Concert Sound Is Decidedly LoFi: Part III
Neil and his Pono project are promoting great sound. He describes his efforts as “rescuing an art form” and I applaud him and his team for bringing the topic into the mainstream consciousness. But there are things that he could do to enhance the experience at his live shows. As wonderful as the concert was…and it definitely was in my top 10…it’s another case of “standard operating procedures” controlling the audio presentation.
Finally, I noticed an arrangement of microphones on a tall mike stand just in front of the FOH position. The concert was recorded. I was very tempted to go over and chat with the engineers and ask them about the recording…but I didn’t. There was a rack of equipment to the right of the mixing console filled with gear. They always play music before and after the concert, so there was probably a CD player. There was some sort of microphone preamps and a portable multichannel PCM audio recorder. I would love to know if the concert was recorded in high-resolution audio. Did they actually clock the system at 192 kHz and capture the outputs of the ADCs at 24-bits?
This would be consistent with the chart and pitch made in the Pono Kickstarter campaign video and on the Ponomusic website. However, if I had to bet…I’d wager that they went no higher than 96 kHz. There are lots of AC powered I/O (input/output) boxes and DAWs that can run at 192 kHz but as I’ve said previously, virtually none of the engineering happening in the commercial music business is what we would consider high-resolution. It takes more hard drive space, more processing power and the latest hardware and software to achieve this level of audio quality.
I’ll ask John Hamm, the CEO of Pono about this. Although I didn’t remember meeting him at the International 2014 CES Show last January, I do recall the exchange that he had with Chris Connaker, the guy behind the Computer Audiophile website. I wrote to John a few days ago and he promptly replied and asked me to call him. I did and we had a great conversation. It turns out that he’s going to be at the AXPONA 2014 show in Chicago in about three weeks. I’m looking forward to chatting further with him.
Attending a live concert is a special kind of music experience. The magic of the moment is important for the artist and for the audience. There’s often a connection between the two that doesn’t happen in session recordings. But live concerts don’t ever achieve the kind of sound quality that can be delivered on a CD or via a high quality download. I’m thrilled that I went to see Neil Young at the Dolby Theater…it was worth cost of the tickets. But I’ll listen to my John Gorka 5.1 surround Blu-ray recordings in my studio and get better sound.
Now if only I could get Neil to play a few of his tunes for me. Stay tuned…I’m working on it.
Dr.AIX Only if you can get to record Neil Young in your studio on at least 96 kHz 24 bit then he will know what is real High Resolution Audio.
Cheers
Alphonso Soosay
Perth
WA.
I’ll be pitching the idea…but doubt it will happen.
I’m not sure I’d want to hear a hi-res recording of the instruments as amplified at this concert. The voice would (hopefully) have been captured via a mic capable of hi-res, but the acoustic guitar would be faithfully reproduced at mono lo-fi revealing too little (or too much!). I guess this sound is part of the intrinsic charm of Neil’s unique style but it’s an obvious contradiction with regard to his audio standpoint.
I certainly could be problematic. For example, he hauls around a marginal quality upright piano and even the baby grand is of average sound quality. Is that part of the special “Neil” sound or would a great Steinway provide something better? Not sure. I would push for the great sound of a 9 foot concert grand. His guitars would certainly benefit from stereo mic technique. It gives tremendous depth and space to the sound.
You have said before that your aim with HR Audio is to capture the entire audio event, yet when you attended a live audio event, starring Neil Young, you were dissatisfied by the experience. You even suggest that the recording could be better in certain technical aspects than the actual live audio event.
Some inconsistency perhaps?
I don’t think I said I was dissatisfied with the Neil Young concert. I didn’t write that I thought it could have been sonically better…but I do recognize the realities and the standard methods of doing live sound. They did what was expected and traditional.
As for the recording in High-resolution vs. live comparison. I do believe that a well done recording would be a better sonic experience. There is a difference in motivation for a live concert and a great recording. My own goal is to bring a “lifelike” sound into your home theater.
I don’t think I’m being inconsistent. The circumstances are different and each requires its own solutions.
About the resolution of the recording equipment at the Dolby Theater…I remember reading that Neil has in the past thought the crew were recording in high resolution when in fact they were not. I cannot recall the consequence suffered for not meeting Neil’s expectation,but I think he ought to take you up n your offer. Just for the fun of it, and compare to what he’s getting where he records. Neil must be a systems-thinking kind of guy. He must realize that the resolution at the output is limited to the lowest at any point earlier in the chain.
If you get to record Neil Young, I’ll buy three copies! I would not be surprised if Neil agreed. It could make for an interesting Pono showpiece. Don’t give up.
I’ve been thinking about the same thing…it would be perfect!