As an audiophile who mainly appreciates classical music, I have always thought that the sound system has a hard time showing the Concert Bass Drum in an orchestra. In classical music works, the drum is often used, and the drum effect is so powerful that the music momentum is huge and magnificent, and the strength of the whole orchestra can burst out of the spark. Why is it so difficult to perform with a big drum? The drums are usually placed in the back row, along with timpani, sachets, lyre and other percussion instruments. When slamming, the low frequency of the drum can go straight down to about 20Hz, and the energy near 100Hz is surging and surging, and the small bookshelf box will definitely compress the limit, even if the landing box with a large-caliber woofer is often weak, or chaotic.
A veteran enthusiast shared the correct drum sound, which should be the first impact sound generated at the back of the orchestra (usually placed in the center), a ball rather than a point, but not particularly large. Although the drum is huge, its proportions in the entire orchestra are still limited, and it is impossible to make a half orchestra-like sound. Several waves of air vibrations are followed by successive weakening, and the reflected tones on both sides and behind the orchestra at the same time are added, thus forming the unique sound of the drum. Because the frequency of the drum overlaps with timpani, bass cello, organ, bass pipe, etc., it may be unclear when recording, and it is easier to blur when replaying. The ideal bass drum effect should be clearly positioned and deep, the drum skin vibration is clear and full, the very low frequency extension line is clean, the energy is enough to stimulate the air flow, and the three-D spatial sense spreads from the point to the surface to the entire listening room. Furthermore, it is best to be able to distinguish the difference in the sound of different drumming methods, and the common right-handed force should hear a flexible "Boom" rather than a stiff "Bang". The drumming position is usually a little away from the center, where there is the thickest sound and the most resonance, there is more resonance near the edge of the drum, and near the center is clear but less resonant. When the two-handed drum is a long series of notes connected end to end, how to be dense and elastic and grainy, the control of the sound system, the sense of speed is a strict test.
▲ The standard "living room party", without any acoustic treatment, has an unexpected sound performance
Can your sound system hear the changes and details? Even if you don't listen to classical music, the jazz drum or bass drum in popular songs is also crucial to the rhythm and rhythm of the music, and when the sound of a song's drum goes wrong, the song loses its center of gravity. The sound of the kick drum is best compact and strong, with a thick low frequency to base the entire piece of music, and enough mid-range to make it stand out from the crowd. Popular music recordings are generally corrected by the EQ equalizer, deliberately increasing the frequency band of about 80Hz-100Hz to attract the ears, although not real enough, but can save the drums and enthusiastic recordings, and lively and powerful restoration reproduction, it is also difficult for the sound system. Not to mention a lot of so-called audiophile discs based on cover songs, highlighting the vocals so that the band is reduced to a supporting role, lowering the volume, reducing the dynamics, basically can not hear it, are synthetic instruments + timbre library production, completely can not talk about the sense of reality.
It took me many years to get the drums in classical music to perform more satisfactorily. Shawstarkovic Symphony No. 11, Progofiv's No. 5 Symphony, Verdi's Requiem, Mahler's No. 3 Symphony, Ravel's Morning Song of the Clown, Bristol's Fantasy Symphony, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Mussorgsky's Painting of the Exhibition... In these works, the drums have wonderful performances, and they are also the touchstones for testing the sound effects. It is a pity that in a large number of million-dollar sound systems, there are very few opportunities to present the drums in the orchestra truthfully, most of them change the size of the drums from 40 inches in diameter to 20 inches, and the hall sense changes from a large concert hall to a small stage, and the speed and impact of the better are good, but the drum shrinks; even the drum shape is not heard clearly, and the bass is scattered when the drum is struck. My method is not to pursue a one-piece large speaker, even if there are 15 inches, 18 inches of large units may not be able to achieve full work, it is better to use the bookshelf box + subwoofer more likely to succeed. NSR Wenjie Audio's Feng Brother has a similar concept, he also encourages audiophiles to add a subwoofer, but the subwoofer he designed is passive and needs to be driven with a special amplifier, and I chose the active Velodyne Veridon DD series.
▲ The simple decoder above is responsible for less important surround channel decoding, and Bai Yun's AirDC linear power supply is supplied to Cisco Cisco's eight-port Gigabit switch
Verdon switched to unmanned detection radar, and I was worried about what if the subwoofer broke down one day? It is said that Velodyne is not satisfied with the country, the failure rate is relatively high, and the power plates of my two subwoofers have been repaired. Find a replacement, right? At present, the vast majority of subwoofers are for home theater services, there is a rich sense of volume but not necessarily a good texture, and there are not many places that can be adjusted and corrected, which means that it is not easy to integrate perfectly with the main speaker. At this time, I noticed that the German Neumann KH810 subwoofer, small, powerful, flat price, 8-segment full-parameter equalizer, as low as 18Hz diving, is simply a dream-class product. Because of his focus on Neumann products, he saw Mr. Liu's introduction on the forum, he built a 5.1-channel system with a full set of Neumann speakers, and he was also a musician of Bo Yun Pure Audio equipment, with a common language, so he contributed to this visit.
▲ Neumann KH750 DSP subwoofer, can be directly digital input, 10-inch long stroke unit brings 18Hz / -3dB extension, so powerful!
Talking about the big drum for half a day, because Mr. Liu's set is not expensive, there is almost no acoustic processing in the living room of the sound system, actually show the big drum vividly, energy, speed, details, control is not lacking! Just before I sat down for a sip of tea, I welcomed the guests with Mahler's 3rd Symphony. Selected by conductors organised by BBC Music Magazine, MAHLE No. 3 was ranked tenth in the greatest symphony of all time, with a massive four-pipe orchestrator. 4 flutes, 4 oboe, 4 clarinets, 4 bassoons, 8 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trumpets, large trumpets, plus 2 timpani drums, 2 tinctures and tambourines, gongs, triangles, cymbals, sachets, drums and other colorful percussion instruments, plus a large number of string groups, think of it is spectacular. The opening movement depicts the awakening of the pastoral god in the primitive period, a few golden gongs sounded in unison, and the drum was gently tapped, if there is nothing, it is easy to be ignored, and even make people think that it is a blank of the music. Whether the analytical power of the sound system is sufficient, whether the extremely low frequency extension is clear, the effect is double-eyed. I didn't expect it! I didn't expect it! The performance here is wonderful, the strong and vivid dynamic ups and downs from ppp to fff make the listener follow the blood veins, the small volume is well balanced, the large volume is not noisy, and the welcome music is very impressive.
▲The PA-10 singing and playing of the gold panel below is also a Bai Yun product, and the power supply is designed separately. Although Bai Yun is currently well-known for its digital broadcast products, in fact, Mr. Luo also represents Fosterex's full-frequency unit, manufactures his own single-ended bile machine, and is a deep simulation enthusiast, so the products he designed are very analog
Of course, this article will not just talk about the big drum, Mr. Liu's two major features here, one is the 5.1 multi-channel system, and the other is that the video and audio are all high-definition and digitized. Because Mr. Liu is engaged in IT-related industries and has strong hands-on ability, he has built an extremely rare set of equipment. The advantage of digitization is to save a lot of space and resources, Mr. Liu put all the Blu-ray video and SACD ISO files in the NAS, Synology Synology Synology NAS is probably the best in civilian products, plus UPS uninterruptible equipment after the price of more than 10,000 yuan. And Mr. Liu actually used six 16T Western Digital enterprise-level hard disks (a total of 96TB), and the investment in this part alone exceeded any Bai Yun digital broadcast, which is really called "soy sauce is more expensive than chicken". Including OPPO UDP-203 Blu-ray machine, Bo Yun's digital broadcast and decoder, Sony TV, NAS, etc. all are connected to Cisco Cisco's eight-port Gigabit switch with network cables, and the switch uses Bai Yun's linear power supply to independently power supply, with small investment and large effect. After that, the Cisco switch is connected to a Netgear R7800 router in the United States, and this router is used to connect the optical cat of telecom broadband to isolate the noise of the external network. That is, the devices in the LAN are all connected to the Cisco switch with the highest shielding level Cat8 network cable, forming a closed-loop system that is not disturbed. After setting, the download of music and video files through the network is directly operated on the NAS, in order to protect the precious hard disk data in the NAS, it is necessary to prepare a UPS uninterruptible power supply.
▲ Mr. Liu also listens to vinyl, he adheres to the principle of frugal playing Hi-Fi, the whole set of turntable with a tonearm and a phono head is controlled at about 50,000 yuan, and the more expensive system is not cost-effective
Thanks to the rich resources of the streaming era, there are almost no music programs that cannot be found now, and Mr. Liu mainly watches Blu-ray classical concerts through OPPO Blu-ray machines. This jailbroken Blu-ray machine can broadcast almost anything, whether it is DTS-HD Master or Dolby Atmos format, first set the digital audio output to PCM, convenient for subsequent processing. The HDMI output of the OPPO Blu-ray machine is connected to a small box that Bai Yun does not have mass production, which can separate the multi-channel signal inside and then convert it into a Coaxial Signal in DoP mode, supporting up to 7.1 channels. Mr. Liu's 5.1 channels only use three sets of coaxial outputs, two of which are decoded by Bai Yun's AirDSD Pro and the 10th Anniversary Edition, because they all have volume controls to facilitate inter-channel balance adjustment. There is less information in the surround channel, and a simple decoder is used, and the volume is controlled directly on the active speaker. Compared with the simpler AV surround amplifier, Mr. Liu chose to simplify it into complexity, using a total of three decoders, for the simple reason that Bai Yun's AirDSD Pro and the 10th Anniversary Edition decoder sound better than any one surround amplifier.
▲This is a sample that Bai Yun has not mass-produced, and after hdMI input, it is decomposed in multiple channels, and then outputs coaxially in a DoP manner, supporting up to 7.1 channels of sound sources
Mr. Liu uses another Air Core digital broadcast of Bai Yun without decoding itself, although there is also an HDMI output, but the small box has been occupied by the Blu-ray machine, so at present it is connected to the AirDSD Pro decoder with a USB cable to play the DSD iso file. Air Core digital broadcast can also hard solve the surround sound part of the ISO file, but can only be output through HDMI, the current part of the powerful function is not used, want to play surround sound music from the NAS, still have to rely on OPPO Blu-ray machine. According to Mr. Luo of Bai Yun Audio, he wants to develop a multi-channel pure decoder, although it is certainly a pioneering achievement in the industry and the only one in the world, but considering the actual sales situation, it is difficult to ask for time to market for this product that does not make money only for interest. Play the DSD iso file in the NAS with OPPO and Air Core, which sound is better? Of course, Pure Audio Air Core digital broadcast is still a high skill, after all, the built-in HQ Play software to play, the sound effect is comparable to tens of thousands of yuan of foreign products, so Mr. Liu and I have entered the pit of Bai Yun audio.
▲The top OPPO UDP-203 is responsible for playing video iso files and multi-channel music, the following three machines are all Products of Bai Yun, from top to bottom are AirDSD Pro (responsible for decoding), 10th Anniversary Edition (responsible for decoding), Air Core (responsible for playback)
Mr. Liu's pit is even more serious. Because he and Mr. Luo of Bai Yun live near Tianhe District, the two families often visit the door, Mr. Luo because the child learns piano, inadvertently increased the hobby of buying antique pianos from Europe, I am very envious of his children, just began to learn the piano there is a Steinway grand triangle to serve. Mr. Liu, who loves music, is close to Zhu Zhichi, and with the support and encouragement of the master who specializes in practicing the piano at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, he selected a German FEURICH upright piano from Mr. Luo's collection that is not very well-known but has the warmest and most beautiful sound to move home. The piano was placed in the original table position, and Mrs. Liu quipped that in order to listen to the good sound of the real piano, she did not even have to eat. It is true that the sound of the old piano is beautiful and thick, but compared with the whole system of Neumann monitor speakers, it still presents two completely different kinds of fun.
▲ The surround sound box is on the cabinet behind the listening position, and the old FIRICH upright piano that came back from the German sea is very beautiful. FEURICH is a company founded in 1851 in Leipzig, Germany, and recently acquired by Wendl & Lung in Austria, except for the 123 Vienna upright piano, which is manufactured in Vienna, the rest of the products are produced in China
As one of the representatives of German monitor speakers, Neumann active speakers have matured in technology, its predecessor K+H sound is more feminine, Neumann is more neutral and accurate and refreshing. It is said to be refreshing because the sound is clear lines, the analytical power is high, the instrument and vocal are strong and there is no extra flesh, the picture is clean and dust-free, and the dynamic and impact are very neat. Mr. Liu's main speaker, KH 310A, is a three-cell three-way design with a built-in 210 W and two sets of 90W Class AB amplifiers, and a patented mathematical modeling diffusion (MMD) waveguide that delivers sound waves to the room very precisely. Through the use of DSP, the nonlinear distortion in various cases is very low, the sound wave is mainly horizontal diffusion, and the narrow vertical diffusion can reduce the reflection from the table or mixer. Like Mr. Liu's living room party, the rich adjustment function of the Neumann speaker means that it can better avoid acoustic problems such as standing waves and depressions, and the high-end Hi-End speaker is at most measured in a non-sound chamber, and the probability of inaccuracy after moving home is very large, and it is too good to have a design like Neumann.
▲ To pursue a more realistic sound, the monitor speaker is of course the first choice, a pair of German Neumann KH310A three-way active speakers, AB power amplifier, maximum sound pressure of 116dB, through the microphone can be automatic room correction of the stereo system, low frequency extension to 34Hz... Such a powerful function of the market price is only about 20,000 yuan, cheap and large bowl ah!
In addition to the characteristics of accurate timbre, straight frequency response, large sound pressure of more than 115dB without distortion, and more tolerance for different acoustic environments, the overall style of the monitor speaker is still biased towards rational and unstained, fast and tough. Of course, users can use different power lines and signal lines to flavor the sound, but the use of monitor speakers at home still has to be mentally prepared. Mr. Liu and I enjoyed a lot of classical music clips, in addition to the wonderful performance of the aforementioned drums, it is also a great advantage to be able to fully restore the details of the recording. In addition, all the musicians are as if they have eaten a powerful pill, playing the piano is particularly sonorous and lively, the violin strings are deeply textured, the brass pipes have become fiery, and the familiar melodies sound like they have been given new life and become interesting. Even if xinhuan's vinyl system is used to play the Shanghainese opera "Dai Yu Funeral Flower" recorded in Shanghai in the 1960s, that sense of freshness and movement has always existed.
▲Considering the height of the Sony TV, the center speaker uses the Neumann KH120A speaker, which is one size smaller
In terms of acoustics, Mr. Liu's system has reached a very high level, at least we know that the sound is "right", and the timbre is accurate. It is a pity that when considering the height of the wall-mounted TV, the center channel bought the Neumann KH120A speaker, which was slightly loose enough when the volume was large. Whether it is multi-channel music or movie dialogue, the center channel occupies a key role, not only affecting the change of timbre, but also relying on it whether it is full and thick and soft. I can't say that Mr. Liu's creative audio is flawless, but with a small cost, not deliberate decoration, but can get the effect of dozens of times the price of equipment, and a tablet in hand can swim in the vast music ocean anytime and anywhere, such an audio player is really happy!
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