Theabove link alone says that this is not an "impossible dream!" - people have achieved this regularly, pretty well since the birth of audio recordings, using various methods. A key part of this, is that is often done using physical big speakers, so one of the myths of the audiophile world is that humongous speakers are a necessary ingredient ... but are they really? Also, that enormous power is needed, thousands and thousand of watts - umm, drop a Marshall guitar amp into your lounge, a few feet way, with its miserable 60 watt tube amp, and have a decent player give it a solid workout - was that, err, a small sound? Or, did it blast you, with intensity? ... What matters, as always, is the integrity of the playback chain - get it right, and big sound emerges; get it wrong, and you won't ...
The two essentials are that the system can produce realistic sound levels, and, that at this level that distortion is under control - the latter is something that the audio world still struggles to achieve. The latest hifi show I visited demonstrated that quite significant gains have been made over the last decade, in that the general standard is much higher; you can now buy a combo of gear at something approaching sensible pricing that gets things right, in the ball park of always being able to produce, "big sound".
How do you know whether your system can do, big sound? Well, certain types of music tracks are a good test of a system's capabilities in this regard; and showstopper songs from musicals, of current times, are prime candidates. Just mentioned, in a review of a DAC, was using this track,
... and I agree. Major changes of dynamics in the piece, great density at times ... can your playback do full justice to every part of this, from the most delicate, to the bringing the house down climaxes, when the level is set at realistic volumes?
One thing that has to be got right to allow for large scale music presentation to be without audible issues, is the higher range of frequencies - the treble. But Redbook has been notorious for not seeming to do this so well ... to this day, many believe that this is somehow intrinsic to this format, as here,
Are there, "treble artifacts"? No ... this is merely an indication of below par replay equipment - like having a vinyl rig with the cartridge not mounted with correct alignment; the SQ will be degraded, unnecessarily.
Big Sound can just be a raucous mess if you don't get the treble right, for 44/16 - will take attention to detail to make it right, but that's just part of the journey if you want a presentation of a high standard ... .
An element of troubleshooting, which leads to a system being able to do Big Sound if the right moves are then made, is being aware if there is enough clarity in the playback so that you can "can go over to some instrument(s) and listen to just them". Being able to focus on sound elements, strong 'imaging', are other ways of putting this ... if you can't do this on some recording, then the number one rule is to not blame the recording!! So easy, to put it in the "poor recording" basket ... but your rig won't improve, in the ways that really matter, if you follow this approach ...
A good example are 1930s swing orchestra tracks - a piece can range from an unlistenable, cacophonous mess, right through to a full, rich experience where each contribution to the track's sound is completely 'musical', and can be easily followed, as above. As an example, can you tune into the drumming, effortlessly see the man there, driving the rhythm section of the piece, his instruments echoing strongly off the recording room surfaces?
This is what's possible - and leads to Big Sound, on all sorts of material. Listening for the standard of reproduction being good enough to project this sense is a vital part of the toolkit, IMO - and should be 'learnt', and practiced ...
Learning how to calibrate a 5.1 studio before mixing is essential for your final mix because it ensures the balance between the 5.1 systems normalized across each individual speaker. I wanted to experience a calibration independently and decided to use the techniques I learned in a tutorial class to help guide me through the process.
As I have not used this film suite for 5.1 mixing yet, I am unsure as to which is the correct path for the speakers. Here is where a bit of trial and error comes into play. Set up a new mono audio track with the output of your track heading to the main 5.1 out. Insert a Signal Generator plugin and set it to your preferred tone and level. Play around with the surround sound panning to test the routing of your I/O.
The first thing I noticed was that the speaker path was incorrect. The default path that was selected was L C R Ls Rs LFE. Using my surround panning, I could test the routing to confirm this. The right channel was in the center and visa versa with nothing at all coming out of the surround speakers. Since these two speakers were opposite, I went back into the I/O setup and deleted the main 5.1 path so I could create a new main output.
Using trial and error, I decided to hit Default on the I/O output and create a New Path, but before doing this I had to change the Path Order otherwise I would have the same result as before. I noticed that the 5.1 Path Order [L R C LFE Ls Rs] matched the speakers that are set up in here simply because the Right and Center channels are swapped around. Using this Path Order, I created a New Path and checked the I/O above, as well as the 5.1 I/O that was simultaneously created in the Bus I/O.
Once the new 5.1 path is created, it may default your outputs to the far right. Simply highlight all of the 5.1 outputs and drag them across to the far left. Now move any other outputs to the right so there is no overlapping. I/O Done! OR maybe not?
Remembering this post-production suite is set up to run an alternative mix/control software powered by the Fireface 800 called TotalMix FX, I decided to check what was going on in there. And immediately, I can see what is happening.
Most of the outputs are doubled up and this would be the reason for the bleed. Changing the I/O in TotalMix to make it cascade down from top left to bottom right will fix the bleed between the front L R C speakers.
Note: All studios will most likely have a different setup and knowing the routing before going in will help save a lot of time. This method of troubleshooting will help you in any studio if you are unaware as to where the speakers are routed.
Once the meter is set up, it is time to go around the room and adjust the speakers for calibration. In the signal generator, use Pink Noise as your sound source. This will give you equal energy per octave, producing more low-end than White Noise.
As you pan the Pink Noise to the middle speaker, check the SPL meter level. The recommendations for the correct sound level vary as I researched, therefore I stuck with the recommendation given during our tutorial, 75dB for L R C Ls Lr and 79db for LFE. Do this for each speaker and adjust the gain pot on the back until the SPL level is achieved. Note: Make sure to not adjust the main volume knob throughout the entire process.
Sombre keys, dark textures, experimental glitch tones, vintage dusty synths and feedback noises can all be found in the 120 included production-ready presets. Beautiful Void Audio have applied their many years of experience doing sound design and making sample libraries to produce a set of impressive presets. These presets are accessed using the browser in Mirage, which also offers a suite of options for randomly loading presets for spontaneous inspiration.
Mirage allows for up to three different sounds to be controlled separately and layered together. The layers in Mirage have the following controls unique to them: pitch, volume and pan, filter, volume envelope, LFO, EQ, sample loop settings and MIDI settings. These controls facilitate an incredible amount of manipulation over the original sound source.
Mirage is designed to not get in your way. It is fast to load up and is efficient with CPU usage. It has a vector-based GUI that can be resized so that it will work on any size screen. The controls are laid out intuitively, and a full description each control can be viewed by hovering the mouse over it. In the rare case when you need some deeper info, a PDF manual with all of the nitty-gritty details covered is included.
For spontaneous inspiration, Mirage features controls for randomly loading presets and changing parameters. The random preset button has 4 modes for scoping the randomisation to your preferred level, whether that be a folder, a library or the given search text. Parameters can be randomised at various levels too: complete randomisation, just instruments or just the effects rack.
Mirage is simple on the surface, but has depth for complex sound design when you need it. Initially you might start with exploring the ready-to-use factory presets using the presets browser. But from there you can further layer, mangle and modulate the sound to be the perfect fit for your track; Mirage is a powerful tool for creating utterly unique organic instruments.
Built-in effects such as distortion, bit-crush, chorus and stereo widener can be used to enhance the sound with extra harmonics or extra simulated width. The compressor can be used to control dynamics or add punch, and the filter can be used to isolate just the frequencies you need.
Mirage also has reverb and delay effects for real space simulation. These are great for sound design too. One of the reverb effects is a convolution reverb; this is typically used to add a real-sounding reverberation to the signal by using a sample of a real space (AKA an impulse response). Mirage features both realistic impulse responses and abstract ones for creative sound design.
By purchasing this product, or any powered-by-Mirage product, you gain access to updates with new features and improvements. These will almost always be completely free. We will ensure these updates never break backwards compatibility. This means as the capability of Mirage expands, your old DAW projects or presets will still work just like they used to.
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