@3:52 🤔🧐 YEAH.. ..THAT’S WHY AS YOU’RE MOVING FROM ‘TUNING’ TO ‘FINE-TUNING’ TO THE ‘FINE-FINE-TUNING’ OF YOUR ADJUSTMENTS, IT BECOMES MORE AND MORE NECESSARY TO ‘ONLY’ BE MAKING CHANGES AFTER YOU’VE STUDIED AND ANALYZED MULTIPLE ’KNOWN’ TRACKS..
I’ve often wondered why bass is singled out from the audio spectrum as if it were a separate entity. In fact there are so called audiophiles out there that consider bass to be ‘ugly’, ‘uncool’ or even undesirable. The mere mention of a subwoofer is as if you’d insulted their mother. The reality is that bass is just part of the audio spectrum and in real life it stretches down much deeper than most loudspeakers can travel without a large dip in amplitude or interfering with the upper frequencies. On the other side of the coin, bass is often used in popular music at levels that would only occur in geological events, not found in classical music.A genuine audiophile would want to reproduce this faithfully and not decide that it’s undesirable irrespective of personal taste so there’s an hypocrisy there. Reproducing any frequency band poses challenges,; mids and highs can be harsh and bass can be woolly or unfocused but the greatest limitation with bass is trying to move the same mass of air that a timpani, bass guitar stack or natural event can move from a humble set of loudspeakers. Beware the bass snob who defends the lack of bass on their system and considers subwoofers as boom boxes - just ignore them and strive for a better full range.
Got the guide and CD around the time of this video, and I use it as a reference. Love it. The CD comes with a Data CD with PCM and DSD files, so you can use this reference music with your streaming system (that is what I do) and this is awsome. Thank you for all these videos!
Listen to more live acoustic music that has a Bass player first. Under the current world conditions that may not be possible right now so locate a couple of known quality recordings that contain a quite a bit of great solo base, e.g. Christian McBride who plays the tightest bass I have ever heard. You will hear a wealth of information about what great acoustic Bass sounds like. You may want to locate recordings that are known for poor, ill defined bass reproduction and listen to them as well. Compare these recordings to Paul‘s setup CD using the recommended tracks as your reference after you use this disc to set up your system properly. I think this may be very educational for you.
yup, I can beat the crap out of my living room, but walk 10 ft out into the kitchen and the bass drops off sharply. Doesn't blow out the whole house just the room intended, even though at high volume the music is clearly audible down the hall.
Hi Paul, I am from India.I watch your video every day and like your excellent explanation for the selected questions. I enjoy the signature tune played at the end of every session. I am sure the recording is a product of Octave Records. The shimmer of the ringing cymbal is beautiful to listen to even through a simple iPhone.
Superb video. Thanks Paul. As an audiophile for some 60 years myself and having experience in pro sound working with engineers I’ve noticed that I have, even after setting up my system that recordings are very often not balanced correctly. They are Altered Based off of arbitrary mixing and mastering engineering philosophies. It is often affected by the types of monitors that engineers use. Some engineers will Master a recording to sound good on a set of cheap speakers. In that way they are mixing for ‘popular’ listening mediums. Or they may want boom boom bass. Or they mix on substandard equipment miss defects in the their recording. I have given up on the philosophy of a “flat” recording. Even if I time align and phase align a setup, I still often run into sloppiness. There are many great recordings but also there are many crummy ones. I am not in the least bit ashamed to touch EQ when listening to a recording. Of course when I do get a hold of a really excellent recording, I’m happy to put everything back where it belongs and simply enjoy the music.
Good bass..... hard to define. You can measure it in every way possible. That will tell you quite a bit but, it isn't the whole story. Although, I have found that if it measures good in every way, especially in your room, at your listening position, it is good. Some people have problems with ported systems and some are not damped enough. Actually most of them. So now we are talking about transients and time alignment. It can get tricky but, as a designer and builder of speakers, I can say there can be a big difference. The biggest problem is the room. Your room has to be properly treated for a great speaker to sound good.
I think the question was more about what are characteristics of bass sound to seek. It might be along the lines of flat frequency to 30 Hz, good pulse response... ie not bloated and a 'big' presence. felt more than heard which is only possible with movement of air.
Interesting how all of subjects covered lately lead to selling more books. At what point do subjects that are interesting and informative cross the line into just another sales pitch?
this is why measurements are important imho. speakers should ideally be a copy paste of the sound more or less. Like what comes out of your system should be exactly what was in the recording
Paul, I have a question. I'm someone who (almost exclusively) collects vinyl. If it's not vinyl I'm listening to, it's high-resolution streaming. My only worry is, will this Audiophile's Guide SACD still be of use to me despite the fact that I don't listen to SACDs and only rarely stream? I'm very interested in the product, and I love the idea! I'm just not sure if it's the right way for my mainly vinyl system, but of course you'd know the answer to my question.
I'd choose a recommended recording (e.g. by Gramophone or other respected classical music source) of a classical work with wide frequency and dynamic ranges (e.g., Mahler - Symphony No.2 [Resurrection]: Rattle/Berlin Phil; Warner Classics 2011, Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique: Davis/Concertgebouw; Decca/Philips 2006, Holst - The Planets: Dutoit/Montreal Symphony Orchestra; Decca 2007). These will test pretty much the full range of your system, including its ability to differentiate instruments.
Hi Paul, I'm following you and your great informative video's from Iran. My question is how can i get the reference audio disk and you book of course?thank you sir
i think a way to proof if a system sounds right, is to hear recorded nature sounds like rain, thunder, birds etc.. the problem is to find some good records
If you have ever attended an outdoor concert firing live cannon in the 1812 Overture...You have a clear reference point for bass. And why good bass (Telearc Master LP of the same 1812) will rock your china. Of course the incredible organ at Radio City Music Hall has a slightly larger range.(g)
Good bass =well recorded music with great engineered speakers/ bad bass= poorly recorded music on great engineered speakers..quality bass is where it all starts and that's the music .
I always thought that knowing the difference between good sound and less-than-good sound, bass or otherwise, was pretty simple. Go to the symphony. A lot. I'm sure the disc is good for setting up a stereo system but that's fundamentally different from being able to recognize the difference between good sound and something less.
“Hey Paul, here’s my question - BTW love you and love your videos! I know it’s a bit ‘off-the-wall’ but I was wondering if you’ve ever written a book that helps an audiophile to set up their hifi system and make the speakers disappear?”
Those RELs came with instructions, right? Start there;-) Good bass means you can differentiate the individual notes and discern the timbre of the instrument playing them. Bloom not boom: You should not be able to identify the subs (or speakers) as the sound source.
no - he clearly explained that you just setup your system and room which in fact is 50 percent of what you hear properly and a bad record with a weak bass just have a weak bass, accept it
@@finscreenname I can, either the sound or the music is important - there are records where you can't have both, room acoustics can help because of it's impact Hifi means to hear music as it was recorded and if it was recorded by a deaf idiot you can't do much accept it or let the sound quality you want to hear all the time dictate what you can listen - that would exclude bad records, it is that simple having the fingers all day long on tone controls is idiotic
@@Harald_Reindl Sorry but I just can't accept either as an absolute. I have a guilty pleasure, I love the Go Go's. Talk about a being recorded by a deaf idiot. If I couldn't "fix" their first couple albums I wouldn't be able to listen to them. Their 3rd album had a much better sound because they got paid and could afford a decent producer. I think if they had the money at the start they would have never recorded thier first albums (cheap) like they did. Also who knows what the real original intention was being it was mixed by some guy behind a sound board on a time clock to get it done. Hell the band may not even know being I've gone to the same shows at different venues and they would sound totally different. And no I refuse to listen to something just because it has a great sound. If that was the case I would listen to nothing but bluegrass.
Love your show Paul! I have 2 sets of speaker wires for each left/right speaker. I’m planning to do Bi Amp. I’m adding two subs to the system. But I don’t have additional wires besides the Bi Amp wires I have.( the Amplifier is in the closet another side of the hallway). Should I give up the Bi Amp to make one set of wire to the speaker and another set to the sub? Or keep the Bi Amp and use sub wireless transmitter? Any suggestions will be highly appreciated! For your reference: 2 KEF R 7 tower and 2 KEF KF 92 sub. Thank you!
Here is the method I have used for years, to know if the bass response is correct..........and I am not talking about the amount of bass, I am talking about the quality of the bass. Paul will know exactly what I mean when I say, "Bass instruments don't just produce bass notes". Listen carefully to a stand-up bass, and you will hear a LOT of sound coming from it that is not (strictly speaking) bass. The sound of the bow on the strings, for example. What I do is listen for these "high-bass/low mid range sounds. If I can hear these, then the bass is working correctly. If you have a preamp with tone controls (I do), shut off the treble as much as possible, and just listen to the bass. If it sounds only like muffled low notes (coming from a stand-up bass), either it was recorded poorly or your speakers are not up to the job. I have said this many times..........you have to have some reference instruments that you know the correct sound of. A grand piano, a snare, a stand-up bass.........
I guess this is the same priciple as zero db level.There has to be a standard that everyone's uses otherwise every sales person could tell you anything about their subs.
This is why you need to be an educated consumer and walk in with your favorite recordings to any AUDIO salon. You can tell a sincere and knowledgeable sales person who selling quality products from a grifter.
If your stereo has the ability to sound as close as possible the sound of an upright acoustic bass, electric bass or a big pipe organ played live. Sadly, very few alternatives to real life experience.
I think the key to music is a like a Fine Wine. Balance. Sure, you can listen to (for) your favorite instrument. If you think it is good, good for you. When the other players are there in a quality recording session. ALL will sound UNBELEIVABLE! You will know. It is a learning process that basically educates your ears! I have to say this, QUALITY will never go-out-of-style! BALANCE is KEY to LIFE! GREG
Bad bass is a result of extensive air pressure on the ear drums eventually causing permanent hearing damage. Everyone is bass crazy from home theater, movie theaters, car audio systems, home audio stereo systems, headphones. It’s all about how loud will it play so I can feel the music. Your eardrums are feeling it to. .
So that means for every single piece you listen to, you should adjust all parameters right?. And so now we need a smart amp that looks ahead and automatically tweaks using a reference disc!
Good day Paul I got Paradigm Studio Reference 100 speakers. I also got 2 SVS Pb1000 subs. I want a neutral sound with the subs just taking over from wheree the paradigms stop in the low end. Injecting a frequency of say the last freq frome where the main speakers roll off and then based on that frequency I inject an adjust the subs volume to be the same as the paradigm?. I want to use the subs as left and right in stereo mode using the high power input as signal from each speaker. Does it sound correct way to do it? Thee paradigm already shake the ceiling and I dont want extra shaking just want to fill the low end all the wayy to 19hz Using spectrum analyzer app with mic to check spl
If your Paradigm’s already shake the ceiling and you’re really just looking for really low sub bass then it seems either method can work: 1. As you suggested using high power input 2. Use LFE rca output into your subs I actually think option 2 is better since you have large main speakers which already produce lots of bass. Option 1 is more bookshelf set up. I have Paradigm Studio 60 V1 and 1 corner located M&K subwoofer with 2 12in subwoofers. I just use the LFE output.
@@f430ferrari5 thanks for reply. I am using 2ch amplifier that does not have LFE or sub output hence the reason of using the high power input from speakers to subs
@@pietpompiepompiepiet940 it seems you’re already using the high power input then? If it sounds good to you that is all that matters. If you feel the 30-60hz bass is over whelming and you are not getting enough sub sonic ultra low bass then you would have to invest in a pre amp that has LFE rca outputs. This signal is already crossed at around 80 hz at 12 DB octave slope. So when you pair it with your subwoofers built in cross over you then have a steeper octave slope. You can also buy a separate cross over. You don’t have to use both high and low outputs. You can just use the low frequency and then you have two crossovers. If I had to guess your room is relatively small? Does it have high ceiling? Since you already get tons of bass with just the Studio 100 this leads me to believe your room is small. I believe in a smaller room it is harder to get deeper bass because of the long waves. Also sometimes 1 sub may be better than 2. If you insist on 2 then keep them further apart may achieve the results you’re looking for. Having them close you may experience more 40-120 hz hump which makes it harder to hear/feel the sub 20hz bass.
You have an advanced crossover inside your 2 way and 3 way speaker but inside your bass box you often only have an active 12db crossover and you do not lower frequencies as you do with a regular analog crossover. Often this does not sound good. If you are going to copy there analog crossover with an active crossover then you must also have an equalizer and people do not understand it
that's why good hardware has room measurement and room EQ, but the audiophiles prepare crap which is so pure that it even hadn't a proper power supply built in so you need golden power cables and power plants :-)
@@Harald_Reindl you do not need a better power cable than the one you have in the wall of your house. if you have better than that you will not get any benefits from it.
@@ford1546 i know that, but it seems the audiophiles are either braindead or the builtin power supplies are shit that the last 1.5 meters outside the wall are making differences on their expensive crap i know that it's idiotic having hundrets of meters with a dozen of connections and fuses but the last 1.5 meters will change the sound, that's why "audiophile" became an insult over the years
Bass is for me one of hardest sound to replicate. When I mean bass I mean electric guitar bass. On a good recording you can hear a tone from the bass guitar. It makes you wonder what the bass sounds before the sound engineer had finished mixing the sound. Because a lot of the sounds I hear is a nondescript boom of nose. It doesn’t matter how much you spend on your music sound, if the recording is contrived, for people who are not interested in music quality, which in my opinion about 70% you will have to put up with it. As for the author of this video, is a bit like using a tv setup video, you set up to video and find the picture quality rubbish, then you set up to you eyes.
Critically damped is good bass. Bass boosted via a reflex port always lacks clarity and tends towards one note emphasis. Distortion is a common problem in the bass - harmonic distortion is common on most speakers. Finally room modes are often a challenge and bass traps critical.
What do you mean by lacking "clarity"? A well designed 4th order bass reflex design will have a flat response. The major downside is vent noise ("chuffing") and the steep roll-off under F3 as compared to a sealed box.
@@joncarl3431 Bass influences what we hear in the mid range. Bass resonance will mask mid range quality. Bass designs with large group delay and resonance lack clarity. A hump in freq response in the bass leads to a pleasurable one note bass that lacks clarity. The best way to disguise a crappy mid range is to have tons of bass - most DJ music is a bunch of subs and a distorted horn mid range (horns distort at high SPL due to non linear air compression in the throat but bass masking can help disguise this to our ears and get an acceptable result )
@@JH-fl3vi Yes, I know how to read a FR chart.... Group delay is an issue with higher order boxes, but for most people the advantages in lower F3 and increased efficiency are worth a few ms of group delay.
@@joncarl3431 Completely agree. Lots of trade offs and many are especially willing to accept some trade offs in the bass quality because great bass is very expensive and requires larger less aesthetic boxes. Low distortion in the bass at decent SPL is excruciatingly costly compared to say a tweeter…tenfold to a hundredfold more costly.
@My Man I’m 74 years old and even though my hearing is still reasonable my vision is not. What head restraint are you speaking about? Please don’t tell me it was a sarcastic remark.
@@poserwannabe1 not for the whole spectrum at once and not at this level of precision. A tone will be in phase even if you are one cycle apart and it will only give you -1 db if within 55 degrees phase offset, plus standing waves can trick you in low frequencies. Tone is a good down and dirty way to check subs to mains at crossover frequency phase alignment but that as far as I would personally use it for.
@@ChristosPeltekis well I now know that after 45yrs of professional audio your ears are a whole lot better than mine, I don't think I can hear 1db differences in anything. 🙉
@@poserwannabe1 that is the only thing that is not better, believe me!! The bottom line is that all senses can be easily deceived and IMHO hearing is at the top of the pile.
bad bass masks sound, creates uncomfortable deafening ear pressure, impairs breathing and/or makes you get seasick. good bass is just energy in the room that you feel yourself physicaly resonate with without loosing fidelity or having any deafening. its only "heared" a little bit besides that. bass is carrier energy, instead of a sound
John and his 99% book are quite interesting. But when it comes to this book (The Stereo), it is somehow unreadable-- due to a vey bad format and poor choice of typeface. Content-wise: very general and sometimes simple common sense. I've heard the CD is not accompanying the book in certain cases. Please read the reviews first and check for yourself.
There’s an interesting, almost philosophical, question of bass from amplified music and bass from acoustic music. I’ve been to loads of classical music concerts and I ‘think’ I’ve got a fair idea of what a classical recording should sound like - these generally include very low notes like big drums and double bass. The former in particular can be huge sounds whereas the latter seem to be very hard to reproduce well. You want (obviously) to hear these pure and true but you definitely don’t want it over-represented. My feeling is that this all goes out the window with amplified sound from pop, rock, metal whatever. You no longer know what the real sound is and you are entirely at the mercy of the sound engineers, whether in concert or recording. You no longer have that baseline Paul refers to. This is the Brave New World of sound systems having ‘good bass’ by which you might actually mean chest thumping feeling. This might be distant from the actual notes of the music. My own pet hate is over-emphasised bass but my son is totally the opposite.
Hmm... Quite a few ideas in the comments. What I've done is to use REW with a calibrated mic. Get a frequency by SPL without the bass, then bring up the bass for a flattish response.
The only way to set up a sub accurately is by measuring. I use REW and a Behringer measuring mic (calibrated of course) and set the sub level then I go through frequency sweeps and EQ out the room modes at and around my listening seat with a parametric EQ. EQ is only on the sub though, I find it degrades mids and highs.
Download Open sound meter and phase align the speakers with a transfer function measurement. If you don’t know how to read a tf use the real time spectrogram to view how the speakers and the room interact with each other
There is more than a month difference between these recordings and their appearance on RUclips. The book may already be sold out people! And then what?
Here we go again, more book pushing. You do not need a book or specific CD to correctly set up your system. Just use your ears and listen to a selection of your favourite tracks. Unless you have a purpose built listening room then speaker position and listening position are the main adjustments available. If your ears are not good enough to obtain the best possible audio then no book/CD will be able to do it for you. This is really no big deal. Do not be fooled into thinking you need some elusive expertise.
I believe it’s best to start off with a single voice or a single base instrument and then build up to a trio all the way up to an orchestra slowly. This way you’re building a foundation of what Bass should sound like.
@@stimpy1226 Depends on what sort of music you like. If it is Rock then plenty of bass punch is best but this will sound horribly muddy on a symphony orchestra. There is no one “correct “ setting.
Wow, who is twisting arms? Not Paul. Don't watch and don't buy if you have all the answers. Sharing knowledge is a noble pursuit. So is feeding your family.
Or maybe just listen to it👍 No offence to the audiophile world. I’m not sure I am an audiophile in the same way you guys are even though I have played with speakers (any speaker unit I could get my hands on as I had zero money to buy stuff) and putting them in cardboard shoe boxes to see how the sound changed from when I heard my first home stereo when I was very young. The problem is as sound is so objective we need to maybe stop sucking the life out of it by making these “reference” “rules” in sound. I don’t want to upset anyone as life is really too short so I apologise in advance for my viewpoint. If you like the sound it’s right. Be happy
I agree with the last line of your post. Be happy with the music. It’s life-changing if you allow it in no matter if you’re listening on the table radio or a high-end system.
@@stimpy1226 thanks for your comment. It’s funny I have two “entry level systems” a valve amp and floor standers and sub in my living room and class d mono blocks and bookshelves and sub in my bedroom and they both sound great in their ways but one of the most amazing moments in sound I can remember was when I was about 10 and my mum had her mono transistor radio on bbc radio 2 playing the carpenters calling occupants of interplanetary craft. Karen carpenters voice sounded so smooth and clear. I am 58 years old now but that moment has stayed with me for always. It’s almost as even though I know my systems are amazing in comparison almost nothing can live up to that moment and I’m now 58.I’m not even a crazy carpenters fan😂😂😂anyway. Have fun👍
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
@3:52 🤔🧐 YEAH.. ..THAT’S WHY AS YOU’RE MOVING FROM ‘TUNING’ TO ‘FINE-TUNING’ TO THE ‘FINE-FINE-TUNING’ OF YOUR ADJUSTMENTS, IT BECOMES MORE AND MORE NECESSARY TO ‘ONLY’ BE MAKING CHANGES AFTER YOU’VE STUDIED AND ANALYZED MULTIPLE ’KNOWN’ TRACKS..
I’ve often wondered why bass is singled out from the audio spectrum as if it were a separate entity. In fact there are so called audiophiles out there that consider bass to be ‘ugly’, ‘uncool’ or even undesirable. The mere mention of a subwoofer is as if you’d insulted their mother. The reality is that bass is just part of the audio spectrum and in real life it stretches down much deeper than most loudspeakers can travel without a large dip in amplitude or interfering with the upper frequencies. On the other side of the coin, bass is often used in popular music at levels that would only occur in geological events, not found in classical music.A genuine audiophile would want to reproduce this faithfully and not decide that it’s undesirable irrespective of personal taste so there’s an hypocrisy there. Reproducing any frequency band poses challenges,; mids and highs can be harsh and bass can be woolly or unfocused but the greatest limitation with bass is trying to move the same mass of air that a timpani, bass guitar stack or natural event can move from a humble set of loudspeakers. Beware the bass snob who defends the lack of bass on their system and considers subwoofers as boom boxes - just ignore them and strive for a better full range.
range fullness beats loudness when both carry the same overall energy
Got the guide and CD around the time of this video, and I use it as a reference. Love it. The CD comes with a Data CD with PCM and DSD files, so you can use this reference music with your streaming system (that is what I do) and this is awsome. Thank you for all these videos!
Listen to more live acoustic music that has a Bass player first. Under the current world conditions that may not be possible right now so locate a couple of known quality recordings that contain a quite a bit of great solo base, e.g. Christian McBride who plays the tightest bass I have ever heard. You will hear a wealth of information about what great acoustic Bass sounds like. You may want to locate recordings that are known for poor, ill defined bass reproduction and listen to them as well. Compare these recordings to Paul‘s setup CD using the recommended tracks as your reference after you use this disc to set up your system properly. I think this may be very educational for you.
JoJo's ending song has a banger bass line
Good bass kicks butt without pissing off anyone around you
Great comment!
yup, I can beat the crap out of my living room, but walk 10 ft out into the kitchen and the bass drops off sharply. Doesn't blow out the whole house just the room intended, even though at high volume the music is clearly audible down the hall.
Hi Paul, I am from India.I watch your video every day and like your excellent explanation for the selected questions. I enjoy the signature tune played at the end of every session. I am sure the recording is a product of Octave Records. The shimmer of the ringing cymbal is beautiful to listen to even through a simple iPhone.
My first english book that I had read from the first to the last page.
And I enjoy it.
Well done, Paul. 👍
Link doesn’t work, Paul :(
Superb video. Thanks Paul. As an audiophile for some 60 years myself and having experience in pro sound working with engineers I’ve noticed that I have, even after setting up my system that recordings are very often not balanced correctly. They are Altered Based off of arbitrary mixing and mastering engineering philosophies. It is often affected by the types of monitors that engineers use. Some engineers will Master a recording to sound good on a set of cheap speakers. In that way they are mixing for ‘popular’ listening mediums. Or they may want boom boom bass. Or they mix on substandard equipment miss defects in the their recording. I have given up on the philosophy of a “flat” recording. Even if I time align and phase align a setup, I still often run into sloppiness. There are many great recordings but also there are many crummy ones. I am not in the least bit ashamed to touch EQ when listening to a recording. Of course when I do get a hold of a really excellent recording, I’m happy to put everything back where it belongs and simply enjoy the music.
Agree entirely.
Good bass..... hard to define. You can measure it in every way possible. That will tell you quite a bit but, it isn't the whole story. Although, I have found that if it measures good in every way, especially in your room, at your listening position, it is good. Some people have problems with ported systems and some are not damped enough. Actually most of them. So now we are talking about transients and time alignment. It can get tricky but, as a designer and builder of speakers, I can say there can be a big difference. The biggest problem is the room. Your room has to be properly treated for a great speaker to sound good.
Without a good bass line, you will be in a lot of treble, even on a mid-range system.
Thats genius, well done.
I think the question was more about what are characteristics of bass sound to seek. It might be along the lines of
flat frequency to 30 Hz,
good pulse response... ie not bloated
and a 'big' presence. felt more than heard which is only possible with movement of air.
I thought he was talking about bass line then realized he was talking about baseline. 😀
Besides the sales pitch, the link is not working and the site is down. So...how can we get the bass baseline? 😉
If you can move your window frames, then your bass is set perfectly 😜
If it moves your gut, maybe too much
I’ll call tomorrow and get a copy of the disc, ,Ishtar get the book too. Thanks Paul.
Octave records is not available. Should I try the web page tomorrow?
Passive subwoofer, tone controls flat.
Bass should be felt not heard?
Interesting how all of subjects covered lately lead to selling more books. At what point do subjects that are interesting and informative cross the line into just another sales pitch?
It's his channel! Period.Get over it.
@@djzoloft I'm sure he's listened many years of mild criticisms and does not need you to come to his rescue. He'll be fine.
You have to use a reference calibrated microphone.
this is why measurements are important imho. speakers should ideally be a copy paste of the sound more or less. Like what comes out of your system should be exactly what was in the recording
Once your base line is set. Try moving the subs around and look at acoustic and bass treatment to move that base line further up.
Paul, I have a question. I'm someone who (almost exclusively) collects vinyl. If it's not vinyl I'm listening to, it's high-resolution streaming. My only worry is, will this Audiophile's Guide SACD still be of use to me despite the fact that I don't listen to SACDs and only rarely stream?
I'm very interested in the product, and I love the idea! I'm just not sure if it's the right way for my mainly vinyl system, but of course you'd know the answer to my question.
I'd choose a recommended recording (e.g. by Gramophone or other respected classical music source) of a classical work with wide frequency and dynamic ranges (e.g., Mahler - Symphony No.2 [Resurrection]: Rattle/Berlin Phil; Warner Classics 2011, Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique: Davis/Concertgebouw; Decca/Philips 2006, Holst - The Planets: Dutoit/Montreal Symphony Orchestra; Decca 2007). These will test pretty much the full range of your system, including its ability to differentiate instruments.
Hi Paul, I'm following you and your great informative video's from Iran. My question is how can i get the reference audio disk and you book of course?thank you sir
The base bass line?
Is that a base line,or bass line?☺
I just tried to go to the website but it said it can't be reached????? I want to try out the disc.
Seems like every video recently is an advert for the book
i think a way to proof if a system sounds right, is to hear recorded nature sounds like rain, thunder, birds etc.. the problem is to find some good records
If you have ever attended an outdoor concert firing live cannon in the 1812 Overture...You have a clear reference point for bass. And why good bass (Telearc Master LP of the same 1812) will rock your china.
Of course the incredible organ at Radio City Music Hall has a slightly larger range.(g)
Good bass =well recorded music with great engineered speakers/ bad bass= poorly recorded music on great engineered speakers..quality bass is where it all starts and that's the music .
Hey Paul have you retuned the IRS five system with your companion CD
I am about to receive a pair of cerwin vega XLS 215 tower speakers in the mail so I know I don't need to worry about not getting good bass
If you’re receiving them through the mail then they can’t possibly deal with the very deep bass without help from a subwoofer. 😁
Boom boom boom
they are tuned rather high like PA speakers you will be dissapointed in the deepest lows...
I always thought that knowing the difference between good sound and less-than-good sound, bass or otherwise, was pretty simple. Go to the symphony. A lot.
I'm sure the disc is good for setting up a stereo system but that's fundamentally different from being able to recognize the difference between good sound and something less.
“Hey Paul, here’s my question - BTW love you and love your videos! I know it’s a bit ‘off-the-wall’ but I was wondering if you’ve ever written a book that helps an audiophile to set up their hifi system and make the speakers disappear?”
Yup www.psaudio.com/product/the-audiophiles-guide/
What!
Paul's written an book about hifi?
When's he going to tell us😅😅😅👍🏼
Those RELs came with instructions, right?
Start there;-)
Good bass means you can differentiate the individual notes and discern the timbre of the instrument playing them.
Bloom not boom:
You should not be able to identify the subs (or speakers) as the sound source.
I think Paul is slowly turning into Billy Mays.
Yes. Except the beard.
How would you change the sound with no tone controls? Do you add new, different speaker wires and rearrange your room treatments for each song?
no - he clearly explained that you just setup your system and room which in fact is 50 percent of what you hear properly and a bad record with a weak bass just have a weak bass, accept it
@@Harald_Reindl accept it......sorry, no can do. 😊
@@finscreenname I can, either the sound or the music is important - there are records where you can't have both, room acoustics can help because of it's impact
Hifi means to hear music as it was recorded and if it was recorded by a deaf idiot you can't do much
accept it or let the sound quality you want to hear all the time dictate what you can listen - that would exclude bad records, it is that simple
having the fingers all day long on tone controls is idiotic
@@Harald_Reindl Sorry but I just can't accept either as an absolute. I have a guilty pleasure, I love the Go Go's. Talk about a being recorded by a deaf idiot. If I couldn't "fix" their first couple albums I wouldn't be able to listen to them. Their 3rd album had a much better sound because they got paid and could afford a decent producer. I think if they had the money at the start they would have never recorded thier first albums (cheap) like they did. Also who knows what the real original intention was being it was mixed by some guy behind a sound board on a time clock to get it done. Hell the band may not even know being I've gone to the same shows at different venues and they would sound totally different. And no I refuse to listen to something just because it has a great sound. If that was the case I would listen to nothing but bluegrass.
Love your show Paul!
I have 2 sets of speaker wires for each left/right speaker. I’m planning to do Bi Amp. I’m adding two subs to the system. But I don’t have additional wires besides the Bi Amp wires I have.( the Amplifier is in the closet another side of the hallway). Should I give up the Bi Amp to make one set of wire to the speaker and another set to the sub? Or keep the Bi Amp and use sub wireless transmitter?
Any suggestions will be highly appreciated!
For your reference: 2 KEF R 7 tower and 2 KEF KF 92 sub.
Thank you!
dsd or 24bit?
I stopped dividing heard sounds as sopranos, middle range and bass. In reality harmonics of most instruments are all mixed together.
Here is the method I have used for years, to know if the bass response is correct..........and I am not talking about the amount of bass, I am talking about the quality of the bass. Paul will know exactly what I mean when I say, "Bass instruments don't just produce bass notes". Listen carefully to a stand-up bass, and you will hear a LOT of sound coming from it that is not (strictly speaking) bass. The sound of the bow on the strings, for example. What I do is listen for these "high-bass/low mid range sounds. If I can hear these, then the bass is working correctly. If you have a preamp with tone controls (I do), shut off the treble as much as possible, and just listen to the bass. If it sounds only like muffled low notes (coming from a stand-up bass), either it was recorded poorly or your speakers are not up to the job.
I have said this many times..........you have to have some reference instruments that you know the correct sound of. A grand piano, a snare, a stand-up bass.........
Yes, I agree. For good bass, you need a baseline bass-line :P
I guess this is the same priciple as zero db level.There has to be a standard that everyone's uses otherwise every sales person could tell you anything about their subs.
This is why you need to be an educated consumer and walk in with your favorite recordings to any AUDIO salon. You can tell a sincere and knowledgeable sales person who selling quality products from a grifter.
As I'm not in the US, where can I buy the CD to go with the book? Amazon UK just sells the e-book, but not the CD.
I bought it on PS Audio website.
If your stereo has the ability to sound as close as possible the sound of an upright acoustic bass, electric bass or a big pipe organ played live. Sadly, very few alternatives to real life experience.
I agree
hi paul, can you pls provide us with a free solution without the need to buy your book..tnx
I think the key to music is a like a Fine Wine.
Balance.
Sure, you can listen to (for) your favorite instrument. If you think it is good, good for you.
When the other players are there in a quality recording session. ALL will sound UNBELEIVABLE!
You will know. It is a learning process that basically educates your ears!
I have to say this, QUALITY will never go-out-of-style!
BALANCE is KEY to LIFE!
GREG
Bad bass is a result of extensive air pressure on the ear drums eventually causing permanent hearing damage. Everyone is bass crazy from home theater, movie theaters, car audio systems, home audio stereo systems, headphones. It’s all about how loud will it play so I can feel the music. Your eardrums are feeling it to.
.
So that means for every single piece you listen to, you should adjust all parameters right?. And so now we need a smart amp that looks ahead and automatically tweaks using a reference disc!
no, he explained the exactly opposite and after your setup is right just accept a shitty recording sounds shitty
lol really name and country from the buyers? i'm scared to order by you.
So hurry and send my book and CD.
A sales pitch - yet again. And even the link is down. What's going on at PS Audio?
Good day Paul
I got Paradigm Studio Reference 100 speakers.
I also got 2 SVS Pb1000 subs.
I want a neutral sound with the subs just taking over from wheree the paradigms stop in the low end.
Injecting a frequency of say the last freq frome where the main speakers roll off and then based on that frequency I inject an adjust the subs volume to be the same as the paradigm?.
I want to use the subs as left and right in stereo mode using the high power input as signal from each speaker.
Does it sound correct way to do it?
Thee paradigm already shake the ceiling and I dont want extra shaking just want to fill the low end all the wayy to 19hz
Using spectrum analyzer app with mic to check spl
If your Paradigm’s already shake the ceiling and you’re really just looking for really low sub bass then it seems either method can work:
1. As you suggested using high power input
2. Use LFE rca output into your subs
I actually think option 2 is better since you have large main speakers which already produce lots of bass.
Option 1 is more bookshelf set up.
I have Paradigm Studio 60 V1 and 1 corner located M&K subwoofer with 2 12in subwoofers. I just use the LFE output.
@@f430ferrari5 thanks for reply. I am using 2ch amplifier that does not have LFE or sub output hence the reason of using the high power input from speakers to subs
@@pietpompiepompiepiet940 it seems you’re already using the high power input then? If it sounds good to you that is all that matters.
If you feel the 30-60hz bass is over whelming and you are not getting enough sub sonic ultra low bass then you would have to invest in a pre amp that has LFE rca outputs. This signal is already crossed at around 80 hz at 12 DB octave slope.
So when you pair it with your subwoofers built in cross over you then have a steeper octave slope.
You can also buy a separate cross over. You don’t have to use both high and low outputs. You can just use the low frequency and then you have two crossovers.
If I had to guess your room is relatively small? Does it have high ceiling? Since you already get tons of bass with just the Studio 100 this leads me to believe your room is small.
I believe in a smaller room it is harder to get deeper bass because of the long waves.
Also sometimes 1 sub may be better than 2.
If you insist on 2 then keep them further apart may achieve the results you’re looking for.
Having them close you may experience more 40-120 hz hump which makes it harder to hear/feel the sub 20hz bass.
You have an advanced crossover inside your 2 way and 3 way speaker but inside your bass box you often only have an active 12db crossover and you do not lower frequencies as you do with a regular analog crossover.
Often this does not sound good.
If you are going to copy there analog crossover with an active crossover then you must also have an equalizer and people do not understand it
that's why good hardware has room measurement and room EQ, but the audiophiles prepare crap which is so pure that it even hadn't a proper power supply built in so you need golden power cables and power plants :-)
@@Harald_Reindl you do not need a better power cable than the one you have in the wall of your house. if you have better than that you will not get any benefits from it.
@@ford1546 i know that, but it seems the audiophiles are either braindead or the builtin power supplies are shit that the last 1.5 meters outside the wall are making differences on their expensive crap
i know that it's idiotic having hundrets of meters with a dozen of connections and fuses but the last 1.5 meters will change the sound, that's why "audiophile" became an insult over the years
@@Harald_Reindl Yes
Bass is for me one of hardest sound to replicate. When I mean bass I mean electric guitar bass. On a good recording you can hear a tone from the bass guitar. It makes you wonder what the bass sounds before the sound engineer had finished mixing the sound. Because a lot of the sounds I hear is a nondescript boom of nose. It doesn’t matter how much you spend on your music sound, if the recording is contrived, for people who are not interested in music quality, which in my opinion about 70% you will have to put up with it. As for the author of this video, is a bit like using a tv setup video, you set up to video and find the picture quality rubbish, then you set up to you eyes.
Critically damped is good bass. Bass boosted via a reflex port always lacks clarity and tends towards one note emphasis. Distortion is a common problem in the bass - harmonic distortion is common on most speakers. Finally room modes are often a challenge and bass traps critical.
What do you mean by lacking "clarity"?
A well designed 4th order bass reflex design will have a flat response. The major downside is vent noise ("chuffing") and the steep roll-off under F3 as compared to a sealed box.
@@joncarl3431 Bass influences what we hear in the mid range. Bass resonance will mask mid range quality. Bass designs with large group delay and resonance lack clarity. A hump in freq response in the bass leads to a pleasurable one note bass that lacks clarity. The best way to disguise a crappy mid range is to have tons of bass - most DJ music is a bunch of subs and a distorted horn mid range (horns distort at high SPL due to non linear air compression in the throat but bass masking can help disguise this to our ears and get an acceptable result )
@@JH-fl3vi Yes, I know how to read a FR chart....
Group delay is an issue with higher order boxes, but for most people the advantages in lower F3 and increased efficiency are worth a few ms of group delay.
@@joncarl3431 Completely agree. Lots of trade offs and many are especially willing to accept some trade offs in the bass quality because great bass is very expensive and requires larger less aesthetic boxes. Low distortion in the bass at decent SPL is excruciatingly costly compared to say a tweeter…tenfold to a hundredfold more costly.
Sometimes I wonder what is on the other side of Pauls calm and endearing demeanor, extremely scary? :D
Most people have a temper. Paul is really able to control his at least in public. I certainly don’t think he’s an SOB.
MaMaannn
@My Man I’m 74 years old and even though my hearing is still reasonable my vision is not. What head restraint are you speaking about? Please don’t tell me it was a sarcastic remark.
@My Man very interesting, I will remember that and I will remember to purchase Fava Beans the next time I have someone over for dinner
Damn so not only do you gotta buy his book you also need to by a cd transport for the cd 😂
You can download an RTA and SPL meter on your phone from studios six digital to test your system
That won’t give you any valuable info I’m afraid. You need a transfer function measurement in order to phase align the speakers.
@@ChristosPeltekis it can easily be done by ear with only a tone generator..
@@poserwannabe1 not for the whole spectrum at once and not at this level of precision. A tone will be in phase even if you are one cycle apart and it will only give you -1 db if within 55 degrees phase offset, plus standing waves can trick you in low frequencies. Tone is a good down and dirty way to check subs to mains at crossover frequency phase alignment but that as far as I would personally use it for.
@@ChristosPeltekis well I now know that after 45yrs of professional audio your ears are a whole lot better than mine, I don't think I can hear 1db differences in anything. 🙉
@@poserwannabe1 that is the only thing that is not better, believe me!! The bottom line is that all senses can be easily deceived and IMHO hearing is at the top of the pile.
bad bass masks sound, creates uncomfortable deafening ear pressure, impairs breathing and/or makes you get seasick.
good bass is just energy in the room that you feel yourself physicaly resonate with without loosing fidelity or having any deafening. its only "heared" a little bit besides that.
bass is carrier energy, instead of a sound
Plugging your book again Paul. I live in the uk so no deal.
and no answer on the channel because of the book
is it not available in the UK?
I'm in the UK and bought the book and CD on the website.
How synchronised will be the love, marriage and intercourse of the bass and the treble and everything in between while intact!?
John and his 99% book are quite interesting. But when it comes to this book (The Stereo), it is somehow unreadable-- due to a vey bad format and poor choice of typeface. Content-wise: very general and sometimes simple common sense. I've heard the CD is not accompanying the book in certain cases.
Please read the reviews first and check for yourself.
The buffoonery is strong in this one!
I am from India and I'll want to design 80watt class A amplifier can you please help me to choose an perfect mosfet for it
Doesn't really answer the question...just trying to promote his product...but I think I kinda get it...I think
"most important the disc itself' so is it not sold with the book. 🤷♂️
There’s an interesting, almost philosophical, question of bass from amplified music and bass from acoustic music. I’ve been to loads of classical music concerts and I ‘think’ I’ve got a fair idea of what a classical recording should sound like - these generally include very low notes like big drums and double bass. The former in particular can be huge sounds whereas the latter seem to be very hard to reproduce well. You want (obviously) to hear these pure and true but you definitely don’t want it over-represented.
My feeling is that this all goes out the window with amplified sound from pop, rock, metal whatever. You no longer know what the real sound is and you are entirely at the mercy of the sound engineers, whether in concert or recording. You no longer have that baseline Paul refers to. This is the Brave New World of sound systems having ‘good bass’ by which you might actually mean chest thumping feeling. This might be distant from the actual notes of the music.
My own pet hate is over-emphasised bass but my son is totally the opposite.
Hmm... Quite a few ideas in the comments. What I've done is to use REW with a calibrated mic. Get a frequency by SPL without the bass, then bring up the bass for a flattish response.
The only way to set up a sub accurately is by measuring. I use REW and a Behringer measuring mic (calibrated of course) and set the sub level then I go through frequency sweeps and EQ out the room modes at and around my listening seat with a parametric EQ. EQ is only on the sub though, I find it degrades mids and highs.
Download Open sound meter and phase align the speakers with a transfer function measurement. If you don’t know how to read a tf use the real time spectrogram to view how the speakers and the room interact with each other
@@gerrylynch3991 "the only way" 🤣😂😆 you sure about that ??
@@poserwannabe1 to ACCURATELY do it, yes.
@@gerrylynch3991 oh ok, thanks for that !!
Hey Paul will you sign the book if I buy direct instead of buying it on Amazon...
Baseline references!
There is more than a month difference between these recordings and their appearance on RUclips. The book may already be sold out people! And then what?
Good and bad-ass !!!
How about the link to your book !!!!
0:48 MKUltra!
Here we go again, more book pushing. You do not need a book or specific CD to correctly set up your system. Just use your ears and listen to a selection of your favourite tracks. Unless you have a purpose built listening room then speaker position and listening position are the main adjustments available. If your ears are not good enough to obtain the best possible audio then no book/CD will be able to do it for you. This is really no big deal. Do not be fooled into thinking you need some elusive expertise.
I believe it’s best to start off with a single voice or a single base instrument and then build up to a trio all the way up to an orchestra slowly. This way you’re building a foundation of what Bass should sound like.
@@stimpy1226 Depends on what sort of music you like. If it is Rock then plenty of bass punch is best but this will sound horribly muddy on a symphony orchestra. There is no one “correct “ setting.
Wow, who is twisting arms? Not Paul. Don't watch and don't buy if you have all the answers. Sharing knowledge is a noble pursuit. So is feeding your family.
Again, Paul ... the only one who can record proper bass... lol. Such self biased info.
Or maybe just listen to it👍 No offence to the audiophile world. I’m not sure I am an audiophile in the same way you guys are even though I have played with speakers (any speaker unit I could get my hands on as I had zero money to buy stuff) and putting them in cardboard shoe boxes to see how the sound changed from when I heard my first home stereo when I was very young. The problem is as sound is so objective we need to maybe stop sucking the life out of it by making these “reference” “rules” in sound. I don’t want to upset anyone as life is really too short so I apologise in advance for my viewpoint. If you like the sound it’s right. Be happy
I agree with the last line of your post. Be happy with the music. It’s life-changing if you allow it in no matter if you’re listening on the table radio or a high-end system.
@@stimpy1226 thanks for your comment. It’s funny I have two “entry level systems” a valve amp and floor standers and sub in my living room and class d mono blocks and bookshelves and sub in my bedroom and they both sound great in their ways but one of the most amazing moments in sound I can remember was when I was about 10 and my mum had her mono transistor radio on bbc radio 2 playing the carpenters calling occupants of interplanetary craft. Karen carpenters voice sounded so smooth and clear. I am 58 years old now but that moment has stayed with me for always. It’s almost as even though I know my systems are amazing in comparison almost nothing can live up to that moment and I’m now 58.I’m not even a crazy carpenters fan😂😂😂anyway. Have fun👍
cian finn - too fast. I always use this bassline when checking bass
Q: (Insert here). A: Buy my new book and disc.
Link is not working
Try Open Baffle speakers and you will get great sound and real bass. Bass isn’t supposed to vibrate a room etc.
Smaller the better, bigger ones have higher concentrations of mercury.
Oooooo. Fish joke
bad bass is adding sub-woofer(s) to a two-channel system
You think you can locate the source of a 40hz tone?
Waste of time, watching this channel. He won't say anything conclusive.
Yeay first comment :)
Congratulations! You've won a free PS Audio book and CD combo. Now, go wait next to your mailbox...
@@Mark-lq3sb Already got them ;)
@
Turning down a free set?
@@Mark-lq3sb Hahahha never