Tag Archives: Stereophonic sound

Technical backstage: which audio monitor I use

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It’s not a didactic section (when needed I’ll link related pages on manufacturer site) but so as to explain my approach to recording.

Hi,

this is a very hard question, which monitor choose and why?

When I go tracking I try different microphones to find the best matching with audio source. This is a obvious practice because each microphone has typical electronic and acoustic features.

Good, but you can take the same approach for monitoring? No, because their arrangement is a very delicate matter, a couple of professional monitor is expensive (but if possible it’s better to have two pairs) and unlike microphone above our reference listening should not be linked with any musical instrument or musical genre.

Essentially we need a pair (and matched) of monitors with frequency and phase flat response, correctly matched with control room. Wow…

All brands claim to fulfill these features. Ouch…

Ok, I tried several brand and model and I choosed Emes, a little german company.

In particulary I bought a pair of Violet HR (nearfield) and a pair of Blue HR coupled with sub Amber HR (main).

Violet Hr is a tipical two-way loudspeaker with the same amplifier (100W RMS) on drivers with a small woofer (18 cm – 7 inch.) and a silk dome tweeter.

Blue HR is designed as a D’Appolito configuration with the same kind of drivers of Violet HR. Three amplifier (two woofer and one tweeter) handling 100W RMS.

I like them because the portability to real world is almost perfect. Low end is good balanced and correct, high end very extended and the mids are really clear with speech frequency focused. Thanks to woofer small size they had a very fast response to transient and directivity.

All loudspeakers are sold with a frequency response matched with less than ±0,5 dB difference.

Violet HR are like a magnifying lens and allow you to listen with great precision individual parts.

I arranged the Blue HR in a large box suspended like a flush mount to eliminate audio emission back, minimize frame diffraction and relating them to the control room acoustics. The stereo image is very wide, clear and deep.

I used Amber HR into main system as a third way and furthermore to extend low end, also I can bypass it and listen to the Blue HR full-range.

During main system set-up I had checked phase alignment with audio measurement software SpectraFoo.

In addition I arranged a pair of classic Yamaha NS-10 studio and a pair of Avant electronics Avantone Mixcube (they are like Auratone) to achieve a listening poor.

Here my left monitors array

monitors arrangement

I sold to my customer several Emes loudspeaker system consists of a pair of Violet HR or a big system like Blue HR coupled to two sub Amber HR as a main monitor or a Hi-End system.

Well, now I wait for you in my studio to listen them  😉

Cheers,

Lorenzo

Copyright © 2013-2014 by iuatwest. All rights Reserved.
This material has been copyrighted, feel free to share it with others; it can be distributed via social media or pingbacks or added to websites; please do not change the original content and, provide appropriate credit by including the author’s name @ http://iuatwest.com and your readers shall not be charged by you under any circumstance.

Technical backstage: Mid-Side and other stereo techniques

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Today I started a little column where I brought into focus technicals stuff.

I’ll write short review about equipment in my studio and some tracking techniques that I use and why.

It’s not a didactic section (when needed I’ll link related pages on manufacturer site) but so as to explain my approach to recording.

I’ll post this column once a week (probabily sunday).

Mid-Side technique

It’s a stereo tracking technique by Alain Blumlein based on a coincident array of two microphone, one directional (typical cardioid) in front of the audio source (orchestral ensemble or musical instrument) and one bidirectional (or eight figure) turned by 90 degrees. DPA microphone about polar patterns.

Signals by Mid (cardioid) and Side (eight figure) using a matrix to achieve Left (M+S) and Right (M-S) channels (stereo signal).

L = Mid + Side and R = Mid- Side

It’s possible switch any stereo signal into a Mid-Side couple with another matrix where Left/Right are summed into Mid (L+R) and subtract into Side (L-R). This is a fine technique used, for example, in mixing and mastering to adjust center component like vocal or electric bass (you have to think on a stereo signal builded with three components: Left/Center/Right) and to broadcast stereo signal on FM modulation, where Mid (L+R) is a mono signal and Side (L-R) is component to rebuild the original L/R signal.

A particulary development of Mid-Side technique is double MS technique to make a surround recording (5.1).  Shoeps on double MS technique – pdf  (very interesting paper)

Why I like it

I like this technique for his nice and wide stereo front, mono compatibility (when stereo signal is collapsed Side dissapear) and fundamental possibility to encoding comeback (to rebuild original Mid-Side signals).

It’s important to highlight the front position of the cardioid microphone (Mid) because it’s the best way to shot center audio source. Unlike ORTF and XY where the microphones are angled and the recording may be less accurate for the off-axys coloration.

Since 1997 I realized M-S technique with several microphone: Rode NT-2 (cardioid) coupled with AKG C414 ULS (eight figure), with two matched AKG C414 TL-II and actually with a Shoeps CMC6/MK4 (cardioid) or MK21 (wide cardioid) to Mid and Shoeps CMC6/MK8 to Side.

Most of my recordings of strings ensemble or choir were made with this technique, sometimes I added close microphones (multimicrophones technique) to capture several instruments.

Other techniques that I use

ORTF technique

acronym of Organisation de Radio et Television Française

Developed by French public television, it’s composed by two matched pair microphones spaced at 17cm each other and angled by 55 degrees. It’s a near coincident technique. DPA microphone about ORTF tecnique.

Less wide than M-S tecnique I like it to record stereo close miking (like acoustic guitar), small vocal ensemble and, generally, when I need to minimize environmental reverberation.

It’s not monocompatible but it still works well.

XY technique

Also this technic has been developed by Alain Blumlein, he used a cardioid (originally eight figure) matched pair microphones angled 90 degrees each other with coincident capsule. It’s a coincident technique. DPA microphone about XY technique.

With a stereo front narrow, XY is the solution for small audio source (like a musical instrument) where it’s important monocompatibility, to attenuate a problematic environmental reverberation and to realize a simple stereo technique.

In this gallery I arrange microphones in ORTF and XY techniques.

Copyright © 2013-2014 by iuatwest. All rights Reserved.
This material has been copyrighted, feel free to share it with others; it can be distributed via social media or pingbacks or added to websites; please do not change the original content and, provide appropriate credit by including the author’s name @ http://iuatwest.com and your readers shall not be charged by you under any circumstance.