About
A different approach to the controversies in the audio world.
In addition to a strong interest in music and audio technology, I started this website to promote a rational view in the confusing world of audio, and to share some ideas that may shed new light on certain problems. I have special views on certain topics, and since I don't see anyone else making what I have in mind I have to do it myself. I like to walk new paths, develop new ideas and methods, but also having both feet on the ground.
My obsession with audio technology started with loudspeakers around 2010. Later my interest shifted to guitar amplifiers, guitar amplifier modelling, lossy audio compression, headphone measurements and concert hall acoustics (perception of surround sound). Fortunately, I also have a good understanding of music, which helped me a lot. (Playing an instrument can add such a new dimension to life that turntables and tube amplifiers can never provide... These old technologies are fascinating, but also outdated, like the VW Golf I or Renault R12. Welcome to the world of bad car and wine analogies...)
Loudspeakers became a focus of my interest because for a very short time I believed that high-order crossover filters are a source of audible time smearing. After running a number of tests with software-emulated 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th order filters and doing some research (a classic: Group delay distortions in electroacoustical systems by Blauert & Laws) , I let go of the idea of transient response optimized "linear phase" crossovers. (Note: 12th order Linkwitz–Riley at 2 kHz can be detected with pulses, but not the 4th and 8th order.)
One of the greatest misconceptions in audio is related to blind tests. Though confirmation bias and other types of self-deception are real problems and should be avoided, the idea that blind testing is the only way to eliminate bias is certainly wrong and very limiting. People believe in nonsense because they don't know how to test a particular claim, how to brake down a complex problem into smaller, easily verifiable tasks, and not because of the lack of blind tests. If we know how components work, then blind testing is just a waste of time. If we don't know how a component works, then blind test is not the right tool. Understanding the science behind audio technology does not require blind tests, just a reasonable understanding of hearing, signal behavior (analog, digital) and the complexity of real life signals and sound sources. That's all.
Csaba Horváth
Getting the most likes doesn’t matter to me… Going to bed at night saying I’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me. (And to counteract the nonsense prevalent in our society.)
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So much music so little time
Latest articles & software:
How much noise and distortion can we hear in complex signals? 🔊 🎧
Sound reproduction, audio measurements & fidelity: the 10 basic rules
Lossy audio compression: principles, methods, misconceptions 🔊 🎧
Speaker Driver Simulation With Room Response (online simulator)
NextLevelFun - Random Access Music (YouTube Playlist With Extras)
