AIX Audio Calibration Disc HD Music Sampler

[JonUrban]

Oppo 83 owners have been getting a surprise in the mail the past few days in the form of an AIX Blu-Ray Audio Calibration Disc. AIX has been a leader in HD Audio with excellent self produced and released DVD-Audio discs in 5.1, some with multiple surround mixes and anamorphic DVD video.

This is their latest demo disc, and along with 7 selections from their catalog of material, there is a section of the disc with audio test tones and a system setup tutorial for those who may get confused with all of the setting on modern players and receivers.

The disc contains both DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD tracks, and a crystal clear HD video picture. In the intro, Mark Waldrep himself (QQ Member "Dr. AIX")appears on your monitor and gives you a bit of history of the AIX label and their mission to create and champion high resolution music.

I found all of the audio tests quite useful, however the Phase Tests were a bit difficult to understand, maybe because my speakers are already in phase. There is a sound hear between two selected speakers, then it shifts with a large "OUT OF PHASE" display on the monitor. However, to me anyway, it was unclear what the sounds were supposed to sound like in the first place.

Of the audio demo material, I really enjoyed the first track, "Mercy of the Wheels" by John Gorka. The camera work is fantastic, and you can see and "feel" the chords on his guitar as he plays along. The HD picture is so clear you almost feel sorry for the performers as you see their faces with more clarity than they probably would like!

I would guess this disc can be purchased at the AIX website, but for those with Oppo 83's, just wait. You may get a surprise in the mailbox!

(If Dr. AIX wants to chime in with more info here, be my guest!)

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I have played through this disc and thought it was very good. I believe the point with the phase test is if the speakers are out of phase, the test sounds would sound like the out of phase example. My only recommendation might have been to use Jessica Alba or Halle Berry as the host, narrator, rather than have Dr. Waldrep handle that duty. This is the kind of promotional item that can help and I think it is a really good idea.

Chris

 

[Dr. AIX]

If you can get me any celebrity to work for nothing AND can understand what the heck we're all talking about...bring it on!

The phase tests are there to ensure that your speakers are all in phase. If you play the pairs of tests and something is out of phase the sound will change dramatically for that pair.

I'm working on a larger version of this disc...just don't have as much time as I used to. Stay tuned.

 

[Guy Robinson]

Further to this, I guess most of us know that the "larger version" disc that Mark refers to above has been out for awhile. I just got it a few days ago. I can't wait for especially the Shostokovich BR to be released in it's entirety. The sample from it in 7.1 just blew me away. The samples run around 3 minutes each. There are 21 of these samples, 7 of them I guess being the same as the ones on the Calibration disc. I did find the video generally quite good although it varies of course from session to session and the bit rate seemed to run at around 10-12 mbps which is kind of low for BR when compared to most of the other BD's that I own. The 7.1 audio was fantastic though, especially the 2 classical samples. Finally a 7.1 music disc that uses all the channels effectively. The beauty with this is being able to watch the HD video and at the same time listen to the 24 bit/96 khz Dolby HD. something that you couldn't do previously with any of the AIX titles. Can't wait as I said for some of the full versions to be released on BR.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Further to this, I guess most of us know that the "larger version" disc that Mark refers to above has been out for awhile. I just got it a few days ago. I can't wait for especially the Shostokovich BR to be released in it's entirety. The sample from it in 7.1 just blew me away. The samples run around 3 minutes each. There are 21 of these samples, 7 of them I guess being the same as the ones on the Calibration disc. I did find the video generally quite good although it varies of course from session to session and the bit rate seemed to run at around 10-12 mbps which is kind of low for BR when compared to most of the other BD's that I own. The 7.1 audio was fantastic though, especially the 2 classical samples. Finally a 7.1 music disc that uses all the channels effectively. The beauty with this is being able to watch the HD video and at the same time listen to the 24 bit/96 khz Dolby HD. something that you couldn't do previously with any of the AIX titles. Can't wait as I said for some of the full versions to be released on BR.

I wasn't aware this was available, I bet it is terrific. I can only hope the Blu-ray market justifies AIX going forward with all of these 7.1 releases. So far, I know we aren't seeing much in the way of audio releases other than concerts and it may still be a little early for audio releases as the potential market with players needs to be very big for it to be feasible. I did see a couple of weeks ago, about a dozen Blu-ray releases of movies beat the DVD version in total sales so consumers are certainly embracing the format for use with their new HDTV. I still believe it will work for the market interested in high quality audio, not only video.

Chris

 

[Guy Robinson]

I regard these as concert releases actually not as just an audio release. When their discs were DVD-Audio with no video I regarded that as audio only but now the combo of HD Video and 24 bit audio occurring at the same time makes it a concert to me whether done on a stage or in a studio.