Gabe's AES Report -- Copenhagen
Gabe M. Wiener
Direct from Copenhagen...The 100th AES Convention
A Post Mortem
By Gabe M. Wiener
Director, Quintessential Sound, Inc.
As I sit here on the flight back from Copenhagen, I am left somewhat
agape at the sheer volume of news that I have to report about the
recent convention. Looking down at the battery-timer on my Powerbook,
I have just over two hours in which to do it, so here we go.
From May 11-14, audio engineers from all over the world converged on
the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark to take part in the 100th
convention of the Audio Engineering Society. During the four-day
event, engineers attended papers and workshops, toured audio
installations, attended free concerts and social events, and of
course, browsed the huge exhibit floor comprising the latest and
greatest audio toys.
While the past few conventions have had an "evolutionary, not
revolutionary" tone to them, this one was different. The excitement
of future formats was in the air, both in the conference sessions and
on the exhibit floor. Words like "DVD" and "96 kHz" buzzed about the
convention as we all debated the next mainstream audio format and
tried our best to identify and define the professional technologies
and products that would bring it forth.
The convention venue was a mixed bag. Unlike the last European
convention held in Paris, which from an ergonomic perspective was an
unmitigated disaster, the Bella Center was well organized,
intelligently laid out, and reasonably attractive as these things go.
Its principal downside was its distance from the city. It is, quite
frankly, in the middle of nowhere (sort of like Javits!), and is
reachable only by shuttle-bus or taxi. That minor flaw
notwithstanding, it was a perfectly pleasant place to spend four days.
After passing through the registration area, attendees entered into a
large glass atrium which contained several restaurants, the AES
services desks and publication shop, and the free magazine stands.
Walking to the right took one onto the exhibit floor, while walking to
the left and up the stairs landed one in the paper sessions. The
exhibit floor was an oddly-shaped set of staggered rows, meaning that
unless you had a map in hand, you really couldn't immediately and
definitively know how to get to, for instance, booth C2N5.
I must compliment the European AES sections who planned this
convention, because not only was it a technical success, it was also
logistically well planned out. Beginning on Friday night and
extending until the convention's close, there was always something to
do. Attendees were treated to all manner of free concerts, movie
passes, and food and drink. The convention opened on Friday night
with a free organ concert at the Vangede Church with its fine
Frobenius organ, played by Soundcraft engineer Graham Blyth. Graham's
free concerts have become a staple of conventions in Europe and
America alike. He played a varied and enjoyable program of Bach,
Vierne, and others.
Saturday night was the AES banquet, held in the magnificent Tivoli
gardens, the world's oldest amusement park. To the astonishment of
everyone, the banquet was a sell-out affair, with 1,500 places sold
and many people left wanting a ticket. Yours truly, who somehow
forgot to pre-register, had to work fairly hard and pull a few AES
strings in order to get a ticket. Officially, all of them had been
sold during pre-registration. The banquet was followed by a fireworks
display during which, among other spectacles, a huge AES logo spat
flame. There was, however, one logistical boo-boo that I must
mention. Someone had gotten the bright idea to put all the AES
attendees rather close to the fireworks' launch point....about 100
feet away I would say. Within 100 milliseconds of the launch of the
first fireworks, 1,500 engineers quickly covered their ears. Kudos to
whoever it was who decided to gather the world's most prominent audio
engineers into one place and, in one action, render them all deaf.
Speaking of boo-boos, I should perhaps digress from my chronicle for a
moment to tell you all about another one. When the convention opened
on Saturday, AES president Tim Shelton ascended the podium in the main
atrium to declare the convention officially open. Unfortunately, his
microphone didn't work. Now, forgive me if I take a somewhat cynical
view of things, but somehow I'm of the opinion that it might be nice,
at the 100th convention of the AES, if the sound system worked. Maybe
the AES should consider hiring a sound man?
The only other mishap I can recall was the shuttle-bus driver on the
first day of the convention, who decided to take a half-hour detour
that landed us back where we started before he figured out where the
Bella Center was. He seemed about as unfamiliar with the Copenhagen
street plan as I was, but at least I, being a foreigner, had the
forethought to procure a map.
Sunday night, in combination with the AES awards ceremony, we were
treated to a concert by the Danish comedy-singing troupe, The
Leathernecks. Of course, this Danish group didn't actually sing
anything in Danish, but instead had a repertoire of Disney songs and
Broadway/West End musicals. They were delightful to watch, and
musically pretty solid to boot. The sound reinforcement could have
used a little work though, particularly a precedence speaker up front.
As it happened, the sound appeared to come down at us from the ceiling
of the auditorium. From the concert, we were carted off to the
planetarium for an Omnimax presentation (and discussion of the sound
system). Monday night began with a Mayor's reception at city hall
(with a buffet fit for a king, let alone a mayor) followed by a free
concert at the Denmark Radio building, played by the Danish National
Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Some sad news to report. The brilliant and acclaimed researcher and
engineer Michael Gerzon died a week before the convention started from
complications associated with asthma. Michael was, for those unaware,
one of the most significant audio researchers and theoreticians in the
latter half of this century. His theories and presented scholarship
often transcended the depth and understanding of his colleagues, and
his contributions in the areas of digital signal processing are ranked
among the most important in the field. Michael was scheduled to
present three papers, one of which got read by a colleague, the other
two of which presumably were never finished.
For a taste of Michael's ideas, the paper presented by a colleague was
on the subject of the importance of the preservation of historical
recordings on their original carriers, since the original carriers can
often provide clues for restoration that no copy can. For example,
even if we were to archive analog tapes using a digital format with a
50 kHz bandwidth, we still would not have enough bandwidth to capture
every attribute of the tape. Michael suggested that to correct for
wow and flutter, we could conceivably recover the bias frequency,
track its fluctuations, and use DSP to compensate accordingly. No
current digital system could capture the bias. This was just one
example that Michael intended to present, and apparently never got
around to writing down the others.
The paper I most wanted to attend, and which was sadly canceled, was
entitled "The Ear as a Super-Resolving Time-Frequency Analyzer with
Wide Dynamic Range," and was apparently going to be a report on a new
model of human hearing that would explain many of the audiophile
mysteries that are the result of very low-level audio faults that
affect perception. It seems that Michael had figured out a great deal
of the "audiophile answers" and, devastatingly, died before he got to
tell us. A true tragedy.
The convention was, however, a rather triumphant affair for anyone
interested in high resolution audio recording. Many digital audio
notables such as Julian Dunn, Ian Dennis, Bob Stuart, Francis Rumsey,
David Smith and others acknowledged the existence of repeatable
phenomena that seem to result in different pressings of
bit-for-bit-identical CDs sounding discernibly different. At a
two-hour workshop on mastering, the salient issues were discussed and
several models for how these phenomena could occur were presented.
Preliminary research results and plans for further research in the
upcoming months were outlined. At the same seminar, there was
discussion about the importance of clock stability, and about ways of
ensuring near-jitter-free audio. It was invigorating inasmuch as many
issues that were formerly poo-pooed by serious design engineers are
now being seriously addressed
One technology that got a lot of attention was the new Sony DSD
(Direct Stream Digital) recording process. As I understand it, the
basic idea is to record the raw one-bit output of a delta-sigma
modulator without any decimation or requantization. The result is a
signal of extraordinarily high sampling rate but which takes up
astoundingly large amounts of space. Sony's stated purpose for this
technology is as a high-resolution archive format, not as a production
format. Good thing, since we have no DSP algorithms for one-bit
audio. Were one to want to do anything with a DSD signal other than
play it back, one would have to permute it into some form of PCM. As
a production format this would be hopelessly clumsy. As an archive
format it makes some sense.
Down on the exhibit floor, Sony had a demo comparing 30ips analog tape
to DSD (the converters being housed in what looked like a PCM-1630
frame with Dymo labels over the switch legends), and to a 24-bit dCS
system. Attendees were split on which sounded better. The test
appeared properly level matched, albeit they made sure to tell you
which one you were listening to at any given moment, just in case the
transient switching click didn't give it away. So much for blind
listening tests.
Meanwhile, Sony Japan presented a paper, read by a gentleman whose
command of English left much to be desired. The paper made a middling
case for what could be a potentially interesting technology, using a
lot of proof-by-assertion, and dynamic range/word length numerical
pairs that were flat-out wrong.
I should stop here for a moment to comment that I was a little
disappointed in Sony's decision to present DSD the way they did.
Prior to the listening, they showed a video explaining to us how the
one-bit modulator is somehow conceptually closer to an analog
representation of the signal when in fact this is wholly untrue. We
can all understand Sony's need for this technology...a huge library
needing archiving...but if their ostensible goal is indeed true, then
why all the analog mumbo-jumbo? Could it be that Sony intends to push
DSD as a recording format for those who continue to assert the
superiority of analog recording? Given the production limitations and
space requirements of DSD, one must wonder if this is a technology
that the world outside of Sony really needs. Me? I'm going with some
flavor of 96 kHz PCM for my next production and mastering format
unless someone can convince me that DSD is a good idea. Sony sure
didn't do it here.
And now we get to the part you've all been waiting for, the toy
report. I should point out that there is a distinct difference in
tone between American and European AES conventions. European
conventions are a lot more serious and subdued, with far more people
wearing ties, and far fewer wannabes and teenagers wandering the
exhibit floor. Manufacturers in Europe are much more likely to sit
and chat with you for 30 minutes at a time, whereas at the American
exhibitions they have to keep the kids from breaking the faders. For
Americans who take audio seriously, the European conventions are a
pleasure. One must recognize, of course, that not every exhibitor
speaks perfect English, or any English at all for that matter.
Even more surprising is the number of small European manufacturers
whose products are not known about in America. As in many fields, the
American pro audio world is tough to crack, and many smaller
manufacturers of exceptionally good products are content to stay in
their own home territory with their goods. I have made note in my
report of any product that I found particularly interesting but not
generally known about in the U.S., even if is not a new product. As
usual, I make no attempt to be thoroughgoing in my reporting. I
comment on products that I personally found interesting, important,
groundbreaking, or otherwise worthy of being mentioned. I include
addresses only when available and not generally known.
AUDIO+DESIGN released the long-awaited DMM-1 4x2 portable digital
mixer. This little beauty is small enough to take on recording
sessions, can be operated in mono or stereo fader pairs, includes
switchable synchronous or asynchronous inputs, variable channel-pair
delays, selectable output SRC and word lengths with noise shaping, a
full suite of test signals, and a lot more. I've known about this
unit's development for a while and played a role in its initial
specification. When I saw it, I ordered one on sight. Approx $4,000.
(Audio+Design c/o HHb Communications, see below).
STAGE-TEC showed their TrueMatch A/D converter system. Before you
roll your eyes at yet another A/D, please be aware that this one
installs INSIDE THE MICROPHONE! That's right. Sound in, AES/EBU out.
So far they've fitted them into Beyer mics, but they apparently have
spoken to many other microphone makers, and I caught a few of them
visiting the stand. The unit allegedly has a near-120 dB dynamic
range and can have its levels manipulated via a control signal over
the AES/EBU line (which also carries phantom power). My criticism,
however, comes from the fact that Stage-TEC has apparently not made a
multiplexer such that you can take the two AES/EBU lines that a stereo
pair would produce (each line carrying only one channel of course) and
multiplex it onto one AES/EBU line for recording onto a DAT. They
claim that the digital mics should be comparable in price to that of
an analog mic plus a good preamp. (Stage-TEC, Segelfliegerdamm 67,
D-12487 Berlin, Germany. +49 76 547071. Fax: +49 76 547073).
HHb introduced a headphone matrix mod for their DAT machine which lets
you select stereo, mono left, mono right, or MS decode by means of a
rotary switch ($300). They also upgraded their DAT blanks,
lengthening them to 35, 50, 65, 95, and 125 minutes, and giving them
polypropylene crack-proof cases, antistatic head shells, a specified
30-year archival length, and a new binder formulation to reduce wear
after repeated plays. The best just got better.
CEDAR was pleased to show their brand-new restoration system for
Windows. Under this brand-new architecture, a "restoration console"
will appear on screen, and depending on how many DSP cards you have in
the system, you'll be able to chain the modules together so that, for
the first time, it will be practical to do more than one simultaneous
process on the CEDAR computer platform (Price: If you have to ask...).
Right now, the DC-1, CR-1, and DH-1 (de-click, de-crackle, de-hiss,
respectively) are available in software, and they'll be porting their
AZ-1 phase system and HISS-2 modules to the new software as well.
Further, the new system will run as a co-resident application with
workstation products, to wit...
SADiE showed the latest incarnation of the Octavia 24-bit editing
system, replete with beautiful hardware controllers, a friendly user
interface, and full CD-R and DDP mastering support. The Octavia
platform features an outboard chassis with 8 digital I/O ports which
can be used either as inputs or as effects loops for mastering or
console-EQ purposes. Also on display and running was the new software
platform, SADiE 3.0, which runs on both the regular SADiE and the
Octavia platforms, and represents a significant step forward in
ease-of-use and flexibility as far as DAWs go. Forthcoming projects
for SADiE's immediate future include 96 kHz support.
I should take this moment to digress in order to mention something
that some people may not be aware of. It is possible for a SADiE and
CEDAR platform to run simultaneously in the same machine. The result,
upon doing so, is probably the most powerful mastering and restoration
system that currently exists. It is good fortune that both of these
products run together, as it is their combination that makes for a
uniquely powerful system. With their advent, there seems to be a new
standard in terms of raw performance, ergonomics, and ease of use that
can be achieved in a mastering desk.
GENEX showed the GX-8000 eight-track magneto-optical recorder, which
is a revised version of the GX-2000 two-track version. I had a
GX-2000 in for demo and the ergonomics were pretty troublesome. I
sent it back with three pages of comments on how to improve it. It
seems, from looking at the unit now, that they took all or most of my
suggestions, and added them to both models. I'll be bringing another
unit in for evaluation and will report back. On the whole though,
these guys are really committed to making a good product and I for one
will continue to try their hardware until they get it right. (Genex
Research, United House, North Road, Islington, London N7 9DP, England.
Tel/Fax: +44171 609 6151).
WES DOOLEY/AEA had two new products of note. One was a handheld LED
phase scope called the "Winkie Blinkie", a convenient handheld display
with an LED matrix, for $485. He also had two new stereo bars, 17 and
33 inches long ($285 and $385), with engraved legends and rotational
markings so that any stereo array can be noted and recalled. The bars
are highly rigid and robust. Highly recommended. (Wes Dooley/AEA,
1029 North Allen Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104. (818) 798-9128, fax
(818) 798-2378).
SONOSAX showed a prototype of a mk.2 version of the StellaDAT
recorder, and I must say that it looks pretty slick. Given the number
of options on the unit and the differing needs of so many operators,
the new unit will feature programmable function keys, a backlit
miniature LCD screen with a tiny point-and-click joystick, a built in
full-function 4x2 mixer, and in the future, 4-track capability.
QUANTEC showed a preliminary prototype (non-working) of a new room
simulator, the QRS 2401. The unit looks impressive enough, but I
can't pass any judgment until I hear it.
ZAXCOM displayed a nonfunctional prototype of their forthcoming Deva
portable hard disk recorder. This miniature unit will apparently give
us an hour and a half of four-channel 20-bit audio on a small
removable hard drive module.
DIGIDESIGN showed their new Audiomedia III 24-bit processor card for
PCI-bus machines. They also previewed their new ProTools 4.0
software, scheduled for release later this summer. The new release
will of course support the PCI platform, and will use PPC-native code.
The new software also includes improved mixing ergonomics and more
flexible automation, along with custom crossfade contours and a new
editing architecture. The ProControl hardware control surface was on
display....a gorgeous unit. And it looks as though Digi and Mackie
are going to combine forces to create new control surfaces. Good
work, guys.
SCHOEPS added the MK-2H to the Colette series. The 2H has a
high-frequency rise that's halfway between that of the MK-2 and the
MK-2S. It is also a more omnidirectional capsule given that it has a
smaller aperture (c/o Posthorn Recordings, 142 West 26th Street, New
York, NY 10001. (212) 242-3737. Fax: (212) 924-1243).
DCS showed the latest incarnation of their 900-series A/D and D/A
converters, including a model for recording at 96 kHz. Given that
such a converter needs a recorder on which to store its bits, NAGRA
introduced new software for the Nagra-D that permits recording at up
to 96 kHz.
TC ELECTRONIC showed the Finalizer dynamics processor, with a 3-band
stereo compressor/limiter/expander, five-band EQ, normalizer, a
"groove" emulator (?), de-esser, and stereo enhancement (?). Built in
peak metering and phase metering. Might make a nice mastering box.
In the world of stereo vector scopes, there were several new entries.
DK AUDIO showed off a beautiful color scope with an active matrix
display, the MSD600C, available with an optional 1,024-point FFT. RTW
showed a revised version of their 1066 Multimonitor with fewer menus
and more dedicated function keys. A newcomer to the vector scope
arena, Lay Audiotechnik, showed two PC-based solutions for stereo and
five-channel respectively. The latter had a number of display options
that employed asymmetric Cartesian quadrants. I'm still not quite
sure I fully understand these, but I'll leave the surround guys to
figure it out. (Lay Audiotechnik, Cantianstrasse 20, D-10 437 Berlin,
Germany. Tel/Fax: 049-030 449 3816)
DANIEL WEISS showed the EQ-1 digital parametric equalizer, which is
the latest offering in the GAMBIT series of outboard DSP units. The
EQ-1 is a seven-band equalizer, where each band can be a low/high
rolloff, a low/high shelf, or a normal peaking filter. All seven
bands are identical in functionality, and the unit has individual
boost/cut, frequency, and Q controls for each band. A large, backlit
LCD shows an overall frequency response graph and all parameters. The
unit can connect to a PC for downloading of coefficient sets, and
offers snapshot automation. Another neat feature is that the knobs
are touch sensitive. As soon as you touch a knob, its value is
highlighted on the display. (Daniel Weiss Engineering, Florastrasse
10, 8610 Uster, Switzerland. +411 940 2006, Fax: +411 940 2214.
CRYSTAL SEMICONDUCTOR showed the new CS5394 24-bit A/D converter chip
with a 117 dB dynamic range and internal 64x oversampling. Won't ship
until next year, but when it does we'll see a whole new generation of
A/Ds emerge with significantly lower noise floors than current models.
PRISM SOUND showed the v2.0 software for their DSA-1 handheld AES/EBU
signal analyzer. In addition to a full suite of test signals, the
unit now also includes jitter generation. Also present was the formal
release of the 24-bit software option for the AD-1 converter, which in
my opinion continues to lead the pack. This new software knocks a few
more dB off the unit's already excellent noise parameters.
Walked by the Otari booth....no more bin duplicators. The era has passed.
STAGE-TECH (not to be confused with STAGE-TEC above) introduced the
XB2 Exabyte Error Checker, the first true standalone for playing and
verifying integrity of Exabyte DDP masters. This unit complements
their existing EC2 Compact Disc error checker. (StageTech
Developments AB, P.O. Box 30048, S-20061 Malmo, Sweden. +4640 150018,
Fax: +4640 150019, e-mail: st...@stagetech.se).
EMPIRICAL LABS presented the Distressor EL-8 which in addition to
being a classic knee compressor, asserts that it is "helpful in a
pristine but unforgiving digital world. Three audio modes provide
user-programmable warm harmonic distortion. Emphasized tube-like 2nd
harmonic in clean and Distort 2 mode. In Distort 3 mode the
distortion becomes dominated by 3rd harmonic (similar to tape)." I
suppose.... (c/o Wave Distribution, 50 Bordeaux Terrace, West
Milford, NJ 07480. (201) 728-2425, fax: (203) 728-2931, e-mail:
next...@haven.ios.com).
MUTH AUDIO DESIGN showed three much-needed products for the mastering
world. The CM-2040 reference monitor section is a routing, metering,
and level control for monitoring in mastering environments. Since the
abandonment by many of classic mastering desks in favor of digital
workstations, most mastering firms (mine included) have had to resort
to using consumer preamps for these functions, and they don't quite do
the job. The CM-2020 analog transfer console has four selectable loop
points for analog gear prior to A/D conversion, with selectable faders
and input/output level controls. The CM-2080 routing system is a
series of digital routers, amplifers, and patch points based on
military-grade Trompeter twinax interconnects. (Muth Audio Design
LLC, 56 West 45th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036. (212)
354-1266. Fax: (212) 354-1477).
JUNGER AUDIO added to their line of lossless data-packing encoders
with the c06 system. This unit permits one to connect a 20-bit A/D,
record a packed version onto 16-bit DAT and also record a noise-shaped
true 16-bit version on another DAT. Also available is the c04, which
only permits recording of one version, but includes a built in A/D.
(Junger Audio Studiotechnik GmbH, Rudower Chaussee 5, D-12489 Berlin,
Germany. +4930 63926145, Fax: +4930 63926146).
TECHNICA DEL ARTE showed off a new digital console line called LUPA.
The consoles, built to order, are actually stand-alone frames with PC
software control. The hardware control surface is essentially just a
controller for the PC. The console has, in addition to flying faders,
a new technology called "spinning pots" in that the knobs fly as well.
However, nothing quite prepared me for the fact that the knobs have
physical detents THAT CAN BE CHANGED IN SOFTWARE! Want a continuously
variable EQ? A 20-detent step? A 40-detent step? Just configure it
on the PC screen and you've got it. If I were buying a digital
console, I'd get it from these guys. (Technica Del Arte BV, Alexander
Battalaan 53b, 6221 CB Maastricht, The Netherlands. +3143 321 9499,
Fax: +3143 325 8149. E-mail: tech...@pi.net)
PENNY & GILES, not content to only make faders, have released the
gorgeous-looking PP-10 Audio Multiprocessor System. The unit is
another DSP multifunctional processor in the spirit of the EMT-248 or
the TC M-5000, with the exception that this unit loads its software
from a floppy drive on the front panel, I presume for ease in
upgradeability. Right off the top, dynamics and EQ packages are
available, with more to come, so they say. User interface looks
good....nice, active graphic display, scrub wheel for parameters,
floppy drive, you get the idea.
And now, Gabe's awards...
MOST PROTRACTED VAPOR-WARE: Sony, for the DAE-D5000 editor which
apparently is still neither working nor available. I went over to ask
in earnest as to whether or not the unit was available, and got
snapped at by a Frenchman who made noises that implied "not yet." Sony
began showing the unit two years ago in Amsterdam as I recall. I fear
that by the time it ships, the format will be obsolete.
WORST ENGLISH The award for worst English gets awarded to Microfusa of
Spain, but I suspect that the error was not theirs but rather that of
a typist in the AES office. The exhibitors' directory described their
software-controllable router as having a "Point & Cick" interface.
For those who take their aggressions out on their patchbays, I
suppose.
BEST USER INTERFACE: Awarded to the urinals at the Bella Center. Each
bank of three was fitted with a complex photorelay system such that
when all three were left unattended, the system flushed them at once.
Convenient, and water-saving. Find me a workstation that can top
THAT.
WORST BOOTH STAFFING: Studer. I walked onto the Studer stand on
Sunday to try to get a demonstration of their CD players. Whereas it
was difficult to walk by some other stands without being accosted by
salespeople, I literally stood in the center of the Studer stand for a
solid five minutes without one of the idling staffers bothering to ask
me if there was anything I wanted to know about. I finally got my
answers, albeit on Tuesday. Sheesh.
BEST FREEBIES: InterStage, the Danish distributor of products like HHb
and Audio+Design. In the center of their island square, they operated
a full wet-bar and snack center, free of charge. Honorable mention
goes to HHb for their nifty new DATs. Thanks, guys.
MOST INGENIOUS NEW CONCEPT: Technica Del Arte, for those programmable
detents.
BEST BOOTH DESIGN: Digidesign, for the same booth they used in New
York. There were no other booths that really sported any pizzazz this
year, and the current Digi booth is just gorgeous, with beautiful
Bezier curves and burnished wood trim. The booth did seem a trifle
under-staffed compared to the New York version though.
BEST QUOTE: Wes Dooley: "Usually people don't dislike you if you feed
them chocolate-chip cookies." Wes achieved his fifteen minutes of fame
at the last west-coast AES when he went around the show floor handing
out homemade chocolate chip cookies. We haven't forgotten, and we
still love his products (see above). If he bakes more cookies for the
L.A. convention (hint, hint) he might beat the 15-minute rule and get
30 minutes of fame.
MOST PROMISING TECHNOLOGY: The Stage-TEC A/D converters that mount
into the microphones. While not quite ready for prime time, it's a
sign of where microphone technology is, and should be going.
MOST NEEDED PRODUCT: The Audio+Design DMM-1 mixer. Not only is it
useful for mixing, but also for synchronizing, sample-rate converting,
phase flipping, channel reversing, panning, and the like. This one
box takes the place of many other digital products, and is long
overdue.
BEST PRODUCT OF THE SHOW: This is always a hard category to award, but
given the state of the industry and the need for progress in the new
mastering formats, I'm going to award it jointly to SADiE and CEDAR,
who, when their products are combined, form a mastering platform non
pareil.
See you all in Los Angeles in November....
--
Gabe Wiener Dir., PGM Early Music Recordings |"I am terrified at the thought
A Div. of Quintessential Sound, Inc., New York | that so much hideous and bad
Recording-Mastering-Restoration (212) 586-4200 | music may be put on records
ga...@pgm.com http://www.pgm.com | forever."--Sir Arthur Sullivan
Chris Caudle
ga...@pgm.com (Gabe M. Wiener) wrote:
JUNGER AUDIO added to their line of lossless data-packing encoders
with the c06 system.
Germany. +4930 63926145, Fax: +4930 63926146).
Before I go making long distance calls to Berlin, is anyone importing
this to the U.S.?
Chris Caudle
cau...@bangate.compaq.com
Gabe M. Wiener
In article <DrI7n...@twisto.eng.hou.compaq.com>,
Chris Caudle <cau...@bangate.compaq.com> wrote:
[Junger]
>Before I go making long distance calls to Berlin, is anyone importing
>this to the U.S.?
Not that I know of. They're one of the no-American-presence companies.
John La Grou
> with the c06 system.
> Germany. +4930 63926145, Fax: +4930 63926146).
>
>
>this to the U.S.?
>
>
>cau...@bangate.compaq.com
I believe Parsons Audio (Boston) was talking with Junger at
one time. I don't know if they took on the line.
We've been using the Junger digital compressor for
about 8 months and can attest to its fine quality.
JL
Peter G. Cook
>MOST PROTRACTED VAPOR-WARE: Sony, for the DAE-D5000 editor which
>apparently is still neither working nor available. I went over to ask
>in earnest as to whether or not the unit was available, and got
>snapped at by a Frenchman who made noises that implied "not yet." Sony
>began showing the unit two years ago in Amsterdam as I recall. I fear
>that by the time it ships, the format will be obsolete.
Actually I saw one of these babies behind a curtain at the NYC convention
in 1993! They've missed the boat completely. Maybe if they'd sold a couple
of the 9000's things would have happened a little faster.
Great report as always Gabe.
-Peter
Mark Parsons
Gabe M. Wiener wrote:
>
> In article <DrI7n...@twisto.eng.hou.compaq.com>,
> Chris Caudle <cau...@bangate.compaq.com> wrote:
> [Junger]
> >this to the U.S.?
>
>
We (Parsons Audio) have been selling Junger devices for a while now. I
would think there may be a few other U.S. dealers too. Try your friendly,
local, high end dealer. If you have no luck there, we'll be glad to help.
Both of the two mastering studios who have evaluated the d02 through us
have bought one, speaking words of high praise.
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Mark Parsons <ma...@paudio.com>
PARSONS AUDIO * Equipment Sales * Systems * Support
192 Worcester St. (Rte. 9), Wellesley, MA 02181
617/431-8708, fax -8783, BBS (FirstClass) -8463
http://www.mw3.com/parsons
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Norbert Hahn
ga...@pgm.com (Gabe M. Wiener) wrote:
[big snip]
>STAGE-TEC showed their TrueMatch A/D converter system. Before you
[minor snip]
(Stage-TEC, Segelfliegerdamm 67,
>D-12487 Berlin, Germany. +49 76 547071. Fax: +49 76 547073).
The phone and fax number lack the area code of Berlin, it should be
+49 30 76547071 and +49 30 76547073.
(I haven't checked the number..)
Thanks for your great report.
Norbert
Thierry De Vries
> Direct from Copenhagen...The 100th AES Convention
> A Post Mortem
...snip (a lot of great info)
I just want to add some publicity for the belgian company Amptec who
presented their Stone-D1 digital mixing desk: an analog-like desk (all
controls on every strip) , only it's digital.
For 02R owners Amptec builds an AES/EBU card (only 1 slot!) with
samplerate-conversion on all inputs, for about 1800$
(I'm not working for them, just a happy customer)
Greetings,
Thierry
Thie...@Tornado.be
<Quote still under construction>
Robby Hamilton
Thie...@Tornado.be (Thierry De Vries) wrote:
>In article <4nf7at$3...@panix.com>, ga...@pgm.com (Gabe M. Wiener) wrote:
>> Direct from Copenhagen...The 100th AES Convention
>> A Post Mortem
>...snip (a lot of great info)
>I just want to add some publicity for the belgian company Amptec who
>presented their Stone-D1 digital mixing desk: an analog-like desk (all
>controls on every strip) , only it's digital.
>For 02R owners Amptec builds an AES/EBU card (only 1 slot!) with
>samplerate-conversion on all inputs, for about 1800$
>(I'm not working for them, just a happy customer)
>Greetings,
>Thierry
>Thie...@Tornado.be
><Quote still under construction>
MOre info on that console would be appreciated!!!!! (stone d-1)
thanks...
Mike Rivers
Thie...@Tornado.be (Thierry De Vries) wrote:
>I just want to add some publicity for the belgian company Amptec
>For 02R owners Amptec builds an AES/EBU card (only 1 slot!) with
>samplerate-conversion on all inputs, for about 1800$
Is that 4 AES/ABU intputs and outputs on the card?
What would be really cool would be an ADAT optical I/O card that did
sample rate conversion. That would be just the ticket for the users of
the first generation ADAT that didn't have a sample rate switch on it, but
recorded at 48 kHz unless you were smart enough to know to use the vary-speed.
--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mri...@d-and-d.com)
Thierry De Vries
> Thie...@Tornado.be (Thierry De Vries) wrote:
>
> >I just want to add some publicity for the belgian company Amptec who
> >presented their Stone-D1 digital mixing desk: an analog-like desk (all
> >controls on every strip) , only it's digital.
> MOre info on that console would be appreciated!!!!! (stone d-1)
The Stone-D001 is a digital 32 bit floating point desk that can be
configured with channel strips as needed. The different modules are:
Stereo input, stereo II input, stereo group, monitor and communication
module. The layout is very much like a normal analog desk (something like
a Soundcraft Delta or comparable).
A Stereo input channel strip looks like this (from top to bottom):
- Routing: ST + 8 busses
- L and/or R selection of input signal
- phase reverse
- pad
- +48V phantom
- analog/digital in selection
- gain
- 3 band fully paraetric EQ + high pass filter
- aux 1 & 2 (dual stereo or quad mono, pre/post selectable)
- balance/width control
- solo, mute & remote buttons
- peak LED
- fader
The specs are really up-to-date: 24bit A/D and 20bit D/A convertors,
Sample Rate conversion on every input (so you can mix synced and unsynced
sources, 44.1 and 48kHz sample rates).
The desk can be used in various setups, but I think it would do a great
job in a broadcast situation or you could use one for monitoring digital
audio in an editing environment (sort of an extended DMM-1, mentioned in
Gabe's report).
Production will start later this year (september-december).
You can contact Amptec at:
Amptec
Helstraat 25
3500 Hasselt
Belgium
tel. +32 11 28 14 58
fax +32 11 28 14 59