Scandalous!

I started to distribute for Meyer Sound in Vietnam for one simple reason. All the gears are built in the good US of A. Yes, I visited the plan during my day as the student as part of a field trip, and recently. Their quality controls are amazing; there were almost 30 stations as the product move from A to Z.

There were other products for live sound enforcement such as JBL, AEW, and new to the market such as SLS with their smooth ribon driven mid. I discounted SLS due to the tropical environment in Vietnam effect on ribon cones. JBL flooded the market in Vietnam but their gears are being put together in China and then either distribute thru Singapore or Thailand. In my experience with JBL in Vietnam, as each of the gears reach from one stage to the other before Vietnam, "the interior" of the piece has an 85% chance of being replace by a copy or cheap Chinese made part, yes sir! a Chinese copy of a Chinese made part.

The one still in competition with real USA made live sound speaker system is Eastern Acoustic Works or most of us known as EAW. Well no more, it turn out the company had been sneaking all their part from China and put everything together here in the US.
Now the words are out so EAW just pick up and totally move to Asia, suspectingly China.

Well there is nothing wrong with Chinese made stuffs like "egg foo young" or stir fried veg., but have you ever buy any proaudio gears knowingly that they came from China? Me either.

My mission in Vietnam is to change every single live sound system from JBL to Meyer for this reason alone. So far so good.

The 2007 NANM Show!

It was such a thrill for me this year being invited to the 2007 NANM Show in Anaheim, Ca. IMHO this trade show aims more toward the musicians, arrangers, composers, and some project studios at all levels. Usually I don't attend this trade show because there are much more 'junks' to comb thru than the AES show.
This year it is a different story, I was asked by several friends in Vietnam to aquire new technologies and consult them on new 'toys' as a favor. I called up some manufactures and they were happy enough to send me a pass to attend at no cost. I do have some free pass left so do contact me if you like to attend. I will write a blog for this particular show after Jan., 20th, 2007. Fun fun fun!

LaChapell Audio

I finally nailed the distribution to LaChapell audio preamp in Vietnam. I am pretty picky when it comes to preamp and not easily fall for the new marketing scheme new companies made to attract "newbie audio engineers" lack of confident when it comes to what new pre to choose. The last AES show in SF I get to test them all and did not impress with most of them. A few new companies did stand out and LaChapell is one of them.

All I can said is HEAD ROOM! Classy looking and Scott, the creator of this beauty, will personally put it together for you when order. This is the one pre which sit together really nice in my arsonal of personal's favorite rack gears and complimenting my DW Fearn set up.

Ok enough of the BS, read it for yourself. The links to the preview on Mix Mag.

http://mixonline.com/products/review/audio_lachapell_audio_model/

for order, please contact me. It will be cheap and I will definitely accept return...if you are foolish enough to do so. LaChapell will get popular real quick and once it does, Scott will not be the one who personally make your preamp anymore, so hurry.

DUY

Much appreciation!

Thank you and thank you! It had been quiet here for awhile because I have to be on assigment for Meyer Sound for the past 3 months in Vietnam. I would like to thanks a few people who help me out and new friends I met along the way.
I like to thank,

- Bao at Rock Fan Club for being such a pal with free scooter transport, coffee, and introduction.
-All the guys and Minh at Minh's rock'n roll hang out at the recording studio.
-Ha Quang Minh (Ho Ngoc Ha) for the lesson in Vietnamese artists managment and soccer bets.
-Linh and Duc Tri for the tour of Duc Tri's studio in HCM city.
-Linh and Tung, members of Microwave for the friendship, CD's, and your honesty.
-Thuy of Bo Van Hoa Thong Tin for the friendship and Bun Cay.
-Mai Khoi for the cool CD, grace, and a look into her world.
-Nhat Tan studio .
-anh Cong from VTV for the tour and advices.
-Chinh and Lush bar for free cheese burger and golf rounds.
-Thien and Trang for your friendship and chi Tu's wonderful cookings.
-Phi, Chanh, Thinh, and Hung for you golf hosting. I will let you have many chances to take back your money.
-Rock on!

Will see you soon!

Audio Softwares and Hardwares which can run on MacIntel

So far here is the list but more will be added later on.

Drivers/Interfaces

Apogee Ensemble (with beta-driver under OS X 10.4.7)
MOTU
RME
Metric Halo
Presonus
M-Audio
Focusrite Safire
Yamaha mLan (http://www.mlancentral.com/drivers.php)
Yamaha i88x and 01x
Novation X-Station


Audio Software

Adobe Soundbooth (BETA, not even a Universal app, only runs on MacIntel and PC)
Pro Tools HD 7.2.1
Pro Tools LE 7.1.1
Digital Performer 5.1
Logic Pro 7.2
Cubase 4
Sonic Solutions (Soundblade, DDP & PreMaster CD)
Bias Peak 5.2
Ableton Live 5.2
Melodyne 3.1
Reason 3.0.5 ( + ReWire)
ReNoise 1.5.2
MOTU's Ethno instrument
MOTU's Symphonic instrument
Max/MSP Beta
Sagantech's Metro 6.3 (6.2 is on sale, but once you buy you'll get access to the 6.3 pre-release)
Rob Papen's Blue Softsynth v1.5.2 and albino v3
Virsyn's Cube v2.1


Plugins

Toontrack EZ drummer (BETA)
Sonalksis plugins
FXpansion VST to RTAS adapter
FXpansion VST to AU adapter
Native Instruments Absynth 4
Native Instruments Battery 3
Native Instruments FM8
Native Instruments Massive
Ohm Force (all plugs)
URS Classic Console Strip
URS Everything EQ bundle (which means all URS EQ plugs)
MOTU's Ethno & Symphonic instrument
McDSP (available July 2006 according to a PDF on their website, but no further mention of the UB's at this moment! weird)
Wave Arts
Metric Halo Channelstrip AU
Waves
Izotope ozone v3.09, trash v1.08, and spectron 1.08
Nomad Factory

DSP acclerators

UAD-1 pci-e with software v4.4 (pci-e, new Mac's don't have PCI slots!!!)

Audio Software which runs with Rosetta, Apple PPC emulation

Bias Peak versions prior to v5.2

Digital Performer versions prior to v5.1 run but with heavily reduced performance
Cubase/Nuendo (but with heavily reduced performance, http://knowledgebase.steinberg.de/94_1.html)


Audio Software under OS X and Bootcamp + Win XP install

Powertracks http://www.pgmusic.com/ubbthreads/sh...0&page=0#94493

Everything which runs on XP will work. (Cubase/Nuendo, Samplitude/Sequoia)



Estimated Releases

Steinberg http://forum.nuendo.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=11648

Native Instruments' estimated release schedule can be found here: http://www.native-instruments.com/in...id=intelmac_us

Native Instruments GS info http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=92099

PSP Audioware Plugins http://www.pspaudioware.com/ubbcgi/u...;f=15;t=000005

Another good link forumite AdamJay provided was this. http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php Here you can do a very detailed search, at the OS section at point 3. you can select Universal Binary).


Non-Audio Software which could be usefull

Skype 1.5 Beta http://www.skype.com/download/skype/macosx/15beta.html
with video http://www.skype.com/download/skype/...eopreview.html

Preamps on my block

Recent introduction by Max Neutra with Victor at Warner Brother had turn a small gig line up for film sound track in my path. I went on a hunt for mic preamp to fit the recording for sound fx's and music. These are chosen with the help of Chris, Luke, and Peter Atessi of Pacifica...and much protest from Mark Semen of API. Sorry Mark but you got the board I got the preamps.

A Designs Audio is proud to introduce the “PACIFICA”, a single rack space, dual (mono/mono) channel microphone pre amplifier that comes amazingly close to the original in looks and sound. There are few, but valuable improvements, such as a front panel active hi-z ¼ inch input that places the input transformer directly in the signal path for a huge direct sound.
The PACIFICA possesses a uniquely “Made in California” feel, with a significant heft from the huge transformers contained within. The original cream colored panel and red knob scheme was retained and is supplied with an outboard power supply for the lowest possible noise floor. We think the A Designs PACIFICA will achieve an
instant classic status, becoming an important part of “must haves” for years to come.

• Solid State Design
• Custom Input Transformers
• Custom Output Transformers
• Single Rack Space
• Balanced XLR Input
• Balanced XLR Output
• Level Controls
• -20dB Pad Switch
• 48v Switch
• Phase Switch
• Blue LED Power Indicator
• ON/OFF Switch
• Toroid Power Transformer
• 72dB Gain
• Hi Z ¼” Inch Input for Direct Inject.
• Red LED Phantom Indicator
Input Impedance 600 Ohm @ 400Hz
Gain Range 72 dB
Noise (EIN) -128 dB
Mic Phantom Switchable 48 Volt Power Source
Mic Input Phase Switchable 0 -180
Instrument Input Jack 1/4" Phono
Balanced XLR Output
Output: Balanced
Frequency Response 9Hz-101KHz
Distortion Less than 1%
Power Requirements 100/120/230 VAC - 23 Watts
Shadow Hills Industries monster Gamma. 8 hand built mic pre's based around a discrete opamp running at 24 volts. Meticulously made from the best components right here in America. There are no IC-chips or surface mount components anywhere in this design. Each channel has 3 different output transformer modes. Using trasnformers hand wound by old ladies who have been winding transformers for 20 plus years. The perfect hand tensioning, exactly matched wire gage, bobbins and laminations, make these transformers more exactly match the best vintage examples than any of the modern machine wound types.

Switching between each of the different output transformer modes provides the user with 3 distinct tonal characteristics.

The versatility allows the user to select the transformer that best suits the type of recording application. For example, when recording a guitar, you may like the Steel transformer or maybe on an orchestral you may want to go transformerless. The Nickel Transformer sounds very different from the other choices, and is "the sound" of many classic recordings. You will probably find yourself EQ-ing less, instead sculpting your sound by switching to the transformer that suits the Instrument.

Specifications

External custom designed discrete, voltage regulated, low ripple power supply and power transformer. Separate electrical and audio grounding paths making noise extremely low.

phase reverse for mic and DI

18 db pad for mic and DI

isolated 48 volt phantom power

engraved front panel

All steel 14 gage chassis

solid Bake-lite knobs

Magic eye tube power indicator

24 position stepped input option
available on per channel request

LaChapell Audio now offers two variants of the Model 992, each with its own unique input topology:

Standard 992: A transformer-less input design utilizing twin (matched) 400v ASC caps along with two USA made 6072’s per channel. This configuration provides >50dB of gain (usually about 52db) with a typical non-weighted EIN of -114 to -116dB.

Extended Gain 992: Utilizing the Jensen JT-115k input transformer and two ECC803/12AX7 vacuum tubes per channel. This configuration provides >74dB of gain (usually about 76db ...) with a typical non-weighted EIN of -124 to -126dB referencing 150ohm. All other design elements are the same.

...AES day 2 (confession of a gearslutz)

(8-channel preamps from Shadow Hills, the Gamma)

I make the point of making it to every AES show I can for every year. Most of the time, the conference are held in Europe some where and rarely come to the US, so it is very hard for me to keep this up. I want to come to the conference to meet and to catch up with old friends, manufacture reps, and to find out if there is something new that I could learn which inturn will help my clients get more bang for the bucks.

My first AES conference almost drove me crazy. Step into the conference hall, I would get blinded by the jungle of gears and 10,000 way of 'bleeding' the preamps’. Over the years, I had settle down and start to see right to the point of the show and spot what really stand out. I usually do my research first, read the previews, and then use the conference to 'drill' the reps, also to hear it for myself. It also helps to have friends who constantly calling me up to tell me about a new piece of gears which they like and want me to get for them. So every year, I want to go back for another specific reason, after all that. Recording production trend dictates where the manufactures put their money into R&D thus what they are cranking out of their production lines.

Tubes, Valve, Class A discreet line input, and your neighbor's wife...

These are some of the things at this year AES which is hot or trying to warm your mixes. Although DAWs have taken over for most kinds of audio production (especially Vietnamese market) getting signals into and out of digital recording platforms remains an analog process with everything from mixing boards to microphones (even computer sound cards perform analog-to-digital conversions). Analog technology is flourishing in a digital world.

You just don't have to look very far to find out if this is true. To start, all you have to look is Ebay to see how plug-in's these days drop their prices dramatically (why Digidesign is giving away so many plug in's pack for buying their system?) then continue.

I have nothing against DAW software plug in's, but that was 5 years ago. Shit happens and thing changes, so now back to the basic I go. One thing this year AES had only a few is the software plug in's booth. There were the Waves Hardware DSP and the Muse Research hardware DSP for VST plug in's but these booth were kind of...boring plus no one was around, seriously, I decided to stick with what's cool for this year audio toys.

What I found and noticed about this year AES were analog channel strips, summing boxes, mic preamplifiers, compressors, and equalizers were everywhere. There was even a large format analog mixing console introduced by Solid State Logic, as well as a smaller format analog board called the ATB from former Trident designer Malcolm Toft, an 8-buss mixer available in 16/24/32 channel configurations and summing box from API, Chandler Unlimited, Speck, Tonelux etc.

My personal picks

What I really like about this year AES are pretty much personal choices, also that I had a chance to really fool around with some of these picks. API got my vote due to the fact that Bflat will rep for them in Vietnam. I love the API consoles and line inputs during mixing. I can really push the line input amps to open up the mixes and get the color I want. I had ordered the DSM 24 system for a client in Vietnam and the customer had not stopped thanking me since. It is so hard to squeeze even a small console into a project studio in Vietnam and API had solved that problem with their modular systems. The core of this system is the 8200 line input with all discreet and class A. I can start with just one 8200 with 8-channels line input and one 7800 master section. From there you can add and 'snap' to expand to what fit your work environment. For starting out and solving that digital 'issue' with DAW, regardless if it is Cakewalk or HD system, mixing out of the box with API 8200 line input and 7800 master section will be an analog dream come true, in my opinion. From there, you can add more channels via addition 8200 unit or if you love the API 500 series EQ or compressor, the API 5500 rack mount (picture above), and 2500 compressor will integrate easily and nicely into your set up.

My suggestion is to start with a 16-channels DSM system which you can run your DAW hardware line output to and mix out of the box, you will not disappoint with how the DAW mix will open up. What so cool about the DSM system is that, it comes with TT Patch bay to integrate outboard gears with the your mixing environment with ease. Problem solved!

Preamps, Lunch Box, Valve, and the Beatles...
Also at AES, API kicked off the VPR Alliance to standardize manufacturing for API’s Lunchbox “500 series” module rack, which can incorporate up to six devices (mic pres, EQ, compressors, etc.) in a small portable frame. Hardware manufacturers offering compatible modules now include Speck, Daking, Buzz Audio, ShinyBox, A Designs, Purple Audio, Avedis, Shadow Hills and Old School. Out of all those 'lunch meat' products for the API lunch box, I chose A-Design.

I met Peter thru Christ R. Murphy, who would not stop telling me how nice the A-Design preamps were. For those who never have experience with A-Design color, think Quad Eigh console, and if you still don't have a clue...think Pink Floyd's The Wall album. The sound will send chill up your spine. Peter Montessi and his team of audio geeks managed to stay and to build these preamp 'outside' the box and avoid the 'clone wannabe pre' fever. I got myself a chance to test the A-Design Pacifica stereo Mic Preamps at Christ's studio in Venice Beach. How would I describe this? A blend between the bold in-your-face presence of a Neve with the mid freq clarity of an API. There you have it, get your hand off my A-Design Pacifica and get your own.
My other favorites are La Chapell Audio, Thermionic Culture, Trident, and Shadow Hills (Luke just bought one). I will write about these two one of these day and give the lo-down on them. Right now, I am too busy
hugging them in my studio.


Monitors

Luke and I are big fan of Adam monitors, we both had them. I had mine for about 6 years and very happy with the mixes which came out of them. This year AES, Adam showed off the A7's which design for smaller and near field monitoring. I had always been faithfull with my Adam S3A then I walked smack into the middle of a Barefoot demo. Oh no, more money to spend now.
What more can I say about the Barefoot MM27 monitor. Imagine the Adam S3A with tighter bass and milder midrange. Great enough to do master in, if you have the skill for it. Sold!

Conclusion

I also notice alot of changes in the live sound enforcement area, but that is something I like to keep for myself for now to do a little more research on. Some really noticeable mentions are the Tascam DV-R1000HD, the new go-to for high resolution mix down machine...A Masterlink Killer, SLS live speaker and monitor system with ribbon midrange driver, and yes, Neve brand new line mixer which can nicely plug and play with the Neve Portico series EQ and Preamps. There you have it, I can not describe everything, just the things that I like the most. Again, this is just personal favor and my own opinion, others could think totally different than mine and I welcome it. The real result out of this is a clue of where to start and hope that some of my opinions will do some good, other than that...I am a gear slutz!

Just a video break from all the boring stuffs!

Sex Is Not The Enemy

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Smashing Pumpkins on SNL

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Goldfrapp - Strict Machine

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aya kamiki-pierrot

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AES and Vietnam, day 1

Spending close to a month in Asia (China, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam) I was asked to set up a series of very high end bars, night clubs, and sounds for concert hall. For the past years, these places in Vietnam had relied heavily on JBL as their main loud speakers system. JBL had successfully entering Vietnam early and took many punches and now, they had established a solid market in Vietnam.

I was never a big fan of JBL stuffs and my thoughts on JBL and its gears are mediocre in sound quality. In a club set up, It is hard for some of the folks in Vietnam to figure this out...because in the club or live hall, they blast the dam thing so loud. Another problem I also found was the way the speakers were set in Vietnam. It looks like it was all set up by one guy or his cousin who had imitated him. Every dance clubs I went to, look like it was set up for a live concert, and every concert I went to, the place was set up like…’that guy’. The few front rows will go deaf after the show and the folks in the back row, can't hear a thing. I had been mostly in studio set up and work around with recording gears only. The only live sound or installations jobs I did were some gigs with some old 80's band (Bon Jovi, Yellow Jackets, Chicago, etc.) back in school when they came to tape live radio shows. The decision was made by my partners to enter the live and club installation market was quick and I got the job of choosing the right company to...kick everyone and their mother's asses.

It was an easy decision for me to choose Meyer Sound for my live set up. I had ton of experience with Meyer from my day in engineering school at Expression. Just like the recording trend, the live sound installation has made dramatic changes in all their gears and way to set up. It took me 3 days back in school to re-learn everything.
Back then, Meyer was the first company that when total active on all their speaker system. This was same with other studio monitor manufactures with the purpose of pairing speakers and amplifiers. For studio yes, but for live? Live is immediate and stressful. The usual setup would be another set of amps just in case something is blown, you can just plug the speakers into that emergency amps set up. What happen if the active speakers are blown, you have to replace it with another speaker...in the middle of a live show? And while it is hanging 50 ft in the air? Meyer had made the changes about 5 years ahead of everyone.

Have no fear, Meyer got the problem lick. I chose to distribute Meyer in Vietnam for the one simple fact, unbeatable sound clarity. I had visit Meyer Sound facility in Berkley and could not believe the quality controls the company had placed on their products.
I was asked in Vietnam if I can build a full blown high end total acoustic lounge bar/dance club with full blown live feed video VJ system. Building it, NO! Selling the gears and consulting...YES!
To make the story short our company in Vietnam got the commission to build the first real acoustic lounge with full blown Meyer Sound atmosphere speaker system. I had to call on the help of my dears’ friend Mike Cooper and 'db' Dave Dennison (Greatful Deads Engineer) for this job. I will keep you update on the construction and take some pictures for you.

...to be continue on day 2

AES report

121st AES Convention
Moscone Convention Center

I managed to cover the entire ground of the AES in one day. It is too early to tell but I will post my own report on the gears and things that worth looking into.

2 News thing I like from Vintech

The newest members of the Vintech family are the 609CA compressor/limiter and the model 273 dual mic preamp with essential EQ. The 609CA is based on the classic Neve 33609 compressor/ limiter but features all discrete, class A output amplifiers as well as continuously variable attack controls on both the compressor and limiter circuitry. List price of the 609CA is 3495.00.

The model 273 offers two class A, all discrete, transformer balanced mic preamps as in the X73, along with "essential eq" on each channel. List price of the 273 is 2195.00.

I bussed my stereo drum overhead to the 273, compress the hell out of it with the 609...and I got myself "the Killer".

Langevin Dual Vocal Combo

Langevin Dual Vocal Combo

In 1992, Manley Labs bought the rights to Langevin name and designs and now uses the name Langevin on all of its solid-state products. Manley-branded units are all-tube, while the Langevin-branded products have all-discrete make up gain amplifiers. Manley says the EQ or limiting and metering sections in both lines are the same.

But one attractive thing about the Langevin models (besides their great looks and construction) is the prices. They are a lot cheaper than the Manley units. The Langevin Pultec EQ, for instance, is approximately $1,500, while the Manley unit is approximately $2,999. This is due to the higher cost for the tubes and larger transformer. I wanted the Focusrite ISA 110 and the VoxBox for years. I tried it out and loved the mic pre, and all the bells on it. However, I found myself needing two high-end mic pres to give me the ability to record things in stereo. The Mindprint DTC was a good option; however, I choose the Langevin DVC over it within five seconds of hearing its mic pre.

The DVC has two identical mic pres. Manley says the Mic Preamps are transformer coupled (hand wound by Manley Labs) with 50 dB of gain provided by pure discrete transistor circuits. There are also two instrument inputs in the front with an input impedance of (500Kohms), providing about 40 dB of gain. The input attenuate can be increased by turning the pod inside the unit. (I found the factory setting to be sufficient.) The mic input impedance is 2,400 ohm, which allows the entire high transit signal to be heard nicely. There are two phantom power switches as well, which Manley says give a "full" 48 volts. After reading that, I checked some lower end units and found out that they did not give the full 48 volts.

So, how do the mic pres sound? Very clean, detailed, with a touch of warmth; they are excellent!

Next is the EQ, which is comprised of a low frequency shelf that can be switched to either 40 Hz or 80 Hz and a high frequency shelf that can be set for 8 kHz or 12 kHz. The shelves are continuously variable from -10 dB to +10 dB of gain. The EQ can be completely switched out with the bypass switch. The EQs are transparent, but they really do a great job of giving more air to your signal or helping a bass sound fuller or thinner. Though it is not a full parametric EQ, with a great mic and a good signal I have yet to need any more for vocals or bass guitar.

Next is the Limiter. According to Manley, "The Limiters are the discrete transistor version of the Manley ELOP Limiter (same as the Langevin stand-alone version). This type of limiter is superb for vocals and a wide range of instruments from basses and guitars to synths and room mics. When it comes to tracking and fast set-ups, the lack of a multitude of controls is a real feature. You can simply set up the Threshold and Gain controls and expect that the limiter will do the right thing without a lot of tweaking. The Limiters have Threshold and (make-up) Gain controls, a Link switch for stereo and a pair of toggles that switch the VU meters to "Gain Reduction" or "Output Level." These are true stereo limiters without the usual problems of left/right matching common to other stereo opto based limiters." Great! I got myself a good drum overhead pre's.

I have always recorded bass guitar with a little compression. However, I decided to try the Limiter on the DVC instead. I was amazed at what the Limiter did. By having up to -3db on the bass, I had a very smooth bass sound that still had its dynamics, but they were under control. The Limiter is very transparent. I always used plug-in limiters and some lower end limiters in the past and thought they were all the same. But when you train your ears to hear what a compressor or limiter is doing, you can hear the change in sound that many limiters have on the peaks. This unit does not do that. If fact, when listening you think the bass player just has a very developed control with his or her playing. One more thing on the limiter: The gain knob can give you 15 dB more gain if you find the input on the mic pre not enough.

The two VU meters can be set for meter output or limiter reduction. I was concerned that with no input level control or more EQ that this unit would be too limited in its capabilities. I could have not been more wrong. It is very easy to use and to get a great sound. Though different-sounding than other mic pres, I found this unit's pres to be in the same class as a Great River, or ISA Focusirte Red Series. If you go to the Manley site, the Langevin has a little pink-ish color to it, but the Langevin units are actually red.

The last thing I have to say is the customer service at Manley is a 10. Eve Manley and I had been working together for almost 5 years now, I can call her directly whenever I choose. She answered all my questions and was very straight forward about everything. I had some additional questions she answered by email. Same thing could be said with Paul in tech support. This is very important to know that the company is behind their customers. I look forward to hanging out with them at the Manley Booth in San Francisco in October, 2006.

I am now the proud owner of the Langevin Dual Vocal Combo, and I think I bought the one of the best dual mic pre channel strips out there under $5,000. This unit will make your recording sound better (if you know what you are doing).

The Basic Buying guides for High End Stereo System

One thing which I'd gotten use to do lately was checking my mix with a high end stereo system to see if what I do in the studio translate well with those of 'critical' listening environment. It had became one of a very reliable source for me to be a last step of quality control before it is hand over to the client. I was introduced to Greg, who is a lawyer in San Jose, thru a golf buddy. Greg real passion was high end stereo system and he had spent quite a fortune building his system for listening pleasure at home. Greg invited me over to his place and with my CD in hand; I gave his system a run hoping to prove him wrong about high end audio system for consumers. To my surprise I started to pick out and to hear the translation of my mix thru these high end speakers. Mind you, Greg spent over $50K for his system which to him is just a medium grade. With Greg help and research, I had started to build my own system to use as a last step of QC for my mastering and mixing. Here are some of the basic guidelines which Greg had helped me and thru some research which may give any of you some start if you ever want to do this.

Basics High End Audio

Hi-end audio is my new hobby and the purpose of this guide is to steer you through the many falacies and mis-conceptions that plague the world of sound reproduction. To begin with, one obviously does not need tube pre-amps, powered sub-woofers, electrostatic tweeters, and gold-plated interconnects to enjoy someone's voice over a cheap telephone speaker. While there is a slight element of snob appeal in hi-end audio, most audiophiles are essentially looking for a good sound that brings them closer to the actual performance. Achieving that "good sound" on a tight budget is what makes hi-end audio so interesting.

Unfortunetely, hi-end audio does not begin with those all in one piece of garbage (a.i.o.p.o.g) mini-systems. While such set-ups may score points in the aesthetics category, the actual sound quality is very poor. The problem with mini-systems is that they tend to focus on quantity not quality. They are loaded with useless features that in reality make it sound worse. The build is also poor as various parts begin to fail and break down after limited use.

For these reasons, separate components is the first step towards a good sound. Separate mean buying the SOURCE, AMPLIFICATION, and SPEAKERS separetely. Hair splitting improvements in sound can be achieved buy further seperating each separate into more seperates, which is fine if you are in the money is no object reference frame, but for us that will have to wait.

There are two main advantages of going for separate component systems instead of mini-systems. The first being far superior sound quality and the second is durability. With separate components, you pay a little extra, $500-700 instead of $300-500 but what you get far surpasses the added investment. A well chosen and properly cared for system should easily last for many years without ever giving any problems. This durability makes seperates extremely cost-effective since you will always have considerable equity in your equipment should you consider to sell and upgrade. Furthermore the quality of the sound is superb, far more controlled, cleaner and accurate than the distorted and boomy sound characteristic of mini-systems. Last but not least, seperates offer plenty of clean power. This means they can be blasted at much high volumes without any audible distortions.

The three components of any system, SOURCE, AMPLIFICATION, and SPEAKERS now need further explanation. By source I mean such equipment as the CD player, Turntable (record player), tape decks, and Tuners (radio). You would be surprised to learn that most truly hi-end systems are entirely analog based with a turntable as the only source. CD's or digital is generally criticized by audiophiles as sounding too harsh, mechanical, bland, and fake. The music that a good turntable brings out of a well recorded and mastered LP record, is absolutely stunning. Records sound natural, warm and real, thus providing a far more involving and satisfying listening experience than that from CD's. A preference of LP's over CD's has nothing to do with being quaint; it's all about a good sound!

Unfortunetely tape decks and tuners are not considered hi-fidelity sources, though quality reel to reel decks are indeed hi-end. Please note that these sources have no amplificaton of their own, meaning you can't just buy a cd player and a pair of speakers and hook the two up. The output from the source is a very weak signal that needs amplification from an external amplifier. For turntables, a dedicated phono-input is required in the amplifier owing to the low-level output of the stylus and the unique frequency response of the vinyl medium. Therefore, the first component to buy is the amplifier or the receiver. A receiver is an amplifier with a built in radio or tuner.

The best way to buy an amplifier is not by power ratings but by price and quality. The power ratings measured in watts is a very misleading figure. For one thing, the difference in terms of loudness between a 200 W amplifier and a 20 W amplifier is the 200 W amplifier is only twice as loud. Furthermore the main problem with amplifiers is clipping or distortion. When an an amplifier starts to distort, it sends out square waves that are especially damaging to the speakers. This means that so long as a speaker is receiving clean, undistorted sound, regardless of the loudness, it will perform perfectly. A cheap 100 Watt Pioneer receiver is probably not capable of more than 25 watts before it starts to clip and damage speakers. On the other hand a more expensive 40 watt NAD amplifier is capable of putting out 40 watts of clean power.

Unless you can remember all that, the best way to select is by the quality. Speakers are not judged by how many watts they are capable of handling nor by how wide the frequency range they cover. They are measured by how accurately they cover the frequency range they are designed for. For example, small bookshelf speakers are capable of some highly accurate sound with superb imaging, however, they will have no bass whatsoever. Such speakers may also cost $2000.

The general word of advice in selecting components, be it the amplification, source, or speakers is to avoid mass market names such as Sony, Pioneer, JVC, Technics, Bose, etc. These companies specialize in producing inexpensive, lower quality components for the common consumer. This is probably the most important maxim in audio. These household names concentrate on features and marketing, not on sound quality. I recommend better quality budget components by Onkyo, Harman-Kardon, NAD, Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Nakamichi, Rotel, Marantz, Linn, Rega Planar, NHT, Paradigm, B&W, etc.

In reality there are literally hundreds of manufacturers, most of whose names you have probably never heard of. The best way to begin research is by following the discussions in the audio related internet newsgroups. As far as magazines go, I recomend Stereophile but by all means stay away from Consumer Report!! With regards to buying the equipment, mail-order offers a large selection at good prices, though you should be very careful where you mail-order from. To sum it up, stay away from anything cheap, exercise good judgement and let your ears be your ultimate guide. It is possible to put a good sounding system together for as much as $500,000 or as little $500. I'll leave the rest to you. Good luck and enjoy the music!

The Q&A arguement

Question from Duong's email: This is a cool blog guys. I don't like the sound of software synthesizers and searching for a new analog synth with real fat attitude and sound. What is your suggestion? I compose Europerean style disco dance, some hip hop.

Duy: Try out the Waldorf Q+, I really like the sound and thickness of this analog/digital synth. Yes it comes with both. Hard to find one and get your hand on it but if you do, grab and run.
Chris: I like the new Moog Voyager series better, Duy does not know what he is talking about...he tends to talk out of his ass. Check out the Moog Electric Blue back lit. Fat Moog synth sounds you can't deny.
Duy: I think Chris needs to have a life, the Moog synth is classic but it is over rated in my opinion. Moog is too American (whatever that means) more for sound design and the Waldorf will fit your Europerean disco shit much better. the Q+ is more music to my ears.
check this out bitch

Q+ bass in Chris face

Q+ sweep your moma down the drain Chris

by the way, it is my blog so shut up!

ZVex stuffs

Mr. Tran,

It was a pleasure talking to you at the NAMM show. We hope to work with you and Bflatmultimedia in Vietnam and show case our products in the very near future. For more info, please go to our website and see our latest products.

Z.Vex

Well, check it out for yourself. I am not a guitar player but I ran the Roland Juno 106 thru some of these stomp boxes and love it. Make sure you check out the LoFi Loop box, so cool! Oh yeah, check out the stomp box...forget the softsynth shits, take an old keyboard, run the audio thru these stomp boxes and use your hands...yes your hands.

Here is the link to the videos

ZVex gear videos

Oh no F**k'n way! Si` Trum had entered the proaudio market.

Go to

Si` Trum Tube mini amp head

and check the video out for yourself. Make sure you turn on the sub to your computer speakers.

What is class A?

Technically:
Class A amplifiers amplify over the whole of the input cycle such that the output signal is an exact scaled-up replica of the input with no clipping. Class A amplifiers are the usual means of implementing small-signal amplifiers. They are not very efficient — a theoretical maximum of 25% is obtainable, but for small signals, this waste of power is still extremely small, and can be easily tolerated. Only when we need to create output powers with appreciable levels of voltage and current does Class A become problematic. In a Class A circuit, the amplifying element is biased such that the device is always conducting to some extent, and is operated over the most linear portion of its characteristic curve (known as its transfer characteristic or transconductance curve). Because the device is always conducting, even if there is no input at all, power is wasted. This is the reason for its inefficiency.

Simplicity:
Class A means that the amplifier amplifies the entire waveform as a waveform. There are other classes of amplifier which split the waveform into top and bottom and amplify those sections separately. There are advantages in efficiency from splitting the waveform but also a distortion that is created around the point of separation.

These are design criteria balance elements that are faced by circuit designers. Class A amplifiers are often more expensive to build but draw a lot of current, create a lot of heat and are overall not quite as efficient as some of their other letter amplifier type cousins. With more heat and power, it sometime translate to more color. Notice most class A unit has its own power supply, that just to get enough power into the unit plus keep it from too much heat.
A plain explanation, Class A circuit tend to produce even order harmonic in the tone...you know what that mean right? Cool!

Analog heaven

Sonicstate video tour of the Village in LA

Full Tone Tube Tape Echo

Full Tone Tube Tape Echo

You know it, I know it, we all heard it, the beautiful warm lush delay that come from Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, the Beatles, those oldies we used to listen as we grow up. They used to call those sound echo remember? The make of these delay back in the time were created by echo chamber, echo metal plate, hence the term echoplex and such.
I spent enough time with guitar players to know that it is all about the echo unit that you own to give your sound a little edge over the other guys. During the time that I was in the studio to see Ronan make a record that I saw what he can do with a tape delay unit.
So I join the herd of people searching on Ebay for those vintage tape delay FX boxes and I found many. Being a true gear slutz, I actually played with most of them. The most popular ones you find these days are the Roland unit such as 201, 301, and so on. These units give wonderful sound but they are unbalance and often very noisy. It is hard to find them in good condition and they are notorious for breaking down and hard to find analog tape replacement. The only one of the Roland unit actually come with XLR balance input is the 500's series unit, but they also hard to find.
That was all cool until I came across the Full Tone Tube Tape Echo unit. Now this changes everything, including the rules. The Full Tone is built like a M1 tank and it is so quiet. There's plenty of tape supply for this one. I went onto Full Tone website and found that this box is used by many today fame guitarist. I am not a guitar player but I did route a guitar track out into this box to see what it does. Lush, warm, solid, and quiet!
Although this thing was made for guitar, I did tried it out with a vocal track...NICE! It is cool fx and all but do not ditch your TC2290 just yet.
I'd emailed my friends Roger in LA about how it compares to the Echoplex of the old days, and this is what he sent me for the spec,

Why a Tape Echo?
If you ask that then you have never played a healthy Echoplex! No delay, rackmount or pedal, analog or digital, can replicate the natural, warm and shimmery (slightly "chorused") tones of an old Echoplex. Unless you've experienced it you don't know what you're missing.

Yeah, but they're noisy and unreliable!
Yes, they certainly WERE....but the Fulltone TubeTapeEcho (TTE) is dead-quiet, and Fulltone has completely re-vamped both the electronics, the tape transport path, and even the tape cartridge itself to the point of near-overkill. The TTE produces less noise than most delay pedals.

How much delay time?
From a quick slapback to over 1 second.

Why tubes?
Because they sound so good.....the enhancement to your basic tone is something you will not want to play without once you feel it, and you'll never again have to worry about signal loss due to long cables and too many pedals on your pedalboard.

What makes the Fulltone Tube Tape Echo better?
1.) DC Motor - The big AC motors of yesteryear were noisy and inefficient, so Fulltone replaced them with servo-controlled high-torque DC motors. Not only are they quieter, but they are more stable and 1/4 the size, allowing for a smaller overall housing.

2.) Tubes (this means clean...real clean) - The TTE uses (2)12AX7 tubes (for the Record and Playback sections) with 150 volts DC and supply the filaments with 12 volts DC to reduce the hum further. The erase function uses one 12AT7.

3.) Handwired audio path (no shit!), and world-famous Fulltone Made-in-USA Craftsmanship. No PCB-mounted Tubes or Jacks in this thing.

4.) Stereo outputs! - How many times have you longed for a delay between channels in the studio or on stage?

5.) Better Tape Heads - The TTE has proprietary Fulltone Erase, Record, and Playback heads that not only have better frequency response than the oldies, but are designed to last well into your retirement.

6.) Fulltone ETC-1 Tape cartridge - Fulltone couldn't find a decent tape cartridge (and neither could we), so they made one themselves! The ETC-1 tape cart is a direct replacement for all Echoplexes, but it is loaded it with vastly superior tape. The ETC-1 not only sounds MUCH better, but also is not prone to shedding as are the tape carts made by others. If your tape cartridge leaves brown dust on the heads, rollers and top of the chassis, Martha Stewart would surely agree that this is NOT "a good thing". That 'build-up' is what creates distance between the tape and tape heads causing degradation of the echo-repeats. It also causes the pinch-roller to slip against the capstan, which leads to wildly out-of-tune echo-repeats. That brown dust is a clear indication of your tape (and your tone) disintegrating before your eyes. No more loading tape with your bare hand.

7.) Nickel-Plated Steel Parts - because Fulltone insists that their products last for years while looking great!

8.) Echo Tone Control - The TTE has a full-range Echo Sound, but you can alter it to sound as vintage as you like with the 'Tone Control', affecting only the repeats.

9.) It's Smaller - Old Echoplex EP-2's have that cool side-compartment, but this made them larger. Fulltone put that storage place into a Heavy duty (wood-reinforced) Cordura Nylon Gig-Bag (included). This allows for a very compact, stout unit that can sit on your amp, in your pedalboard, or off to the side without taking up too much precious real estate.

Are you happy now? My verdict, buy it!

Duy

Summing box

Tube Tech SSA -2A
I love the way this box look with its huge dials, metal switches, VU meters, blue paint face plate which give it a vintage gear looks. I ran just 8 channels thru this box from Digidesign 192 D/A with no additional converter. The SSA-2A stereo buss bind the mix together well and the bass with plenty of headroom. I would put sound in the category of 'sua Ong Tho', nice thick, and silky color.
That is of course too much color for some people who like transparency. Due to the tubes and slow response, a well known character of Tube Tech gears, you will lose a little bit of your transient attack from your drum. Is that bad? Not really, if you are into that slow, sexy, smooth tempo materials.
DSM 24, 48 & 72 Console in a Rack

This is a perfect setup to sovle your issue with out of the box mixing and having your color at the same time. I had always love the API sound of its console for its punchy and warm sound, especially their 500's series compressor. I talked to Mark at API and the DSM was design with modular concept and can be set up in any configuration. In this case I manage to get my hand on the DSM 24 full setup. What can I say, I am in heaven. 24 channels worth of API input line op amps and stereo bus compressor, I am ready to rock...and rock it will be the tone of the day. I can hear more punch running my tracks into the DSM due to very clear define low mid freq. Of course the low bass freq of the API is not as 'fat' as the Tube Tech, only if you did not engage the API 2500 stereo compressor or have one. But with fast material like rock or pop, this baby just pumping out grooves. The top end is not that bad either...nice shimmering on my vocal track and my mix open up real nice with stereo images. I hear rock and fast tempo pop mix for this.

For a basic setup I would recommend you start with 2 of the 8200 and one 7800 rackmount master section to put everything together. that would give you 16 channels of line input, insert, aux send which meet up at the end with the 7800 master section. The nice thing about this is you can add or take out as you go along. For home mixing, you can do alot with this setup which allow you to use your outboard gears much easier than most other summing box I see out there. The DSM 24 which I am playing with came with a TT patchbay setup which for most of us engineers is a must have. This make the work flow much faster. I love this set up and would recommend it to anyone. This will give soul to your DAW.
For more spec, go to www.apiaudio.com

The Cranesong Spider

I first got myself a Spider for the 8-channel I/O converters for my Protool Mix TDM system. I always like the Cranesong preamp so it also give me additional 8 clean preamps for tracking drums or multiple Micing situation. I hardly use this as a summing box unless I want to stem a number of tracks down to a stereo track and add some color to the stem and then A/D back into my Protool for further mixing. Not much to be say about the Cranesong Spider excet that it is clean, transparent, very nice converter and nice colorful tape saturation emu for the stereo bus. Buy it for the converters and the preamp, otherwise it is up to you.

Dangerous 2-bus

The first time I saw this box was about 5 years ago when Luke and I was at the AES show in LA. We both were kind of in a sad state of mind after coming off working on the Neve VR and the SSL 4000k. We were now on our own and have to mix everything via Protool Mix Plus system ITB way. Our mixes was flat and real...stupid. Luke and I decide to see what this can do and put some track thru it. The mixes did come out a bit more low end and open but not enough for us to put out $2k at that time. Don't get me wrong here, the Dangerous 2-bus is dam accurate and most neutral sounding of all the box I had tested. I would recommend this for a mastering as a uncoloured mix device for stero stems. To me this is kind of 'sterile', 'bored', and not very "musical" colouring. The sound of the 2-bus is fast for transient with big headroom...loud that is and the unit is solidly built. I would buy it I have money for being luxury but without insert options or out board, I have to give it the same decision as the Cranesong Spider.

MixDream Model 2384

I wait until the last unit to review this thing. I had never a fan of SPL gears and actually turned SPL down to rep for them in Vietnam many years back. My SPL experience had always been bad with unit like Tube Vitalizer, Stereo Vitalizer etc., kind of remind me of the older Aphex tubessence stuffs. Then about 3 years ago SPL spit out the Transient Attack unit which make my head turn. I was a bit skeptical at first but sat back and wait to see if SPL going to do anything for a follow up. Lady and gentlemen, the final verdict for this summing bus review is the SPL MixDream 2384.

Here is the quick overview,

• High-grade analog summing on just 2U rack space—no analog mixing console necessary
• Sophisticated, active Class A/6oV stages for analog summing in the quality of the best consoles
• 16 balanced inserts allow for integrated analog effects with individual and overall hard bypass relays
• Reduction of A/D conversions (14 A/D conversions can be spared with all inserts connected). All analog tracks can be summed before A/D conversion.
• Channel adjustments and automation (level, panorama etc.) remain controlled from the DAW so the user loses no digital efficiency
• Lower DAW processor utilization rates
• The most efficient possible re-sampling of individual tracks with latency free monitoring
• Surround capable (from up to 3 MixDream units)
• Channel capacity expandable through linked units
• Sensitive and transparent stereo expansion control
• Analog peak limiter for impressive loudness
• Master inserts and switchable output transformers from Lundahl
• Optimized signal pathes, all switching functions via relays
• Proprietary differential amplifiers for each input
• Discrete, exceptionally low-noise power supply

After all that I had said above, the dream unit would be like something with the Dangerous 2-BUS tightness, accuracy and headroom and the musicality of the more colouring units like the API 8200 and Tube Tech with their big bass and silky, shimmering highs. I found it in the SPL Mixdream. It´s accurate, has the biggest headroom of all, controlled big bass and very pleasing top end. I don´t need features like the inserts / limiter. The stereo expansion sounds quite good in small doses.

My little boy´s heart loves the flickering signal LEDs. Nice design also. The unit gets very hot due to its 60 Volt technology. It´s also the heaviest of all candidates. It´s expandable for 5.1. To be honest, I didn´t expect something like this from SPL, which is not exactly my favourite gear company. But they did brilliant work on the MixDream and I strongly recommend to everyone to audition a test unit.

SOLD!

Post on Wed., August 26th, 2006

I hate to make haste decision because I do it all the time. But here it is, the SUMTHANG from Innertube Audio.
This company name their audio gears with words like Atomic Squeeze, Atomic whatever...really fuck with Home Land Security department. I got this box late so did not have time to compare but better late than never. So here what Inner said,

-Old-school analog crustaceans that we are, we at InnerTube recognize the productivity that digital audio workstations (like Digidesign Pro Tools and others) has made possible. Running the outputs through a high-quality mixing console has become a favorite best-of-both worlds solution for those who want digital flexibility and analog sound quality. But what if you don't have a large-format console, or prefer to mix "inside the box"? Well, we thought up the Sumthang just for you.

It sums eight line-level (+4) inputs into two outputs, using a top-secret vacuum tube circuit for sound quality that we think mops the floor with any other "analog" summing box on the market today. Ins and outs are transformer-balanced. Units can be cascaded together to bring as many analog outs as your DAW has into the stereo outs of your main Sumthang unit, and we've been kicking around plans for a 16-channel dedicated expander. An oversized output volume knob and super-accurate VU meters let you tweak the signal to the liking of your two-track recording or monitoring system, and even better, they look important.

Kick ass box of Sumthang. Buy this one too.

Duy