HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: chrisc@gold.gvg.tek.com (Chris Christensen)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.pro
Subject: Re: Balanced lines to unbalanced...
Date: 8 Apr 92 00:12:19 GMT
Organization: Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA

In article <1992Apr7.195214.13121@dsd.es.com> cashby@dsd.es.com (Cary Ashby) 
writes:

>I was interested in this question because I would like to do the same
>thing.  The answer that came back was sufficiently nebulous that (as an
>uneducated novice) I can't see how to implement the desired result. 
>
>Let me rephrase the question.  You have a electric guitar with the typical
>unbalanced high Z output.  You want to plug it into a 100 ft snake (or some 
>other black box) going to a mixing board over a low-impedence balanced line.  
>In between there is a magic little transformer, usually hiding inside
>an adaptor or a DI box.  Lots of companies make said adaptors with the
>transformers in them, but I don't want to mess with the adaptors, I want 
>to wire the functionality into the snake box, or whatever kind of box.

What YOU want is an high input impedance active DI.

A guitar that does not have a pre amp in it (like an Ovation and some
of the electrics) has a high output impedance (5k ohms or more).  A
standard DI will usually have a 20k ohm imput impedance and that can
load the guitar wich will change the sound.

>Does anyone know *exactly* where to find the magic little transformer,
>and *exactly* how do you wire it to go from unbalance high Z to balanced
>low Z?  

YES

The magic transformer you seek is available from Musicians Emporium.
They sell Whirlwind transformers. 

I will send/FAX you a wiring diagram if you wish.
-- 
Chris Christensen                  The opinions I express are my own,
chrisc@gold.gvg.tek.com            and sometimes they are wrong!
916-478-3419 FAX 916-478-3887      After all, I AM only human.
From: moskowit@tronsbox.UUCP (Len Moskowitz)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Good Portable CD player
Date: 7 Apr 92 02:54:47 GMT
Organization: Xanadu Enterprises Inc.

In article <167C0EA27.STATRAA@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu> STATRAA@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu writes:

>I HIGHLY recommend the Panasonic SL-NP1A... Really, that wasn't a type -
>while it is actually cheaper than most portable CD players, it's sound
>quality is very good - better than many player's costing twice its
>price.  It might not offer bullet-proof tracking or drop-proof
>construcion, it is top-notch IMHO with regards to sound qualitity...

Ditto.  If you have $300 to burn, buy two.


-- 


Len Moskowitz
moskowit@tronsbox.xei.com
From: spaaejg@ucl.ac.uk (Eric Glover)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: A Golden-Ear perspective on CD players.
Date: 9 Apr 92 08:47:42 GMT
Organization: Bloomsbury Computing Consortium

U58402@uicvm.uic.edu writes:

>Why hasn't anyone put forth the proposition that the difference between
>analog and digital sound is due to the software, not the hardware?

>Okay, maybe I will.

>Analog recordings have been made for over sixty years. Over that
>period of time, mike placement, reverb/tone control, and mixing have
>been refined to the point that "audiophile" recordings (whatever that
>means) are held to be the ultimate in sound reproduction. Now digital
>recordings are being made. What once was a proper mike placement for an
>analog recording may not be the proper mike placement for a digital
>recording, since the EQ inherent in analog sound reproduction has been
>changed. (Note that I did not say either for the worse or for the
>better.) So, the first digital recordings may sound "steely" because
>recording techniques for analog may have boosted treble response a bit
>to account for the lowered treble response in an analog system. For
>digital, decreased treble response is not a factor, and the result is
>shrill violins. I know that over the past ten years of digital
>recordings, mike placement and frequency response of mikes have changed
>as recording engineers gained more experience with digital recording.
>Digital recordings being released now are better than recordings
>released 8-10 years ago, on average.

>Wilbur Pan
>(aka u58402@uicvm.uic.edu
> at the ever so friendly and personal univ. of ill. at chicago)

I heartily agree! There are some superb recordings made in the late
fifties and early sixties (e.g. Britten's `Peter Grimes' on Decca)
which despite the limited dynamic range, congestion on orchestral
tutti and tape hiss, manage to create a better musical image
than most modern digital recordings. Whether this is microphone
technique or the wonders of 30 ips reel to reel or even remastering
techniques I am not knowledgeable enough to say, but it seems to me
that digital recording techniques still have some way to go to improve
on best analogue practice. Nowadays I listen exclusively to CD so this
is not about CD versus vinyl.

Any informed comment on this topic?

Eric Glover
spaaejg@ucl.ac.uk
Xref: sparky rec.audio:7032 rec.video:5964
From: revankar@acsu.buffalo.edu (Shriram Revankar)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,rec.video
Subject: Life time of a speaker
Summary: BOSE 901 life time request
Keywords: speaker life time
Date: 7 Apr 92 14:32:00 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: State University of New York at Buffalo/Comp Sci


Hi there:

	Is there a concept of life time of a speaker? OR something
similar to half life period of a speaker?

	I am planning to buy a pair 10 year old Bose 901 Series IV
speakers. If it was used regularly, what kind pitfalls should I
lookout for? Is there any difference in speaker response? If there
is any, can that be corrected using the equalizer?

	Please email or post. I hope some of you who have posted
excellent analysis of various audio issues do consider responding.

Thanks

Shriram
From: swyatt@bach.udel.edu (Stephen L Wyatt)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Mail Order From Crutchfield
Date: 9 Apr 92 03:15:33 GMT
Organization: University of Delaware

Continuing what people have already said, they are good in the service, but
their prices are not that great.... You can get mail order much lower, and
many stores are about the same price... which, unless you live in the middle
of nowhere, just buy it at the local store.. it'll be easier.
From: hedrick@pilot.njin.net (Charles Hedrick)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: NAD or Nakamichi
Date: 8 Apr 92 05:18:34 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
To: sp3u+@andrew.cmu.edu

You're probably going to have trouble to get anybody to evaluate most
of the features you list.  The problem is that you can get good
systems using several different implementation methods.  It's like
saying "program A is written in Fortran and program B is written in
Pascal.  Which is better?"  What matters is implementation quality.
So you need to find somebody familiar either with those specific
models or the companies.  I can't help you there.  But I would suggest
that you not be influenced at all by Bessel filters, etc.  There are
some things you can test for yourself.  Among you and your friends,
try to find a few CD's that some players have trouble with, and see
how well the candidates do.  Try thumping on the shelf while they are
playing to see how well they are isolated.  Try listening to them,
though I think most people have trouble hearing much difference in
CD's, and setting up listening tests where you don't get tricked by
things like slight differences in level is really hard.
From: msg@learning.siemens.com ( Martin S Glassman)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Directional antennas for FM
Date: 9 Apr 92 14:46:50 GMT
Organization: Siemens Corporate Research


Hi,

Does anyone out there know where to get information about building
a highly directional antenna for the FM broadcast band, or have
suggestions as to where to buy one? With regard to home construction,
I am also interested in narrow band designs.

Thanks in advance!


Marty Glassman
msg@siemens.siemens.com
From: klein@napali.Eng.Sun.COM (Mike Klein)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Slew Rate & distortion was (Re: requesting CD player advice)
Date: 16 Apr 92 16:41:28 GMT
Reply-To: klein@napali.Eng.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: napali

A simple answer to hopefully clear things up.

Frequency dropoff is a linear "distortion" -- it adds no new frequency
components.  Output is still a linear function of input.

Slew rate limiting is a non-linear distortion.  It occurs because some
stage internal to the amplifier no longer responds linearly to its
input.  New frequency components are introduced, the output is no
longer a linear function of its input.  It is typically a much worse
form of distortion than a linear distortion in terms of audible
quality.
---

Mike Klein		{wherever}!sun!klein || mike.klein@Eng.Sun.COM
Sun Microsystems, Inc.	Mountain View, CA
From: bill@bilver.uucp (Bill Vermillion)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: requesting CD player advice
Date: 6 Apr 92 13:35:35 GMT
Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL

In article <1992Apr3.141735.23947@bristol.ac.uk> P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee) writes:

>Anyone else remember when 2% THD was definitely high-end, and 1.5% was
>the holy Grail that all the manufacturers were trying to get below, but
>couldn't?  My, how things change.

Paul - I doubt that any of us are THAT old.

I remember that old British company Leak.

The had the Leak Point One series.   (.1 as in 1/10 of one per
cent distortion).

They were definately high end.  And that is about 1953/54.
Forty years ago!!!!  And I was still in school then.

My first component system used a Bogen integrated amplifier.
(They did make 'hi-fi' equipment a LONG time ago).

The cartridge was a Shure M3D that was $49 in 1958 dollars.  I
bought a brand new Triumph TR3 for $2700 that year.  There were
only a few other cartridges available then, one of the other
being the Fairchild at $100.  (mono cartridges were cheaper!)

I was making $75/week - 48 hour week - so that was a
substantial amount then.

-- 
Bill Vermillion - bill@bilver.uucp 
                - ..!{peora|ge-dab|tous|tarpit}!bilver!bill
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: kettyle@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (john.jr.kettyle)
Subject: Re: NAD 2400X THX Amplifier
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 16:57:53 GMT

In article <1992Apr6.185556.22499@cbnewsi.cb.att.com>, kettyle@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (john.jr.kettyle) writes:
> 
> 
> Clipping Power (maximum short-term power		130W
> per channel)	
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This should be maximum continuous powere per channel. 

John Kettyle, Jr.


Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: bson@goldman.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Jan Brittenson)
Subject: Re: More Psuedoscience...: A Golden-Ear perspective on CD players.
Organization: nil
	<1992Apr10.170813.14270@news.nd.edu>
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 22:43:52 GMT

In article <1992Apr10.170813.14270@news.nd.edu> fdeck@sleepy.helios.nd.edu (francis deck) writes:

 > Since we've yet to identify the physical cause of why some CD machines
 > sound good and some sound bad, we're left to our own devices (and
 > ears) to sort it all out.

   Who are you refering to by "we"? Anyone who knows anything above
noise level about CD players knows that there are several challenging
analog design issues involved:


	o D/A converter. Cheap IC converters such as those of some
	  integrating slope variety, won't work as well and
	  undistorted as a discrete R-2R network built from
	  individually measured and matched resistors.

	o Output sample-and-hold circuit. Usually two amps and a
	  high-precision charge-holding capacitor. Needless to say,
	  this is not a trivial circuit to design either, since a
	  higher-capacitance cap will take longer to charge, while a
	  lower-capacitance cap is more susceptible to droop (drainage
	  from the output amp). There are two amps involved here.

	o Output anti-aliasing filter. Perhaps the most touted
	  problem. In early designs, things like 17th-order Chebychevs
	  were used. But you probably won't see this in a mass-market
	  player from Sony et al (well, maybe in their ES players) -
	  instead expect an active filter design.

	o Line driver. Trivial, but like the above requires quality
	  components in high-end equipment.


   Just because you can't tell the difference doesn't mean others
can't. Like with all audio equipment, it's a matter of your listening
experience, not to mention having something good to relate to. Try
playing some recorder or violin music and see if the highs make you
squint.  Are they pleasant? At high volume? If not, then it has
nothing to do with "poor recording equalization" (eq. only makes the
highs _louder_, not distorted) but with a poor D/A stage. Play some
Cello solos and see if it sounds like a Cello or twanging a rubber
band in a shoebox.

--
						-- Jan Brittenson
						   bson@gnu.ai.mit.edu
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: sugimoto@leland.Stanford.EDU (Edward Sugi Morimoto)
Subject: Receiver/Speakers for sale
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 20:42:21 GMT

I have a couple pieces of audio equipment that I'm not using and would
like to sell:

	-Denon DRA-425 50watts/ch receiver.  Excellent condition.  This is
	 a nice high-quality remote controlled receiver.  Not a lot of "bells
	 and whistles," just good clean performance.  $200/obo.

	-Acoustic Research Rock Partners.  Small two-way speakers with a 1"
	 metal dome tweeter and an 8" woofer.  Good bass response for such a 
	 small unit.  Excellent condition.  All in a very rugged package.
	 $75/obo.

	-Nakamichi RX202 Tape Deck.  I'm not sure I want to sell it but it's
	 not getting a whole lot of use so I'll consider it for offers over
	 $500.  It too is in excellent condition.

Prices are flexible but do not include shipping.  If you'll take the receiver
and speakers, I'll throuw in some monster cable, speaker wire.  Oops, I almost
forgot:

	-Terk pi2 amplified antenna.  Great antenna for noisy environments.
	 best offer.

Please e-mail responses to sugimoto@leland.stanford.EDU

Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: jstimson@linus.claremont.edu
Subject: Last words about resistors & speakers
Organization: Harvey Mudd College
Date: 9 Apr 92 00:52:12 PDT

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about using resistors in series
with my speakers.  I listened to them carefully, then compared one with added
resistance to one without, and those of you who say that I've increased
resonance (also known as increasing Q) seem to be right.  The bass is indeed
louder, but the overall sound now has more of the characteristics of some
cheapo and ported designs I've seen - raspy and slightly underdamped.  I've
switched back to straight cables, and I'm planning on getting a better amp as
soon as I have the money.  The speakers probably don't need upgrading- the
Infinity Ref-3 is an amazing speaker for the money.  Polk Monitor-2 series 5+jr
are the only other speaker I've heard in that price range that's nearly as
good.
							- John
From: gwatts@hpcvia.CV.HP.COM (gary_watts)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 12:37:35 PST
Subject: Re: Rec.audio.pro - when?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, Oregon
Newsgroups: rec.audio

I have it here also although there have been virtually no postings
on it.  Hopefully others will take note.  I am assuming the category
was intended for PA and live sound discussions which I do enjoy.
From: phr@soda.berkeley.edu (Paul H. Rubin)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,sci.electronics
Subject: re: help!! CD cable needed (summary of responses)
Date: 9 Apr 92 02:49:09 GMT
Article-I.D.: soda.PHR.92Apr8214909
Organization: CSUA/UCB
NNTP-Posting-Host: soda.berkeley.edu

A bunch of people responded to my post asking about how best to
replace or fix a flaky cable between my portable CD player (1/8"
stereo plug) and my receiver (RCA plugs).  A couple pointed out that
Radio Shack has some cables with gold plated connectors, and several
more suggested that the problem was really with the internal 1/8" jack
in the CD player (this seems to be a common problem).  I went to Radio
Shack today and sure enough, they had a gold plated 1/8" stereo plug
that I could solder onto the old cable, though it wasn't obvious how
to do this because of the weird siamese adapter cable that I have, and
the skinny spring loaded strain relief in the RS plug.  What I ended
up doing is getting a can of tuner cleaner and spraying some into the
CD player's plug and frobbing the contacts a little with a screwdriver
tip.  The tuner cleaner left some kind of greasy residue but seems to
have helped my intermittency problem quite a bit.  If it acts up again
I will try the gold plated plug.

Note: Radio shack has two kind of tuner cleaner, a normal one and
a more expensive one that claims to be for color TV tuners.
The lists of ingredients were identical, so I bought the cheaper one.
Got to stay on your toes at those places!
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: dinsmm@marcus.its.rpi.edu (Michael John Dinsmore)
Subject: Re: FORSALE Speakers and CABLES
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 15:37:03 GMT

myers@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Bob Myers) writes:

>> 		NBS Speaker Cables, 2 pr., 8ft., $300./pr. or $550 for
>> 		both pair.
>> 
>>  		NBS Serpent Interconnects, 2 sets, 4 ft., $550./set.
>> 

>Good LORD!  Well, at least we can assume they're "broken in!" :-)
>Bob Myers 

Gosh, I always thought people here were foolish and trying to outdo each
other by saying that they have super-expensive equipment and such, but
speaker cables for $550?!!?!?   
You got to be kidding, there isn't a speaker cable in the world worth that much.

Regards,

    ___  ___    
   /  |\/  |\  Michael Dinsmore
  /   |/   ||  dinsmm@rpi.edu
 / /|   /| ||  Michael_Dinsmore@MTS.RPI.EDU
/_/ |__/ |_||  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
\_\/\__\/\_\|  Computer and Systems Engineering  
From: drick@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (David Rick)
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 17:35:12 GMT
Subject: Re: Questions on Microphone/Line/Headphone voltage levels/impedances
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO
From: johnson@wrs.com (David Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: CD-rot,the corrosive label scenario
Keywords: rot
Date: 11 Apr 92 00:17:44 GMT
Organization: Wind River Systems, Inc.

Unfortunetly, CD rot is a grave reallity.

As for the pretty label silkscreened onto the non-playing side of the 
CD causing the rot, that's not iiittt (said in that high-piched, rolling
tone). Afriend of mine has several lazer disc's that exhibit this "rot"
to high degrees. I mean its bad! A crab-like patch that spreads like 
cancer through the aluminum. I did eventually render _Blade_Runner_
unplayable. I think that this "rot" may be from poor manufaturing
procedures (unclean aluminum-depositing rooms) compined with the 
posible use of poor quality aluminum ( not pure). The pint is that 
the hypothesis of the labeling inks reacting with the aluminum is
just not the case because, as you know, video lazer discs are not           
printed on either side. If you want to see what the "rot looks like:
Take a CD (lazer discs work better) and put it in the microwave for
30 to 120 seconds---it kind of looks like that. The sparks that chase
over the surrface of the disc are not to be missed! 

High Altitude Adjustments: No adjustments are necessary.

Note: The recomended times are approximate. the above times are for
      machines of 800-900 watts, your times may vary.

      >DAVE (johnson@WRS.COM)
From: jjwright@remus.rutgers.edu (      Jay)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: buying a tape player
Date: 15 Apr 92 04:49:08 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


Greetings,

I am looking to buy a tape player and was informed that i should
purchase one thru mail order (it was strongly suggested).  does
anyone have any helpful hints when buying one.  I will spend as
much as 250 dollars but less if i can help it.  I also think I
want to buy a single tape deck.

if anyone has mail order numbers, please send them to me.  also
any information on why i should buy a certain model, please let
me know.  ie.  if anyone has had a great experience and is really
happy with a dekc they purchased, let me know please.

jay

(please email me)
jjwright@remus.rutgers.edu

thank you.
Xref: sparky rec.audio:7127 rec.video:6038
From: jonke@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Stephen Jonke)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,rec.video
Subject: Re: CD rot -- who gives a damn?
Date: 8 Apr 92 21:33:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: kong.1992Apr8.213313.23949
Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

In article <58076029.1b2f0@digital.sps.mot.com>, chen@digital.sps.mot.com (Jinfu Chen) writes:
> 
>   Reprinted without permission from today's Dallas Morning News:
>   
>   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>   Sony Corporation and Phillips BV of the Netherlands issued a joint
>   press release Tuesday in which they admitted that the compact disc
>   format that they jointly invented ten years ago, has a fatal flaw:
>   the discs are susceptible to a phenomenon dubbed "CD rot" by audio-
>   philes.  A. Morita of Sony and M. Blaagerfeld of Phillips stated 
>   that according to recent research, "compact discs may show marked
>   deterioration in low-level error rates after ten to twelve years.

Although I think people have a legitimate gripe with Sony and Phillips on
this issue (presuming the report is true -- I haven't been able to verify
it), the fact is that 10 to 12 years of near perfect sound is pretty f*****g
incredible!  I mean with records you get maybe two or three PLAYS before
you start hearing pops and clicks, etc.  And tapes certainly don't last
anywhere near 10 years.

All in all, I'm still extraordinarilly happy with CDs and will continue to
spend too much money on them!  Meanwhile all of you audiophiles can run
around and spend several thousand US dollars on a record player that sounds
about as good as my cheapo portable CD player and complain to the record
industry that they aren't producing enough records anymore.  Oh, and don't
forget to put green marks around the edges of the CDs you do own and maybe
deep freeze them as well -- you must know what you're doing!

Steve
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: chojnows@osiris (Brian Chojnowski)
Subject: Rotel info
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 16:08:49 GMT

I have two products that I have bought used and would like the manuals for.
Rotels TCD-855 and RA-500. Does anyone have the address for Rotel that I
could write to to obtain this information?
Xref: sparky rec.audio:7492 pnw.forsale:729
From: basiji@milton.u.washington.edu (David Basiji)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,uw.forsale,pnw.forsale
Subject: Wanted: small stereo amp
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:26:22 GMT
Distribution: seattle
Organization: University of Washington


I'm looking for a small, solid state, stereo amp for my computer's 
stereo outputs.  It doesn't need to be more than 10 watts/channel
and I don't want to pay much more than $20-$30, but all of these
considerations are flexible.  Please email or call 527-9172.
Thanks,

David Basiji
basiji@u.washington.edu
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: tony@robots.oxford.ac.uk (Tony Hague)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Holophony (was Re: Terms)
Date: 10 Apr 92 11:31:24 GMT
Organization: Robotics Research Group, Engineering Science Dept, Oxford, UK.

In article <180978@pyramid.pyramid.com> lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell) writes:

>   [...] Pink Floyd stuff show off stereo separation more than imaging
>   in my opinion.

Now, on the subject of Pink Floyd, what do folks think of "The Final
Cut" ? The record sleeve acknowledges Zucarelli Labs (sorry if I've
spelt his name wrongly), so I assume this is one of his "holophonic"
recordings. 

Now, does anyone actually know what processing or other tricks are
used on this album ? Indeed, does anyone know of any other albums
using these techniques ? I have somewhere a rather old magazine
article on the subject, but it contains lots of speculation, and
precious little solid information.

Aside form the usual Floyd tricks with stereo seperation, (and heavy
use of bass, of course), there are some other noticeable tricks. One
obvious effect is using a shouting voice recorded at a low level so
that it sounds distant, or a near whispering voice recorded loudly for
the reverse effect. I assume that there are many other tricks used
too ... anybody know what they did ?

Tony.