drastic.

I think you forgot the parentheses around improvement. I've yet to
hear any decent mono recording improved by adding stereo
ambience -- and that includes pro attempts.

Because -- as I repeatedly stated -- you didn't hear it correctly done. You
don't add the ambience to the recording, but through additional speakers.
The results are much different.

I will add one qualification... The recording has to be reasonably good to
begin with. Really old mono recordings sound rather odd with stereo
ambience -- though the oddness is more aesthetic than acoustic.

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good
hall to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.

I couldn't agree more. I'd also like to start a campaign against the
complete swamping of almost every recording of "early" music with
reverberation, as if (a) we'd not realise it was early music unless this
big audio sign was up saying "this is early music, listen to the reverb"
and (b) all pre-baroque music was played and listened to in vast
cathedrals and caverns...

Again, this is off-topic, but it needs a response.

It's not just the "early music" that's swamped in reverb -- most recordings
of the music of any era has added reverb.

I've felt for some years that we're not hearing early (and Baroque) music
properly, because this added reverb audibly "contradicts" the acoustics of
the relatively small spaces in which these works were performed. (I'm not
talking about the Vespers of 1610, okay?)

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

On Fri, 6 Jul 2007 04:13:29 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good
hall to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.

I couldn't agree more. I'd also like to start a campaign against the
complete swamping of almost every recording of "early" music with
reverberation, as if (a) we'd not realise it was early music unless this
big audio sign was up saying "this is early music, listen to the reverb"
and (b) all pre-baroque music was played and listened to in vast
cathedrals and caverns...

Again, this is off-topic, but it needs a response.

It's not just the "early music" that's swamped in reverb -- most recordings
of the music of any era has added reverb.

I've felt for some years that we're not hearing early (and Baroque) music
properly, because this added reverb audibly "contradicts" the acoustics of
the relatively small spaces in which these works were performed. (I'm not
talking about the Vespers of 1610, okay?)


I've always had the impression that when a recording is swamped with
reverb either the playing wasn't very good or the producer/engineer
didn't really understand what he was recording.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

In article ,
William Sommerwerck wrote:
IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good hall
to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.

Yes, but how do you do that with existing, commercial recordings, which is
what the OP was asking about?

By looking for Bob Fine's name in the credits?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

William Sommerwerck wrote:
IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good hall
to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.


Yes, but how do you do that with existing, commercial recordings, which is
what the OP was asking about?

Well, a couple points. If it's popular/pop music, one may choose to not
even bother ;) If it's classical, one may choose another recording.

Nevertheles, even though I prefer recordings the way they were made (and
hopefully intended) by the rec engineer, I never opted for a surround
system, to much criticism from friends (a gots-to-have these days).

I'd prefer a good stereo with full range fronts and tonewise matching
rear speakers for pseudo-quadro/surround for films _and_ for a more
spacious experience for at least some music.
I have absolutely no interest in center speakers and subwoofers.

I've sometimes been thinking about exactly what you say here, i.e. a
rear setup creating a natural ambiace, as it happens in the real
theatre/hall due to reflections. Kindof a minimal effect, just to add
what a spaciousness-wise 'flat' stereo recording don't have.

Yes, I've tried some crappy consumer gear attempting to do that, of
cause to no avail. I'll have a look at your suggested gear.

Uhh ohh, I'm most surely going to be lectured now :-D

--
Kind regards,
Mogens V.

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

I've sometimes been thinking about exactly what you say here,
i.e. a rear setup creating a natural ambiace, as it happens in the
real theatre/hall due to reflections. Kindof a minimal effect, just to
add what a spaciousness-wise 'flat' stereo recording don't have.

Yes, I've tried some crappy consumer gear attempting to do that,
of cause to no avail. I'll have a look at your suggested gear.

Uhh ohh, I'm most surely going to be lectured now :-D

Not from me.

You can start with a Hafler difference-signal setup while you're looking for
a synthesizer. (The Yamaha DSP-1 shows up all the time on eBay; just be
patient and wait for one with a remote control. If a Yamaha DSP-3000 or JVC
XP-A1000 or XP-A1010 shows up, grab it. JVC still has remote controls,
though they're down to three.)

I should point out that the most-significant ambience is the "lateral" sound
of the hall, not the rear reflections. All the synthesizers I mentioned
produce four channels of ambience, two of which are intended to come from
the sides.

Adding reverb to hi-fi
 

On Fri, 6 Jul 2007 04:13:29 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

IMHO the best way to get a good classical recording is to use a good
hall to make the recording and put the microphones on the right place.

I couldn't agree more. I'd also like to start a campaign against the
complete swamping of almost every recording of "early" music with
reverberation, as if (a) we'd not realise it was early music unless this
big audio sign was up saying "this is early music, listen to the reverb"
and (b) all pre-baroque music was played and listened to in vast
cathedrals and caverns...

Again, this is off-topic, but it needs a response.

It's not just the "early music" that's swamped in reverb -- most recordings
of the music of any era has added reverb.

I've felt for some years that we're not hearing early (and Baroque) music
properly, because this added reverb audibly "contradicts" the acoustics of
the relatively small spaces in which these works were performed. (I'm not
talking about the Vespers of 1610, okay?)


I have NEVER seen a review in stereophile saying the recording was too
reverberant. Interpret this as you like

Abbedd