Hi-Res speakers?

[kfbkfb]

also:
https://www.dirac.com/

(my Pioneer VSX-534 receiver has a similar system, I haven't tried it yet)


Kirk Bayne

 

[Kal Rubinson]

But wait though!
Some product takes an analog input, puts it through an ADC to digitize it, to route that back to the interface digital input?! A round trip conversion and a whole ADC stage just for that? That would be mighty weird!
Yeah sure, to use their DSP and all. Still weird!

Think of it as a "legacy" option, sort of like a composite or RGB input on an AVR.

 

[GilWave]

A full Genelec surround system with Genelec subs all managed by Genlecs GLM room correction is pretty much unbeatable as far as flat freq response,directivity etc

Unbeatable? Debatable. Focal and ATC make exceptional Atmos Surround speakers for 9.1.4 and beyond, as does PMC.

 

[jimfisheye]

Think of it as a "legacy" option, sort of like a composite or RGB input on an AVR.

I see the marketing spin with that. It still makes no sense in any universe! You'd... plug the analog signal straight in! And not build an extra whole ADC stage just to add generation loss. There are probably some shenanigans going on someone is desperately trying to hide in that example. (If that is accurate and this isn't just miscommunication.)

Winding back to the point of looking for red flags in equipment searches. I'd put that product in the red flag column for that!

 

[GilWave]

Resolution is a term used often in recording studios and mastering facilities. I can certainly be applied to monitors/speakers, relating to the detail of the playback. Adding 'hi' or 'high' to the word, while certainly MarComm speak, is also meant to be indicative of the depth and frequency response of the monitor.

 

[jimfisheye]

...
A full Genelec surround system with Genelec subs all managed by Genlecs GLM room correction is pretty much unbeatable as far as flat freq response,directivity etc

I do like my Genelec 1032a speakers. I only have a stereo pair. I will say that for mixing, nothing gets by you with the Genelecs. If it's in the wire, it WILL be heard from the speaker! No bs! Having said that, I think I like my AR9 speakers just a little better. I think the high mids are just a little more unforgivingly flat. I went with expanding the AR9s for 7.1.4. Also it would have cost $20k for another 9 1032a and one of their subs! I'm not getting gigs to support that! But I really do like the AR9s and don't feel like I compromised in any way.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I see the marketing spin with that. It still makes no sense in any universe! You'd... plug the analog signal straight in! And not build an extra whole ADC stage just to add generation loss. There are probably some shenanigans going on someone is desperately trying to hide in that example. (If that is accurate and this isn't just miscommunication.)

It may be the latter. I would never choose to use an analog input to a "digital" loudspeaker only to have it redigitized. OTOH, I do not object to having that as an option on a "digital" loudspeaker that also has direct digital inputs (wired and wireless). Someone might want to plug in a turntable.

 

[MidiMagic]

I read an article years ago where someone theorized a digital speaker.

It was to be made with as many two-position drivers as there are bits in the digital signal.

The driver for the least-significant bit is the smallest.
A driver for a given bit is twice the area of the driver for the next-lowest-significant bit.
So we get drivers with areas 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096. 8192, 16384, 32768, and 65536 for a 16 bit signal.
Two possible configurations were mentioned: concentric circular drivers, and a snail-shell spiral of alternating square and rectangular drivers.

If the 16 bit alternating square and rectangle is made, and the smallest driver is a 1 mm square:
- There is another 1 mm square next to it that does not move.
- Bordering both of the 1mm squares is a 2 mm by 1 mm rectangle driver. These parts form a square.
- Bordering that square is another 2 mm by 2 mm square driver.
- Continue adding drivers, each twice the area of the previous one.
- The largest driver is a square that is 256 mm on each side (area: 65536 square mm).
- The entire speaker is a rectangle 512 mm by 256 mm.

I don't think this could really be made.

 

[omnipotent1]

I do like my Genelec 1032a speakers. I only have a stereo pair. I will say that for mixing, nothing gets by you with the Genelecs. If it's in the wire, it WILL be heard from the speaker! No bs! Having said that, I think I like my AR9 speakers just a little better. I think the high mids are just a little more unforgivingly flat. I went with expanding the AR9s for 7.1.4. Also it would have cost $20k for another 9 1032a and one of their subs! I'm not getting gigs to support that! But I really do like the AR9s and don't feel like I compromised in any way.

Haven't heard the AR9 personally but I'm sure they are of the same caliber.
It's just that I spent some time in a Genelec Atmos setup and those speakers with 4 subs and the GLM room correction were crazy

 

[DuncanS]

So there is quite a difference between high resolution i.e. what can be distinguished between, and high accuracy/linearity so how close to 'perfection'.

If you want high accuracy/linearity i.e. low distortion, go for headphones, my Sennheiser HD800S have a distortion figure of less than 0.02%. My Monitor Audio Silver RS8 speakers don't have a distortion spec, but its probably around 1%. At some point I'm looking to replace my RS8s with B&W 702 S2 which quote distortion as being less than 0.5% from 110Hz-20kHz.

So to have a truly 24-bit accurate system you need a flat response over the audio frequency range, and a total linearity error from source to speaker output of less than 0.5LSB, so better than 0.000003%. Such a system (though possibly theoretically possible) is highly unlikely to exist (probably even in the price range of billionaires!).

For the HD800S headphones the 0.02% distortion figure is for 1kHz at 1Vrms, so the distortion at those levels is 200microvolts, giving an accuracy/linearity of 12.3bits.

The resolution of the HD800S is however excellent, and I can hear where things happen in the mixes on discs that you can't hear with speakers - which has irritated me .