Hello Everyone!
For those who don't know me my name's Chris, I'm one of the engineers at Involve Audio, I deal mainly with Mechanical engineering and Industrial design (with graphic design on the side) but I occasional get to do some cool research and experimentation.
I don't think I've made a post on this thread before. So before I get into the stuff below I'd like to say that I've loved using the surround master at home and love it so much I'm going to
set it up in my car at some point in the future.
Has anyone done this before?
My favourite artists/genres to listen to through the Surround Master for their cool effects (in no particular order) are Andreas Vollanvieder, Pink Floyd (of course), Crowded House (especially their live stuff), pretty much all Orchestral & Choral stuff and Kimbra. I also occasionally play xbox and watch movies through the Surround Master.
Introductions over, here's the bulk of the post.
We've been doing a bit of research into some cool stuff at Involve and as part of that I got to test out what music sounds like over headphones when it's been
Decoded and then Re-Encoded with Involve.
Short answer.... it sounds exactly the same! Well pretty much anyway, there was the tiniest broadening of the sound field.
I also did a few more other tests comparing the effects off the encode being set to smart, dumb and whether the track was decoded first.
Has anyone else tried this to see what the decode or encode sounds like through headphones or speakers?
Here's the write up for the experiment, hope you enjoy it!
Involve Encode/Decode to Headphones
Christopher Coller
Involve Audio Pty Ltd 12/7/16
Aim:
To determine whether a series of decoding and encoding processes through Involve will produce a noticeable increase in immersion and sound space of music when listened to through headphones.
Hypothesis:
There will be no difference other than level mismatch between the encoded/decoded track vs the track played straight.
Method:
• An AB setup using a standard A/V RCA switch was used to compare the encoded/decoded track and the straight track.
• For the encode/decode path the track was first decoded then encoded before going to the amplifier.
• Andreas Vollanvieder and Diana Krall were used for test tracks
• Sound Source: Fiio X3
• Headphones DT 770 Pro 80 OHM
• Decoder: Involve Surround Master (on bottom with lid on in image)
• Encoder: Involve Ultrasmart Encoder Board B (on top with lid off in image)
• Desk: Eurorack MX 602A
Results:
All comparisons made to the straight track
1. Decode ON, Smart Encode
a. Very slight broadening of sound field
b. Very slight ~0.5db level increase
2. Decode ON, Dumb Encode
a. Very slight broadening of sound field
b. Very slight ~0.5db level increase
3. Decode OFF, Smart Encode
a. Level ~2db down
b. Image slightly more central, in the head
4. Decode OFF, Dumb Encode
a. Image more central, in the head
b. Level ~2db down
5. Decode to TSS, Smart Encode
a. Level ~1db down
b. Sound opened up slightly
6. Decode to TSS, Dumb Encode
a. Level ~1db down
b. Slight transience increase
c. Sound field
7. Decode ON, Smart Encoding only rear channels - Track: Frim fram Sauce
a. Central/Mono channel removed, only hear echoes/reverb
b. Instruments on sides (piano) stayed in same location
8. Decode ON, Smart Encoding only front channels - Track: Frim fram Sauce
a. Central/Mono channel retained
b. Echoes/reverb removed
9. Decode ON, Dumb Encoding only front channels - Track: Frim fram Sauce
a. Echoes/reverb lessened
10. Decode ON, Dumb Encoding only rear channels - Track: Frim fram Sauce
a. Central/Mono channel removed, only hear echoes/reverb
b. Instruments on sides (piano) moved out more
11. Decode ON, Smart Encode Rear and Front channels swapped
a. Central images moved to outside
b. Outside image moved to centre
12. Decode to TSS, bypass Encode
a. More transience
b. Slight smearing
c. More out of the head but localised to headphone drivers
Discussion:
• There was very slight crosstalk between the channels on the sound desk used
• Testing showed it to be insignificant
• No delay in sound when switching was heard
Conclusion:
No noticeable change was produced when comparing the decoded/encoded track to the standard stereo track. This shows the effectiveness of Involve at maintaining correct audio placement and maintaining audio quality. A range of other tests were completed which showed the effectiveness of Involve Encode, Decode and TSS at producing high quality audio with varying effects.