When I first met a tape recorder, it was the "Four Speakers" my father bought in Fujian, which contained Teresa Teng's tapes. The gentle and sweet voice made me fall in love with music and dream of having my own audio equipment. Thanks to my mother, in the year when I was admitted to the university (1984), I bought a 777 dual-card recorder as I wished, and let music accompany me all my life. By mistake, a few years ago, I actually became a manufacturer of audio systems and founded the brand "ESD Acoustic".
With the deepening understanding of the audio industry and audio equipment, and more and more contacts with music lovers, I feel it is more and more necessary to talk about my feelings and share my experiences on some viewpoints of hi-fi audio system. Or it can be regarded as a brick and a jade. You are welcome to criticize and correct me.
The first myth: hi-fi system may only be suitable for playing certain types of music.
The most frequently asked question in recent years is: "Teacher Dai, what kind of music is the hermit stereo suitable for?" Most of the questioners are experienced old friends.
At first, I wondered why so many people had such problems, but with the deepening of communication, I basically understood the reasons.
Looking back at the history of audio development, most high definition audio systems have some defects:
① The extension of both ends of the sound system is not enough. From the type point of view, the low-frequency restoration of bookcases is obviously insufficient, and many small floor boxes are also stretched to low frequency to dive; In terms of production time, the early sound system was obviously insufficient at both ends of the low frequency below 70-80Hz and the high frequency above 7000-8000Hz. Similar to these problems, it is doomed that this sound system is not suitable for the playback of large-scale works such as symphonies, but suitable for playing vocals, string solos and other types of music.
(2) The box is seriously stained with sound. Whether it is the early iron horn, wooden horn or various wooden horns in the later period, due to the characteristics of materials, sound dyeing is everywhere, so that enthusiasts often talk about the familiar English sound, German sound, American sound and so on. The essence of these "sounds" is sound dyeing, and most of them come from boxes, not speakers or electronic devices. Some specific sound systems are particularly warm and relaxed when playing jazz music, and many people like them. However, when playing other types of music, they are all good.
③ The noise at the bottom is serious. Many electronic devices in audio system have backward power processing technology and poor anti-electromagnetic interference ability. The noise floor of the whole system is obvious, such as "buzz" and "squeak", which often produces a noise floor with a sound pressure of 5- 10db, which seriously affects the high-fidelity playback of the whole system. This kind of equipment is often concealed by putting some heavy metals, symphonies, etc. But once the guqin and human voice are played, it will be a disaster. Of course, due to the technical limitations at that time, some old records also had a high noise floor. But from the perspective of choosing audio equipment, we must try our best not to screw things up, let alone love me, love my dog and put filters and labels on the noise floor. At that time, the sound engineer was actually "unwilling" to eliminate the noise floor, and has been pursuing clearer recording equipment, so today's recording noise floor will be significantly reduced.
④ Poor analytical ability. Due to the limitation of the clock accuracy of the decoder and the computing power of the chip, or the cross distortion of the power amplifier, or the loss of small dynamic content caused by the use of soft materials in the diaphragm, many high-fidelity systems cannot accurately restore some details in the recording. For example, Teacher Yan, who is often used by enthusiasts to test low-frequency dynamics, can't hear or hear the lighter drums from 3: 30 to 3: 50 on some devices. Interested friends can try using household equipment. The treble in Li Na's Su Wu Mu Yang is often heard as an effector, which is a matter of treble resolution.
My answer to this kind of question is: Hermit audio products are suitable for playing music of any type and theme, because the above four problems do not exist in Hermit audio system. The responsibility of the hermit sound system is to restore the audio recorded by the sound engineer to the greatest extent.
The second misunderstanding: the concepts of sound system and musical instrument are confused.
Hi-Fi is short for hi-fi. The definition of Baidu Encyclopedia is: Hi-Fi refers to the playback sound that is highly similar to the original sound. To evaluate whether an audio system or equipment meets the requirements of high fidelity, it is generally necessary to combine subjective hearing evaluation with objective index test, with objective test index as the main basis. Because it is the most scientific and trustworthy to test the performance index of equipment with instruments, we can get very intuitive quantitative results for reference and comparison.
But many friends often tell me bluntly:
……
Compared with the definition of Hi-Fi, I think these views are obviously very debatable. They have these myths because they don't understand the concepts that "the sound system is not a musical instrument, but a tool for playback" and "we are just music listeners, not music creators".
The existence of high-fidelity system is necessary, because music lovers can't listen to wonderful sounds at any time, or most people simply don't have the conditions to listen to music on the spot, so high-fidelity system comes into being. Since the invention of audio system, through the efforts of colleagues in the industry in past dynasties, audio technology has been greatly developed. Consumers who have the financial ability will often spend all their money to buy high-fidelity systems, and the word "enthusiast" can be said to be full of meaning.
Objectively speaking, because each sound engineer uses different equipment such as microphone, wire, mixer and tape recorder. When recording, the microphone is placed in different positions, and his understanding of music in post-production is also different. It can't be a mirror image of live 100%, but the sound engineer recreates live music/studio music according to his own understanding and equipment limitations. As music consumers, we recognize a record or a tape, the essence of which is the recognition of music re-creation by recording engineers. Because many music works are not live performances, but are recorded in the recording studio in different tracks and produced by post-mixing.
As a HiFi sound system, the only thing to do is to repeat the announcer's recording with the lowest distortion as much as possible, and never add any monosodium glutamate or resonance.
There is a simple reason. Any distortion and resonance of the sound box is inherent in the sound system. The sound box or its resonance itself is not intelligent, and it can be selectively added or not according to different musical instrument types. It's like a table of cumin seasoning. If it is added to "roast lamb chops", it may add flavor, but if it is added to seafood, vegetables, desserts and other dishes, can it still be eaten? Moreover, even for roast lamb chops, cumin is indeed a particularly good seasoning, but I think the chef has added it when it is time, so we don't need to worry about it anymore. Sprinkle cumin on the roast lamb chops carefully prepared by the chef, and it will definitely gild the lily.
When we thought it would be better to add monosodium glutamate, in fact, we have recognized our sound system as an omnipotent "intelligent recorder, Andhadhun", which has supernatural ability and can instantly recreate music and artistic works. Is there such an intelligent sound system in the world?
It is based on this thinking and understanding that Hermit Audio adheres to the principle of establishing higher standard technical indicators and achieving scientific high fidelity, that is, as a manufacturer, it should pursue objective evaluation. In order to achieve lower distortion, hermit audio can be described as doing everything possible.
The first is the choice of diaphragm. Small amplitude intermediate frequency, high frequency and ultra-high frequency diaphragms all adopt rolled pure beryllium diaphragms, and their advantages are well known, so I won't repeat them here. The invention of low frequency and ultra-low frequency uses sandwich titanium diaphragm, which almost eliminates the segmentation distortion. Beryllium diaphragm and sandwich bass titanium diaphragm are ten times and hundreds times more expensive than other similar diaphragms. Although the cost is high, it is the choice of these two kinds of diaphragms that makes the speaker developed by Hermit Audio the lowest distortion speaker among similar speakers in the world.
Secondly, the invention and use of circular carbon fiber sandwich horn is unique in the world. The diffusion of sound is a spherical wave, not a square, so a circular horn is the only ideal choice. The diffusion of sound is exponential based on a very strict formula, and the characteristics of sound "invisible and intangible" make it "the dragon sees the head but does not see the tail" In order to obtain this formula, Hermit Audio bought the related technologies, patents and trademarks of Dr. Bruce Edgar, director of NASA Infrasound Laboratory, founder of towed line horn theory and founder of Edgarhorn speaker, to ensure that the expansion curve of the horn completely fits the characteristics of the diaphragm and throat of the compression drive head.
In addition, the old excitation technology is adopted again. A few decades ago, speakers in the audio industry generally gave up excitation and adopted permanent magnets, which was based on the consideration of manufacturing cost and convenience, rather than technological progress. Using excitation can obtain the advantages of higher magnetic flux and non-attenuation of magnetic force, which is not available in permanent magnet units. What is more prominent about Hermit Sound is that the technology of detecting and counteracting back electromotive force is invented in the excitation power supply system by using contemporary AI technology, so that the sound is almost not compressed when the speaker plays back.
It is also worth reading that Hermit Audio uses switching power supply instead of traditional toroidal transformer in electronic equipment, which not only solves the problem of large current noise caused by the non-isolation between toroidal transformer and power grid, but also solves the problems of dynamic voltage drop and sound compression caused by the increase of output power of power amplifier.
All the efforts of Hermit Sound are to make it clear that the sound system is not a musical instrument, but for playback. Lower distortion and less sound staining are what any product that claims to be a Hi-Fi brand must pursue.
Therefore, if a brand constantly emphasizes that its products are handmade in a certain country and tries to create a concept that foreign craftsmen have unique artistic accomplishment, it is actually exposing its own shortcomings and telling consumers that its fidelity is not high, so it can only reverse marketing and create non-existent quality barriers. Just like luxury cars, hand-made interiors are naturally good, but hand-made engines are obviously nonsense and may not even pass the safety standards. Handwork and machine have their own advantages. What we want is to make comprehensive use of their advantages to achieve better performance and more exquisite appearance, but we must never confuse the audience and speculate on the concept in the name of art.
Therefore, if we really love music, we should listen to what the sound engineer recorded is closest to the original sound, rather than polish it ourselves, not to mention that we can't improvise according to each dish.
The third misunderstanding: it is often judged by the hearing of its own sound system.
When attending the exhibition, I often meet friends who burn and say, "This system is not good, and the low frequency is not as big as our home."
Or: "The high frequency of this system is not as good as my extension."
……
After asking about their home system, my intuition, many years of fever experience and the experience of sound system development in recent years tell me that this conclusion should be incorrect. I'm at a loss, so I can only naively ask why.
Many people will look at me confidently from the perspective of God and say, "I have been playing for decades ..."
Or something like that. ...
I gradually began to understand that after many enthusiasts got used to their own systems, over time, they defined their home audio system as an industry standard, and their ears became boastful "golden ears". Such fallacies can be seen and heard from time to time. I really want to yell at them: "Can you stop talking to yourself and look at the progress of technology scientifically and objectively?"
When I ask them how many times they have been to the concert hall to listen to the scene in their lives, how many times they have communicated with the sound engineer, and whether the timpani is as slow and fat as most sound systems play back, they either look embarrassed and don't answer. Of course, many people tell me that they seldom go to the concert hall, or they avoid the importance. So its boast will be broken.
Imagine this:
Distortion exists objectively, which is a systematic prenatal education disease and cannot be solved by any individual.
Power grid pollution and low conversion efficiency of ring transformer exist objectively and cannot be solved by any consumer.
Space is a very important factor affecting sound effects. Even if it is designed according to science, it is still lucky because there are too many variables.
Therefore, as consumers, the only thing we can do is to give full play to the advantages of the sound system, but we can never surpass the physical defects of the sound system itself and arbitrarily surpass other better high-fidelity systems. A set of evaluation standards for audio equipment should always be defined by professional test equipment and software, and hearing should always be defined by real music scenes, musicians and audio engineers. When we don't have the conditions to go to concerts often, we should also listen to what professional critics and musicians say, instead of judging by the distorted listening concept trained by the system.
Myth 4: Hi-Fi system is only suitable for enthusiasts.
With the spread of the reputation of hermit acoustics, more and more people come to the hermit acoustic music sharing space, and a large part of them are non-enthusiasts who come to this space passively.
After listening to a circle, they often send out such feelings: "What a shock, but unfortunately I am not an enthusiast."
So, next we will have this conversation:
Q: "How many square meters do you live in?"
Answer: "My home is XXX Square."
Q: "Do you think the loss of one or two square meters in your home will have any impact on your life?"
A: "No!"
Q: "What do you think the quality of life will be like if you buy hi-fi with this square meter of money?"
A: "Oh, it never occurred to me. This should be a completely different life scene. Now I can only watch TV or keep brushing my mobile phone. If you have such a stereo, you can listen to music while drinking tea. "
Or a conversation like this:
Q: "How old is your child? Have you gone to school?"
Answer: "My child ..."
Q: "If you let your children go to a better primary school or junior high school, would you like to buy a school district or pay a huge school selection fee?"
Almost without exception, I replied, "This is something we must do our best. After all, children are a lifetime thing. "
Q: "Do you know that the emotional stability of pregnant women and their perception of the fetus are very important for their children's postpartum development, and music is a very good medium?"
A: "I have heard of it, but I don't know much about it."
Q: "So, for the better development of the fetus and the better mood of your wife, are you willing to spend part of the future school selection fee on buying stereos?"
A: "Ha ha ha, that makes sense."
It can be seen that in the minds of most non-enthusiasts, music is very important and hi-fi system is not important. The bridge between these two kinds of cognition has not been fully established, which has a historical origin:
Because it was after the reform and opening up in China that the general public gradually came into contact with hi-fi systems. However, in the early days of reform and opening up, a set of simplest desktop stereos of Sony and other brands also cost seven or eight thousand yuan. At that time, people's salary was only 100 yuan. It took years to save money to buy a simple stereo, and only a few people could own it. After decades of rapid economic development, China people have become accustomed to buying houses and cars, only to find that stereos are also on the rise. Many hi-fi systems worth paying attention to are millions of dollars, even millions of dollars can't be moved, and they are still scared like tigers. The reason is simple: it is unique in Hi-Fi field. Before the establishment of Hermit Audio brand, we didn't have our own brand in China. Due to this lack, tariffs, freight, distributors, etc. The price of foreign brands has been high because of the price increase layer by layer. Of course, because most people are still pursuing material wealth and ignoring spiritual needs, they think that only enthusiasts pursue music with high restoration.
In fact, each of us has almost the same inner demand for music, but we are not inspired, or because of our present situation, we have not found our inner demand. The reason why Hermit Audio was named "Hermit" is not that the founder claimed to be a hermit, but that "everyone has his own peach blossom garden in his spiritual world, and music is the pure land of everyone's soul".
Therefore, the HiFi sound system should be the rigid demand of every individual or family with spending power, not just the exclusive welfare of enthusiasts.
Talking about these misunderstandings without restraint is not to say that I am better, but maybe I am peeping at the leopard, or maybe I have offended many friends unintentionally. I will sue here first.