New York Section 11.12.08 L-R Andreas Meyer, James Cruz, Roger Johansen, Ron Ajemian, Allan Tucker,
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 New York Section Meeting Report By Joel G. Spector
Two topics were presented at tonight's meeting. Ron Ajemian of Owl Fiber Optics spoke first on New Connectors and Connection Techniques. He showed the new "ConvertCon" unisex XLR connector from Neutrix, which will greatly reduce the inventory of audio cables required both in studios and on location The connector is converted with the push of a latch from female to male. Ron also discussed a new duplex fiber optic connector which is sealed from harsh environments. This connector will markedly reduce the weight borne by handheld videographers, especially those spending entire days covering news stories. Using fiber optic cables provides many advantages over copper cables: TeraHertz bandwidth; immunity from EMI, RFI and ground loops; low signal loss; high transmission speed; essential immunity to wiretapping; no impedance matching; high density/signal capacity; compliance with fire codes due to absence of plastic elements. Ron also discussed single mode vs multimode fibers and the components of fiber cable specifications.
He then described a new "drop cable" for cable tv premisis wiring from Corning. The "ClearCurve" cable is essentially immune to signal loss due to bending or pinching the cable as it is run through ductwork and conduits to reach subscribers' premisis. It is also available in a larger diameter "ruggedized" form which is equally immune to signal loss. This cable is referred to as "self-bend-limiting" and is used by Verizon FiOS.
A video from the manufacturer displayed these virtues and signal-loss results.
Ron concluded his talk by describing the new OptiCom handheld fiber termination tool from Panduit. This device will minimize bungled connector installations, a common occurrence, and will also dramatically increase productivity by reducing the time for each installation. A Q&A followed the lecture.
The second part of the evening was devoted to a panel discussion on Mastering for the New Century.
Roger Johansen of Tangerine Mastering talked with Allan Tucker of Foothill Digital, James Cruz of Zeitgeist Sound Studios, and Andreas Meyer of Meyer Media, LLC. They covered a wide range of subjects centering on the phenomenon of the home-studio project. There is generally a lessening of the quality of mixes delivered to mastering engineers, by content creators who are not properly trained to produce technically acceptable material. These projects require "more rescuing than polishing" and threaten to consume inordinate amounts of mastering time and effort. If a small number of "stems" are available, the mastering engineer may be able to do some minimal remixing and properly balance the elements. In some cases clients are instructed to re-record the material, as it cannot be saved at the mastering stage. Though the relationship with the client must be based on mutual honesty, this can require a great deal of tact on the part of the mastering engineer.
It is important for the client to state his or her intentions for the master recording: CD, download, website only, etc. Each requires unique handling for optimum fidelity in reproduction. A lively discussion considered the fact that the typical listening experience is now through earbuds connected to an iPhone. Compression techniques for these releases were also debated. High-end living-room systems are in the minority.
Panelists and audience members debated the place of the LP record in today's musical world. This is considered to be a niche product and not one which will endure. Even CD sales are declining in the face of the expanding download market. At the moment, MP3 is the format supposedly preferred by downloaders. Panelists expect CDs to disappear once high-resolution WAV files can be rapidly downloaded and economically stored. At present, project budgets are not always adequate to support high-quality mastering or pressing. Newer turntables are not always of suitable quality to do justice to a properly created disc.
One problem with current downloading is that while Apple has become the gatekeeper for all music, they aren't prepared to take on this responsibility. Their ignorance of serious music is forcing albums into broad categories which are not accurate. Audio professionals must be pro-active in improving audio quality due to now-prevalent low bit-rate files. The desire of the consumer to quite literally carry all of their music in one portable device trumps the concept of a better listening experience. Record companies will now only accept 44.1/16 files for uploading to FTP sites, giving them total control of the product.
Another problem is the widely prevailing consumer attitude that music should be free of cost. One audience member asked if there is a legal issue of record companies' degraded delivered audio quality causing economic loss to the content creators. When the labels can make more money by delivering high-quality audio then they will do so.
The evening concluded with panelists describing their favorite reference recordings both for evaluating a playback system and just "kickin' back." Many thoughtful audience questions and comments were contributed throughout the evening's discussion.
Tonight's meeting was attended by approximately fifty persons, almost all of whom were AES members.
