Question for the audiohpiles here.

[M forever]

Binaural is a very interesting technology in theory, but I haven't heard a binaural recoding yet that really "outruns" a good conventional stereo recording in "naturalness" of sound and precise localization. The theory only goes that far, and since there are no microphones which accurately match the characteristics of our hearing, it doesn't really go that far either. A lot of the dummies or separation discs used in binaural recordings don't really reflect all parameters, like the shape of the outer ear, and some binaural recording techniques attempt to make up for that by processing the signal according to psychoacoustical models. But that's really the same as using other processing techniques on a recording made with more "conventional" techniques. The main problem however is that every person's head and ears have a slightly different shape and our hearing is tuned to that. Binaural recordings feed us sonic information directly into the ear processed with parameters modeled on someone else's head. That's a little simplified, but that's what it comes down to, and it only works in theory. It doesn't really work that well in practice. If we could get crossfeed processing based on actual measurements of individual persons' heads, that would get us one step further. That has actually been done, but the measurement process is pretty complicated and expensive. Without that step, the whole binaural thing is more a nice theory than a really effective practical solution.

Have you ever actually heard a binaural recording? Can you give us a few examples of binaural recordings that demonstrate the "superiority" of the technique?

[longears]

(1) A properly miked stereo recording does a fine job of replicating the sound of a musical performance when played back through reasonably good equipment set up correctly in a decent room. Don't take my word for it, listen to a good system and you will hear for yourself.

(2) Analog recordings, capturing the entire sound wave, are inherently superior in some respects to digital recordings, which capture only samples of the sound wave--just as high bit-rate digital recordings are inherently superior to low bit-rate recordings.  Still there are people who claim that 128kbps downloads are "CD quality" and that anyone who claims to hear a difference is lying.  Again, don't take my word for it.  Compare directly on a quality system to see what you can hear.

(3) Hearing, like seeing, is partly a matter of training and experience.  There are also differences in people's natural abilities.  Some people are color blind, for instance.  As a man at my age, the frequency response of my ear-to-brain-to-consciousness system drops off like the face of Half Dome at about 16,000Hz.  YMMV.

[ChamberNut]

Question for the technical audio experts:

I have a 3 disk CD that just came in earlier this week.

I found it a bit odd that the total time for one of the disks is over 80 minutes, about 80 minutes 20 seconds.  My first listen to it, 3 of the tracks have static on them, in 1 of them almost the entire track has static.  Would the reason for the static be because of the disk has too long of music recorded on it?

[Lethevich]

I have a 3 disk CD that just came in earlier this week.

I found it a bit odd that the total time for one of the disks is over 80 minutes, about 80 minutes 20 seconds.  My first listen to it, 3 of the tracks have static on them, in 1 of them almost the entire track has static.  Would the reason for the static be because of the disk has too long of music recorded on it?

I think that overburning beyond 80 minutes increases the chance of failed discs, but these should easily be picked out and discarded during the manufacturing process - is your playback equipment particularly old? 80 min+ CDs seem to be a relatively recent phenomonon,* I think, so it could be to do with that.

*A recent Simon Rattle one was 83 mins IIRC.

[Harry]

Even in the very beginning with cd's there were discs with more than 80 minutes music. My then Hitachi player did cope with that without problems. I remember it was a Denon cd, with music from Ravel, if I am correct.

[ChamberNut]

I think that overburning beyond 80 minutes increases the chance of failed discs, but these should easily be picked out and discarded during the manufacturing process - is your playback equipment particularly old? 80 min+ CDs seem to be a relatively recent phenomonon,* I think, so it could be to do with that.

*A recent Simon Rattle one was 83 mins IIRC.

I was playing the CD through Windows Media Player V10.

[Lethevich]

I was playing the CD through Windows Media Player V10.

As Harry corrected me about how long overburning has been happening, it probably won't be the playback that is the problem (although PCs can sometimes have problems with playing CDs if the processor is under heavy load). Sounds like the disc is faulty

[M forever]

Manufactured CDs aren't burnt, they are pressed from a master. What drive is it that has problems with that long CD? Did you try it on a different drive/player? I can't really picture any recent CD drive that could have a problem with that. You should try to extract the tracks with Exact Audio Copy. There is a chance that the drive tries to read ahead faster than it can, and if there is a problem with the CD that results in insecure tracking, it usually slows down the drive.

[ChamberNut]

Thanks for all your suggestions and replies.  I did try the CD on 2 other players.  It is definitely a faulty disk.

I'll notify Amazon.   

[ChamberNut]

Question for the technical audio experts:

I have a 3 disk CD that just came in earlier this week.

I found it a bit odd that the total time for one of the disks is over 80 minutes, about 80 minutes 20 seconds.  My first listen to it, 3 of the tracks have static on them, in 1 of them almost the entire track has static.  Would the reason for the static be because of the disk has too long of music recorded on it?

Well, I got the a new 3 disk CD set to replace the defective set I originally had.  That exact same thing occurred on the 2nd disc.  3 of the tracks have static on them, and they are in the same spots as well!  I know it's not the CD player, because it occurs on all the CD players I've tried.  I'll have to contact Amazon once again.  Very frustrating. 

[Ephemerid]

ChamberNut, I've had the same problem with certain CDs in the past, on regular CD players as well as computers-- no scratches or anything.  Its rare, but I've had it happen on at least five or six discs over the past 15 years.  What's even weirder is I've had that happen on CDs that one minute worked just fine, and then I got this awful crackly sounds-- sometimes on the whole disc, sometimes just on certain tracks.  Its weird and semmingly random.

[paulb]

ChamberNut, I've had the same problem with certain CDs in the past, on regular CD players as well as computers-- no scratches or anything.  Its rare, but I've had it happen on at least five or six discs over the past 15 years.  What's even weirder is I've had that happen on CDs that one minute worked just fine, and then I got this awful crackly sounds-- sometimes on the whole disc, sometimes just on certain tracks.  Its weird and semmingly random.

Yes this is a  valid and true phenomenon. I've had these same things happen to me as well.
Now i guess since I know its true, you want me to explian how , why this ocurrs.
Can't really, but do have a   hunch.

here's even something strange.
I have a  cd i bought in 1980, has hundreds of scratches, hundreds, yet plays perfectly.
Miracle?
the cd is the recording of the Rachmaninov vespers /1965/Svechnikov. Could the cd have been made witha   different surface material back then , doubt it.

I dropped the cd the other day and chip broke off the edge, last track (cds play inside to out edge) plays fine. 

[head-case]

Yes this is a  valid and true phenomenon. I've had these same things happen to me as well.
Now i guess since I know its true, you want me to explian how , why this ocurrs.
Can't really, but do have a   hunch.

here's even something strange.
I have a  cd i bought in 1980, has hundreds of scratches, hundreds, yet plays perfectly.
Miracle?
the cd is the recording of the Rachmaninov vespers /1965/Svechnikov. Could the cd have been made witha   different surface material back then , doubt it.

I dropped the cd the other day and chip broke off the edge, last track (cds play inside to out edge) plays fine. 

I'd like to know how you bought a CD in 1980.

[Gustav]

I'd like to know how you bought a CD in 1980.

Indeed, according to Wikipedia:
The first Compact Disc for commercial release rolled off the assembly line on August 17, 1982, at a Philips factory in Langenhagen, near Hanover, Germany.

[ChamberNut]

ChamberNut, I've had the same problem with certain CDs in the past, on regular CD players as well as computers-- no scratches or anything.  Its rare, but I've had it happen on at least five or six discs over the past 15 years.  What's even weirder is I've had that happen on CDs that one minute worked just fine, and then I got this awful crackly sounds-- sometimes on the whole disc, sometimes just on certain tracks.  Its weird and semmingly random.

I just find it odd that it happens on the exact replacement disc, the same tracks and same timepoints.  I wonder if a specific lot# in the manufacturing process when loopy.  I might have to contact Calliope Records if I keep getting the same thing happening.

[Ephemerid]

I just find it odd that it happens on the exact replacement disc, the same tracks and same timepoints.  I wonder if a specific lot# in the manufacturing process when loopy.  I might have to contact Calliope Records if I keep getting the same thing happening.

Yeah, now that's EXTRA weird.  That has got to be a manufacturing error.  Any other complaints in the reviews for that on Amazon?

[ChamberNut]

Yeah, now that's EXTRA weird.  That has got to be a manufacturing error.  Any other complaints in the reviews for that on Amazon?

Not that I'm aware of, but I'll check again for any recent reviews, if any.  Thanks!

[ChamberNut]

Yeah, now that's EXTRA weird.  That has got to be a manufacturing error.  Any other complaints in the reviews for that on Amazon?

Sure enough, there is a review posted on January 20th, experiencing scratchy noises on the discs. 

[Ephemerid]

Sure enough, there is a review posted on January 20th, experiencing scratchy noises on the discs. 

Not sure if Amazon offers the option for this album you've got (or trying to get, as the case may be) but I've noticed they are offering a lot of stuff for download-- maybe you could get it that way? 

[ChamberNut]

Hey, I noticed that I can answer many of those difficult questions on Classical Music composers (at least they seemed ridiculously difficult before ) in Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy or other trivia games.    As compared to NEVER before I got into classical.