Who posted crit of the weird CD's sound?

[Tigger]

In article <008701c08185$54a4e4e0$bd1828d5 at starfield>, Captain Bl at ck
<starfield at SUPANET.COM> writes
>Can't remember who posted it,

Me

>but the device in question was an Aphex Aural
>Exciter (as mentioned in Bob Calvert's book, 'Hype'). These retail in the UK
>for about £140.00.

and Spirit Folio Racpac mixer, zoom 1204FX, Nikko EQ, and the latest
addition Behringer Ultrafex Pro enhancer/exciter/surround processor
(which is far better than the Aphex, good though that is).

The Behringer, apart from being more versatile, is also cheaper
http://www.kingfish.demon.co.uk/ have them for £99
Full specs of the device available at
http://www.behringer.de/eng/products/enhancer/ex3200.htm

>If you're into software, there are lots of lovely tools you can get which do
>a similar thing but with more flexibility. Try PSP's Mix Saturator,
>Prosoniq's Dynasone, dB-Audioware's Exciter etc.  These are proffessional
>packages that studios use to enhance the sound of recordings prior to
>mastering. Rather like the Aphex, they work by introducing subtle amounts of
>distortion,

Do you know of anything similar that will _remove_ unwanted distortion?
(Like where the tape level's been set too high?)

> which has the effect of making the music sound brighter, louder
>and more powerful.

Specifically, the 'distortion' introduced by an exciter is upper
frequency harmonics. If you've ever heard a recording that sounds like
it was recorded through a layer of cotton wool, dull and lifeless, the
exciter gives you the sound without the cotton wool.

>Hence the reason why Hi-Fi amplifiers with the lowest distortion figures
>don't always sound the best, and why guitarists like valves.
>
>Captain Bl at ck

That's always puzzled me - what's the advantage of having an amp that
only produces 0.001% distortion compared to one that produces 0.01%?
None, anything less than 0.1% is inaudible.

>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: M Holmes <fofp at HOLYROOD.ED.AC.UK>
>To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>
>Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 6:42 PM
>Subject: Who posted crit of the weird CD's sound?
>
>
>> Someone posted re this and a piece of equipment they'd been using to
>> adjust the sound for themselves.  I was very interested at the time to
>> ask about that piece of equipment but too busy in the runup to xmas.  As
>> I've lost the post, I'd be grateful if they could get in touch or post
>> more details here.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Mike
>

--
David Blair