About
On the bumpy roads of high fidelity sound reproduction and audio science.
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...)
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, but not the 4th and 8th order.)
Since 2023, I have also been developing YouTube video players that provide different functionality and are highly compatible with older browsers (as old as an Opera 36 or Firefox 52!). Some of the results of this development can be found scattered throughout the site. (Although I haven't done any rigorous testing, I think they will work on smart TVs released after 2016.)
One of the greatest misconceptions in audio is that to be an objectivist, one needs to do blind tests. People believe in nonsense because they don't understand a scientific theory, or they don't see how measurements support a theory, or they don't know what constitutes a proper test method and what doesn't, and not because of the lack of blind tests. I think it's very rare when objectivist do blind tests not only with power cables, AC filters, but even with amplifiers or DACs. 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
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So much music so little time
Latest articles & software:
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)
