Saturday, October 28, 2006

Studio Stereo Localization Test Observation & Question For Curt

Hi Curt--
Putting aside the double boundary PZM fixture (which is interesting and I'll take up in another post), some of us guessed that a rig with an angle between that of our Parallel Boundary Rig and that of our Pseudo SASS rig (110 degrees) might be good to try because the parallel rig exaggerated the sides a tad too much in some people's opinion. (I happened to prefer the additional contrast). I was looking at your site and thought you might have had something similar in mind with this rig. Of course, the parallel rig has front-facing caps and the Pseudo SASS has flush-mounted caps. For those who want more center, I'm inclined to suggest front-facing caps on two boundaries tilted in on the leading edge a bit, maybe 10-15 degrees. Any thoughts about this suggestion? Rob D.

2 comments:

Rob D. said...

Thanks Curt! Very instrucrive. It seems we should divide up the measurement from the leading edge into smaller steps to carefully evaluate.

You think something like these would be in the range?
2.5" recessed
2.0" recessed
1.5" rececsed
1.0 "recessed
.5" recessed

Finding the right spot for the smaller, 5.8mm diameter capsules we are using might required more precision than the AT-3032s you are using with 20mm(?) capsules.

Re:
"..the ORTF/Psudeo SASS seems to be somewhat like "looking into" the sound stage through a bay window, while the parallel boundary approach is more like standing in the sound stage right in front of the bay window."

I agree. I felt like the tighter, yet smoother front stage of the Pseudo SASS made it feel slightly more "oapaque" and flatter too. It seem like the Pseudo SASS dedicates more of the "heart" of the omni polar patterns across the middle and has less off-axis frequency roll-off at 180 degrees compared to our parallel boundary rig. There shouldn't be any off-axis drop in frequency response at 180 degrees for our ears, but the less bright edges of the parallel boundary rig perhaps creates greater contrast with the front. It's all an illusion as you say.

Testing the image against speaker monitoring as well is an important point. Everyone in the group has matching headphones, and we've beening tuning our perceptions with this common reference first.
Thanks again for your prompt and extremely time-saving response. Rob D.

Rob D. said...

OK-- We'll test a range of recess distances and then round off the corners of the square boundaries and then test the recess distances again. So the round PVC pipe is mimmicking the curvature of a head? We have a styrofoam wig holder we'll throw in too. Rob D.