Audirvana

Edward J. Nixon

Manuel de la Fuente — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 14:47:45 +0000

Edward is a multiple GRAMMY® award winning audio engineer, record producer, honorary professor and motivational speaker. Edward helped shape the GRAMMY® Award winning music group The J.U.S.T.I.C.E League’s luxurious sound in the R&B & Hip-Hop scene of the twenty-tens, contributing to classic hit records for Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and many more.

Interview

Edward, how did you become sound engineer and producer?

I grew up in the Lake District in England, countryside and I was fascinated by rap music, well first dance music, more rave music which is a very popular genre and culture within Northern England and Scotland. It’s very much rave culture, whereas London and the South of England was very band orientated back then and of course lots of other things, but that kind of led me to rap music. But again, I lived in the countryside, so I had no access to any of that. I mean it was more the Northern England sound back then, and for me and for my friends it was predominantly rave music, acid house and house music. It wasn’t really vocal led. But as that was sort of dying out, I think I was realizing that a lot of the samples used were from rap music, especially for drum and bass, and all the heaviest stuff was all sort of sped up rap music in terms of the drums… That was one of the biggest things that shocked me. But again, being in the Lake district I was sort of cut off from any city or industrial sound at all or anything from that of rap music at the time – and it still is I guess – predominantly from the major cities. So, there was not a direct connection, I was just an admirer from afar. The story told within rap music was the biggest thing for me.

Audio has always been a visual thing. As a kid, I’d always listen to music with my eyes closed on the bus on my way to school and people would say ‘why do you have your eyes closed?’ They’d think I was sleeping but I had disappeared into the artist’ world, and I wanted to feel immersed. And looking back now the records that I’d like always had a particular sound which tended to be the worlds of 3D depth which you could climb into and explore and feel like you’re there with them.

I was 26 when I went to University in Birmingham in England and was 30 when I graduated. I had applied to so many studios in England to get an internship or just get my foot in the door, and I never heard anything back. And I decided, ‘I’m just going to go to Atlanta’. Predominantly all the records I was listening to were all made in Atlanta. So, I said to my then fiancé – now wife – ‘give me a year and if I don’t make something happen, I’ll come back, I’ll quit music – I don’t know if I’d really meant that – and get a job and a “career”’. So, I took a flight and stayed in a motel. And I went to every studio every day until one of them finally gave me a chance to come in to clean, do runs and answer the phone. Then one day, a production team came in – called the ‘J.U.S.T.I.C.E League’ – which I then became a part of – needed someone to record a full string section and brass section for a song. They assumed me being English for some reason that’s what I would have grown up recording or that’s what I would have done at university. I turned up to do it. I walked into the studio, and it was Rick Ross, Erykah Badu, Jadakiss & T.I. and it was obviously a massive record. Suddenly I was recording. That was a brilliant experience that led me to stay in America for seven years.

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

The studio is a funny place. You inherit a studio. Unless you chose, you get to a new studio and by the time you learnt it, you’ve left. There’s not really much time in a place to really grasp it. Whereas having a room… that’s why I think as well that music is best made with everybody in the same room. Not necessarily one room. But they can stand next to each other, magic can happen in those circumstances. I think I’ve rediscovered that having my own room, and being able to really get to know it, and progress in that room I can make the room the best it could be.

In the room that a record is made in, it’s the best it will ever sound. Because a lot of rooms I’ve worked in weren’t accurate at all. Everything is important: room and acoustics, the DAC, A/D converters, then you’ve got the speakers. And then the last thing, which is time, familiarity, learning the space. And I think a lot of records are made under circumstances that are already not good. So, when you put them under a microscope or something that really shows the record. Some records that I actually really loved. I listen to them in my room, and I wonder why did they do that? Why does it sound so poor. And more often than not, it’s because the engineers are working in rooms that aren’t accurate. It’s like having a fight in the dark. You might get lucky, but you might fall as well.

The mid90s for me was a pinnacle of sound. Just sound quality, not musicianship. The best studios existed. A lot of albums were made in one room. The whole album. They had the same engineers, learning the room day out and day in for the last twenty years. If you fast forward on a song today where the piano is a poorly captured sample, sourced from the internet which is an Mp3. And I am now getting the piece replayed because the Mp3 is unusable. I think once applications like yours and headphones and everything gets better we will go back to what’s important. And things get better, all those little differences are going to be the reason why companies much like songs will be forgotten. When it becomes as easy to have the better version, people want the better version.
For the last twenty years, we’ve been trying to hit a moving target. The target has moved all the time. And not all always improving as we learnt by Mp3 it wasn’t so that we could have better quality, it was so that the business people could evolve whatever they were doing. So, I feel that we have gone backwards to now eventually coming forward. We don’t make music for the record labels. We do it for us. We do have a music market driven by art, and those tend to be time after time the records that are remembered forever. And then we have the music industry led by the people making it as a business venture, those tend to be the records that sell and then disappear. With those projects they take up a lot of the time of the best mixers. Because they’re popular, they sell a lot, and then they’re gone. The mixers are kept busy having to do things quickly with people who are intent on selling their product. But they have a cool idea. They can’t necessarily sing or give a great performance, but we can that with tools and with tuning etc. As a result, lot of engineering becomes manufacturing a performance as opposed to capturing one. My happiest moments when I’m engineering are capturing a sound and then engineering it to be the best it can be. I am not going to paint a picture of you that is not you. It should sound like you, looking in the mirror.

“I think that’s how I would sum it up: your player is the first one I can trust.”

Do you have a preference for Analog or Digital audio?

I am not a fan of digital. Not because of the quality of sound today – because I actually think some digital processing can be incredible. Do I think it can compete with analog? Not in the right hands. But I think in many hands, I’d say yes, and actually surpass it, depending on who’s operating. I remember the beginnings of digital and thinking it sounded absolutely awful. And it did! I used to say because you have a scalpel, it doesn’t make you a surgeon. Because you have a tools of a doctor, it doesn’t make you a doctor, and I think that was probably an arrogant way to say it, but I guess what I meant by that is that music can become very fast food-like and has become very fast food-like in many genres, because with technology you can change things a million times. Analog wasn’t like that. You had to get it right. And you couldn’t say ‘we’ll fix that later’ which ties the hands of somebody who can sculpt sound. Because what you’re being sent is needing 90% of your time on fixing what should have been done in the beginning, you’re only left with 10% of your time to do what you are actually good at. So, I am for digital and analog, and I use both but predominantly I’m analog now.

Do you still enjoy listening music for fun or pleasure?

When I was a kid, I enjoyed music so much. In fact, it was one of my only enjoyments in life really. Going to university, I still enjoyed music, but you’re affected by what is popular. And I still was exploring but it was predominantly just one genre, just rap music. The last seven years there has been this period where I thought ‘I actually love jazz and I actually love rock, and I actually still love dance music’. So, my horizons broadened, and really because of that I started really enjoying music again. When you are in a studio every day for sixteen hours, constantly working on music, you don’t really have time to listen to new music, to find old music, to enjoy music.

When I first started to explore streaming services, I was like why is anyone going to listen to streaming? What will be the purpose? Because it’s heavily degraded. So, when Tidal came along, it was at the time I was working with Roc Nation. And suddenly, I thought ‘OK. I get where we are going now’. We can maybe have a quality that surpasses a CD. So, I stream music for three purposes: one to enjoy music, which is the most important one, and secondly to take inspiration from in terms of just a sound or a chord that I can hear, and I want to dissect it and wonder what it is. And with my network, I often contact the studio and say ‘hey, you’ve recorded this, could you put me in contact with the sound engineer who recorded it? I want to have a chat with them.’ And I’ll ask them. ‘The rhythm guitar, how was it recorded? Do you remember?’ He’ll bring the session notes and we’ll have a conversation. And I love that. Thirdly, in rap music, I like to sample drums. So, I’ll sample a single kick drum, a single snare. So, while listening to a song I’ll hear a hi hat exposed on its own that sounds marvellous form an old song.

Now having to do all that, flipping through records like we used to. The joy of going to a record shop, and fingering through the albums like we used to, you can never replace that, however I am having a lot of fun again discovering samples, and discovering things that I can use. So those are my uses really, and during lockdown, I think I tried everyone from Spotify to Qobuz etc. I never realized that there was also your type of service which brought everything together. I could have it in one place, like I’ve got now with Tidal and Qobuz.

How did you discover Audirvāna?

I went looking for something. I searched for multiple streaming services. I think I googled something like that. And in the forum, I saw comments and realized Audirvāna could do everything. I did try two. And everyone that I found online said that Audirvāna was the best one to get. I tried two and I felt – for whatever reason – Tidal sounded better through your application than it did on its own. There has been to many occasions now that I felt it sounds better! I like the fact that I can dig into the settings and see exactly what’s happening. Application aside, I am probably someone who wouldn’t care how it looked, what features it had. If it sounds the best, I’m using it! And I think on the same with my Lynx Hilo which is my main ADAC. The Hilo is now very old. But to me, it does nothing, which is what a DAC converter should do.

As an engineer a lot of that comes down to trust. Trust that the audio cable has been soldered correctly and is functioning correctly. The first things I do when I come to work is checking the cables, every day, even though they should be fine. I have a mini spirit level that I place on top of my speakers, and I’ll make sure they haven’t been knocked or moved so they are perfectly as they should be. And this is very important because these are the things that can take us time. I think that’s how I would sum it up: your player is the first one I can trust.

Do you talk to people about it?

The first thing I do when I get a song that has a sample, is load up Audirvāna, find the song, play the versions, and see if I am just going to resample it myself. If we inherit a sample we got from Youtube that is a mp3, and to have to have that in the song is a tragedy, unless you want to make it sound like it was from Youtube, if that’s the goal. Things are changing now, I found that even people that I’ve introduced to Audirvāna and to Qobuz, and especially people who sample records a lot, would say ‘man, I can’t find a good version of this’ and I’ll send them a link and they’ll download your software, and they’ll say. ‘Brilliant! Done.’ And I think it is important while that might not be a huge market in terms of people using an application like yours for enjoyment, they are actually using it to make records that will be enjoyed by your listeners.

What are your passions outside of music?

I used to study Kung Fu. I love the technical aspect of that. It’s very engineering-like really in pushing the boundaries of what is possible. And I love that. I think any fitness that I have is because of audio. I find it very hard to go from the finite detail of an emotional response to sound and then walk out this door and not apply it to my whole life. So yes, with fitness, I like to push myself. So, fitness has become a thing I do daily like brushing my teeth. Many years ago, I decided that I wanted to take better care of myself but also find something that I enjoy doing. And going to the gym helps me clear my head as well.

Michael Beinhorn

Manuel de la Fuente — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:27:40 +0000

North american record producer, composer and musician. Passionate about artist development, he has worked and produced albums for Herbie Hancock, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Aerosmith, Marilyn Manson, Hole, Ozzy Osbourne, Soul Asylum and many more.

Interview

Michael, how would you define your profession? What is your personal approach to it?

I disabused myself of the idea that I was actually a musician a long time ago. I am definitely more in the production end of things.

There are many aspects to how I work with people. A lot of it is intuitive, trying to figure out what they need. I also think, and not everyone feels the same way as me, my approach is unique in the sense that there has got to be some kind of evolution or growth through an artist. So part of my pursuit, is trying to help an artist grow inside the process. And in order to do that, I am trying to help the artist develop musically, and also trying to find themselves expressively and trying to capture an audio signature – for the lack of a better word – or something that will make the particular project that we’re making reflect that growth, and in some way, stand out against the crowd of other artist who might be doing something similar.

So it’s an approach on multiple level. I’m finding in many cases that people consider artists nowadays to be content creators, that is that they just sort of spew out whatever it is that they are doing. But there isn’t really any focus on growth or development. In the past, artist have gone through different periods of personal expression, life experience comes at them and alters how they express themselves, what there doing, age affects them so they start doing things differently. Every artist has potential to develop and grow. A musical artist perfect example of this is David Bowie who went through so many different periods, so many different masks that he would sort of put on and took off and progressed. Nowadays this kind of growth is not encouraged. In fact I would go so far as to say that it is discouraged. The music industry doesn’t really have a whole lot of time for artist developing. And one reason for that is that if they develop into something that’s not pleasing to their audience the way they might be in the present, there’s a good chance they’ll stop selling records, if they’re popular. They stop selling record, they don’t become viable or useful to their record company anymore. So it benefits, at least in the mind of the people in the record companies, to keep artist in a sort of stasis once they’ve reach a certain level, and that becomes like a plateau which in many respects is almost like a death sentence.

I feel in a way my work is to help artist become who they need to be from moment to moment whatever this is, you know, organic growth. And it’s a lot of observation, a lot of listening. I have to listen to their music a lot to be able to, it’s almost like method acting or like getting into a character or something like that. I wouldn’t say that I try to push anybody in any directions. It’s more like motivation and encouragement. If I show an artist something and give them an idea, I don’t say specifically ‘use this idea because it came from me and my idea is going to be the best’. It’s more like ‘I am presenting this to you because this is where I feel this particular piece of music is weak. Now here’s one possible solution and I’m going to trust though that you may have a better one’, and so often this is the case. So my role is to explain to the artist what’s not working and why, and giving them one example of what one could do, and leaving that with them.

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

It’s interesting. You need context to understand that something can be better, like with all things, like listening to music through Audirvāna for example. Once you’ve heard or experienced something in a certain way, that is a drastic improvement over what you know, it is very hard to un-experience it, it’s very hard to unhear it. So my experience was when I heard something that was better, then the sources that I’ve been using previously, I would gravitate towards that. Ok, how can I get that ? And a lot of the thinking that went into that was ‘If we do this ? Why can’t we do that?’. I developed for example a 2 inch 8 tracks system for analog recording, which I was surprised that no one else had done before. Just using more track width, you could record and playback in a much different way and it would change the sonic quality while you’re recording and playing back completely. I think that is something that you have to show people. So if you can present something to someone and demonstrate to them how it works, what it does, how it pertains to what their music is, how it pertains to what their recording process is going to be like, generally speaking, my experience has been there not going to say no.

“Once you’ve heard or experienced something in a certain way, that is a drastic improvement over what you know, it is very hard to un-experience it, it’s very hard to unhear it.”

Do you still enjoy listening music for fun or pleasure?

I don’t see why not. When I listen to a piece of music that I’m working on and a piece of music that I’m listening to for pleasure, I am kind of looking for the same thing. It’s usually harder to find in a piece of music that I’m listening to for work. So my job is ‘How do I get that element into it ? What I am going to add to bring that to the table ?’. But there is a certain emotional quality that I am looking for, something really compelling, something that stops me, something that I feel inside my body that is visceral. And I don’t see any difference or variance. Obviously you can listen to stuff from a structural stand point as well, and we frequently do that. And I can get very analytical about a piece of music. But I find I have to turn that on. It’s not going to come automatically anymore, which I am happy about to tell you the truth. Because, I wouldn’t want to listen to everything just analytically. Once in a while it does, but I just ignore it!

How long have you been using Audirvāna? What did you think when you discovered it?

Three years, I think. I was just in pursuit of the cleanest possible way to listen to digital recordings an files. I found a lot of playback systems that I thought were really good, but I felt like there was always some kind of minor distortion here and there that caused it to not be as distinct, and got in the way of the playback of what I was listening to. I think I dug really, and try to discover through the internet what might be the best solution for me and that’s how I came upon Audirvāna. When I am listening to music in Audirvāna, I am not hearing any unpleasant resonances – or like peaks – frequencies that accumulate and jump out at me. Certainly it is the most transparent representation I’ve heard on my system yet. So that’s why I’ve have come to rely upon it.

I stuck with Audirvāna 3.5 for as long as I could because I didn’t feel like paying for an upgrade. I was like ‘this is great’! And after a few years, I thought ‘well, sounds like they’ve upgraded quite a bit, made some changes, I have to check it out’. And I listened to Audirvāna Studio, and … ah… You can’t unhear, you can’t un-experience it. You’ve got to roll with it. What can I say? I have to do it! It’s the kind of thing where I feel that if someone does a really good job and they’ve created a product that’s worth the money then it’s my responsibility to support them in what they’re doing. I mean this is obviously a specialty product so I am OK paying the money anyhow.

Do you talk to people about it?

Honestly, only in passing. And the reason for that is most people don’t listen to music the same way that I do. Most of the people that I know they are – in max – generally working with a DAW (a Digital Audio Workstation) and all their music is in Apple music, you know iTunes. And it doesn’t make any sense to them to have a separate music player, everything is like so directly accessible. People tend to just gravitate toward whatever is most convenient because they don’t really think about what the computer is actually doing. They don’t think about how this app might actually sound better than that app, because they think ‘it’s all ones and zeros’ which of course we know is complete non sense.

What are your passions outside of music?

Well, I’ve got a 5 year old son! My family are amazing. I love the Arts, I love painting , I love visual Art. It’s an amazing world, there is lots to see and lots to do, and I don’t think you can run out of fun things. Travelling is great too.

Glenn A Tabor

Manuel de la Fuente — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 08:19:14 +0000

Glenn A Tabor III, Multiple Grammy winning producer and engineer, and owner since 1996 of Gat3 – a multi-room recording facility, video production company, and recording school based in Charlotte in North Carolina. Glenn has worked with thousands of artists, spanning nearly every genre, including funk, jazz, rock, hip-hop, and R&B.

Interview

Glenn, how would you define your profession?

My name is Glenn A Tabor III and I am the owner of Gat3 Productions in Charlotte, NC. We are a multimedia facility, housing five recording studios, a Dolby Atmos suite, video editing and sound stages, as well as a recording school for aspiring engineers and artists. I am also a recording and mastering engineer as well as a producer.

Producing and recording music is quite an incredible career. It is truly something you spend a lifetime refining and crafting. Working with artists and musicians is always interesting. You become the psychologist – it really requires that to extract the most amazing performances. After all, that is what we all want. Great performances help make great sonics as well. I began defining that as taking an artist through their “arc”. Everyone’s arc is different and unique, but there are patterns. I recorded and mixed James Brown’s (The Godfather of Soul) last album and his arc was one take! He had the ability to immediately know what he wanted and deliver it, whereas a new artist who hasn’t had much studio experience may take days or weeks to get through that same arc.

Every recording session also has its own atmosphere and vibe. You must quickly realize the pace and feel of the artist and musicians. If they’ve recorded before, I study their body of work. Great communication and intuition are vital. By listening to thousands of great records you basically a mass a catalog in your brain of great sound to pull from. This is why I want a great playback system to listen accurately.

How critical is audio playback quality in the studios?

Obviously in the recording studios we have an amazing amount of equipment which can essentially be divided into two categories: a recording path and a playback path. Both of these paths are necessary to make great recordings. I place extreme significance on every detail of the playback chain. Extreme conversion quality, cabling, power delivery, amplification, speakers, headphones, etc are all vital and work together in a symbiotic way. Hearing what we are doing in the recording chain with the microphones and processors is critical. One often overlooked component in the studio world is the playback software. Many simply reference audio with the built in music players. I wanted software that was precise, accurate and simple to use for our engineers, producers and students to analyze audio recordings.

I personally auditioned all of the quality music players made and Audirvāna stood out as sounding the best as well as being simplistic and visually stunning.

I personally auditioned all of the quality music players made

and Audirvāna stood out as sounding the best

as well as being simplistic and visually stunning.

Do you still enjoy listening to music at home?

I ALWAYS enjoy listening to music! It feeds the soul. Leaving the studio, I’ll jam tunes in the car and also at home. I have an audiophile system at home for referencing mixes and masters that includes a lot of great things, like Krell, Chord, B&W, Audeze headphones, and of course Audirvāna.

How long have you been using Audirvāna? What did you think when you discovered it?

I have been using Audirvāna for almost a year now. I am so impressed that we are implementing it in all of our student workstations and recording studios. It is perfect for listening to mixes and masters in pristine quality. It is also great for comparing your work to other masters in various genres.

Do you talk to people about it?

I always share anything that sounds great with others. The joy of high quality music playback is an amazing experience and when others hear it, they are amazed!

What are your passions outside of music?

Music is my livelihood and my passion so it naturally consumes most of my life. However, I do enjoy high performance cars and an occasional day driving on a race track – of course while listening to some great music!

John Dunkerley

Manuel de la Fuente — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 14:00:08 +0000

Senior balance engineer at the Decca Record Co. Ltd. where he started in 1968. He has worked with the majority of the other major labels, especially EMI Classics and is credited on more than 1000 records. He teaches at the Abbey Road Institute and the University of Surrey Tonmeister Course.

Interview

John how would you define your profession?

My profession is to reproduce music in the best way possible. That is what I was taught when I started in this business at DECCA in the late 1960s. If you want the best possible outcome, you have to be aware of every part of the process. Half of this is making the musicians trust you and be comfortable, the rest is up to you and the equipment you have at your disposal, and obviously the choice of location. I used to do most of my post-production masters myself. I went through the complete process from the set up of the recording session all to way through to the final product. In that respect I am quite unusual. I have worked unsocial hours since I was 18, and I don’t miss that. But next week at Abbey Road in Studio 2, I will be there at 7:30 in the morning, to prep for the 10 o’clock session start. At my age I shouldn’t be doing this, but I still want to make sure the preparation is there, so that when the artists come in, they know that we are completely ready.

It’s interesting that many artists can smell when something is not fully prepared. They can by nature be insecure as they are putting their all into the public domain. Therefore you have to make them feel even more cared for. The best description of the recording engineer’s job is summed up as a musical midwife. We help with the birth, but we don’t take the secrets out the birthing room. The creative act is something that is between the artist and those helping to create. I don’t have a genre I particularly love more than anything else. As long as it’s good music making that is the most important part to me.

When you talk about sound transparency, you can easily lose your audience,

until you demonstrate what that transparency should sound like.

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

I have consulted for B&W loudspeakers since 1979 when the original 801 was introduced. I now have the latest 801D4s, at home, which I took delivery of last month, powered by Meridian mono-block amplifiers, a very transparent listening setup.

We already have educated one generation of younger listeners to think MPEG-3 etc. is good. Part of my job is to show them how properly uncompressed high quality sound transmission can sound like. It is very easy to be lured into a sense of comfortable audio security, listening to compressed processed music, particularly on some of the streaming channels. Thus you forget how real and visceral, uncompressed music can be. When you talk about sound transparency, you can easily lose your audience, until you demonstrate what that transparency should sound like.

How long have you been using Audirvāna? What did you think when you discovered it?

I first started to use Audirvāna in 2013, I believe that this was the first iteration. I looked at many other systems at that time, and subsequently since. I find with Audirvāna, that you are both accurate and transparent, but you do not have an obvious audible palette. In other words you don’t show yourself to be ‘this is my particular colour of audio quality’. All the subsequent updates have improved on this incredibly important quality.

How do you rate listening from your computer with Audirvāna compared with other equipment?

At home, mostly I would use a very good CD player. But obviously for my work for the Abbey Road Institute and the University of Surrey, it is much easier to take accurate rips of CDs onto a separate drive and then play them through Audirvāna. It saves me taking bucket loads of CD around.

Do you talk to people about it?

I tell my students what I am actually playing from and it is up to them to make a judgement. Because they have to learn how to make these value judgements, as we have all learnt. The most difficult thing to teach, to any student of whatever age, is the ability to listen critically. To be able to separate out the strands of sound into what is good, what is not, and why. It is basically the confidence to believe in your own judgement. When you think about it, it is exactly the same as being a good recording engineer: you have to be able to trust your judgement and transfer that, to the artist.

What are your passions outside of music?

I don’t have time! And I am sure Damien would say exactly the same. It has often described; if one talks about my career, that I have given my life to music, as so many people do.

Isao Kumano

Hubert — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 14:02:04 +0000

Interview

The software I usually use for mastering has a feature that allows me to bypass the master section, which I like because it has the least sound quality degradation.

Based on my experience with various software, I tried this application without much expectations.

The setup was a Lynx sound card, ASIO, word clock (rubidium) 44.1 kHz, headphone amplifier (PHONON fully discrete prototype), and SMB-01L. I was amazed when I listened to the reference source. The sound stage is wider, and the realism and nuance of each instrument is better understood.

“I would like to see a mastering software that includes this audio engine.”

I listened to a variety of sound sources for verification, but the impression was the same. The observation based on my experience, this improvement in sound quality is not due to equalization or DSP effects, but low degradation in the signal path, I am very pleased with this wonderful and desirable direction.

It is also worth mentioning that the sound quality of mp3 playback is very good even at 192kbps.

Other functionality such as the ability to adjust the volume for DSD playing back is useful. In addtion, the ability to use VST plug-ins is also good and being able to connect to streaming services enhance the listening epxerience too. I hope that TIDAL will become available in Japan.

This application is reasonablely priced and I would recommend it to the readers.

Stephan Mathieu

Hubert — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 14:33:37 +0000

Stephan has released over 60 records of his music on international labels and performed at Sónar, ATP x Primavera Sound,CTM Berlin, Mutek Montreal, MITO Settembre Musica among others, he has teached at the CERM in Metz, Sound and Digital Concepts at the University of Art and Design HBK Saar. He is a member of the German Tonmeister Association and owner of the
Schwebung Mastering studio.

Interview

STEPHAN, how would you define your profession?

I’m a mastering engineer running my own studio in Bonn, Germany, I collaborate with artists and labels from around the world. I’m working mainly on contemporary music – acoustic and/or electronic – spanning a rather wide range of genres and styles and also do restoration work of historical recordings which are either transferred from the original reels, from vinyl, cassette or 78s and wax-cylinders. I love the diversity of the material I’m dealing with since it also reflects my own interest in a very broad field of music. There are pearls in every genre across all eras.

I have a background as a percussionist in contemporary and improv music and later worked in electroacoustics and sound installation, since the end of the 90s about 60 albums of my own music have been released. I have taught Digital Art and Concepts in various institutions and believe that through teaching you can learn a lot.

What role does listening to music play in your life?

I’m listening to recorded sound pretty much all day, my work requires a deep focus on details. Mastering is the final instance before a production will be handed over for digital distribution, the cutting studio if an album will see a vinyl release, or to a CD pressing plant. A mastering engineer creates the masters which listeners will hear. My job is to make the final mixes sound well balanced so they will translate perfectly across streaming platforms and codecs, physical media and speakers or headphones of all kinds. Some productions will only need a gentle touch to lift them up to reach the final 5% while others may see rather drastic changes or a much more creative approach to make the music sound great. Mastering ensures that an album or compilation flows well, by taking care of the track-to-track volume relations and general pacing I will ensure the unique cohesiveness a specific work requires. The main goal is that the artist can release their work with a great level of confidence.

“The sound quality is outstanding and I like how the internal audio engine of the computer gets bypassed. The options for fine-tuning the filter steepness/length, anti-aliasing and phase response are brilliant.”

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

My job is all about sound quality, I can help making the final release sounds as close as possible to what the artist has envisioned. To achieve this, a specialized room and monitoring rig is crucial. Apart from the technical, listening and communication skills necessary, a personalized selection of specialized tools helps me to get results more quickly. My studio is very much my instrument, integrity of the signal path plays an important role so I can make the adjustments needed to release a convincing sound.

How long have you been using AudirvĀna? What did you think when you discovered it?

I’ve been using Audirvāna since late 2012, first during a trial period where I had also checked Amarra and JRiver but settled for Audirvāna and never looked back. The sound quality is outstanding and I like how the internal audio engine of the computer gets bypassed. The options for fine-tuning the filter steepness/length, anti-aliasing and phase response are brilliant, too.

How do you rate listening from your computer with AudirvĀna compared with other equipment?

My main source for audio playback is a computer. During the last 10 years, digital became my favorite format, at least when it comes to sound quality. With Audirvāna, I feel that a production where I was involved in, sounds exactly as from my work station, something I would hope for from an excellent player. The integrity of a recording is important to me, so I want the best possible source material and as little as possible added tone or character – as you will get from vinyl, CD players or any kind of equipment. I still enjoy playing 7″ records from my collection whenever we have friends visiting, though, and I love listening to 78s on a mechanical-acoustic gramophone.

Do you talk to people about it?

Absolutely, whenever somebody is interested in a ‘better’ player than iTunes I will recommend Audirvāna. I’m doing this often, I love the app.

What are your passions outside of music?

I like cycling, being with my family and friends, and I love to cook.

Alain Lompech

Hubert — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 14:27:33 +0000

Great music connoisseur, he writes for the magazine Classica and the Bachtrack website. He has previously worked for Diapason magazine, Le Monde newspaper, Radio France and France Musique. He is the author of “Les Grands Pianistes du XXe siècle” published in 2012.

Interview

Alain, how would you define your profession?

As a music critic on Bachtrack, I am a member of the audience who reports on the concerts he attends. It’s a singular exercise in which one must not leave this place, that of a listener who shares his impressions. As a record reviewer in Classica, the exercise is different because we are talking about music that goes through the recording process, which we can and must listen to and listen to again before writing. As a reviewer, I tell stories.

What role does listening to music play in your life?

It has been at the heart of my profession for more than forty years and has been a pillar of my personal life since childhood. I couldn’t live without music: it’s always running through my head.

“The playback quality on the computer is equal to or even better than of a CD transport.”

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

Very big. Quality sound, delivered by good equipment, correctly installed in a room with passively worked acoustics and electronically corrected is a sine qua non condition. I could do without a nice car, not an excellent hi-fi system.

How long have you been using AudirvĀna? What did you think when you discovered it?

I have been using this player and library manager for two years now. I found it to be visually elegant, simple to use and even easy to handle. The possibility it gives to adjust its audio outputs to get the best possible quality immediately convinced me. One can hear the slightest sound recording detail, such as sparrows chirping in the distance in a harpsichord record, a cracking chair, a door closing at the far end of the room where a piano recital is being recorded… You can even perceive the changes in sound recording within the same disc. But these details that bring so much life to musical listening – by opening a large window onto the concert hall – are perfectly integrated into the music, which unfolds without any marked constraints or colouring.

How do you rate listening from your computer with AudirvĀna compared with other equipment?

I’m an old computer user to listen to music. I have used several software programs for nearly twenty years, notably Itunes, whose ergonomics are irreproachable for my professional activity, but whose flaw is that it does not allow me to control the sound outputs, without going through complex and tedious tricks. I have a very high-end CD-SACD player that gets dusty. The playback quality on the computer is equal to or even better than that of a CD transport for a much lower price! With the price of my Sony drive, I can buy four powerful computers, backup HDDs and four Audirvāna licences .

Do you talk to people about it?

I talk about it in my record reviews, in my double-page monthly column published by Classica and of course around me. I have converted to dematerialised music – CD rip and streaming – a few of my colleagues and colleagues! They thank me for it and keep the little instructions I wrote for them!

What are your passions outside of music?

Brazil, my second country, its people, its landscapes, its culture, its music, its food and the caipirinha. My family and friends. Gardening, botany, ornithology, science, high-fidelity, reading, chatting all night long around a good table.

Cyril Borri

Hubert — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 14:23:28 +0000

Cyril has participated and managed hundreds of shows and concerts for festivals such as Mawazine or the Nice jazz Festival, as well as for philharmonic orchestras, musicals such as Starmania and Notre Dame de Paris, and for renowned artists such as Jean-michel Jarre, Indochine, Michel Sardou, Florent Pagny, France Gall, Véronique Sanson and Christophe. He is a trainer at UBITECH and ARCALYA.

Interview

Cyril, how would you define your profession?

I am a sound engineer for Live, tours and events. I’ve been doing this job for 30 years and I can intervene today at all levels, whether it’s the design and overall management of the sound system for a show or the front-of-house mixing for a concert. My job is to be at the service of people, both spectators and those who want to get their message across. I have to make sure that this message is conveyed as widely and as faithfully as possible. As a teenager, I was fascinated by a Gloria Estefan concert in Puerto Rico that was broadcast on television just before a report on that country. Suddenly, the striking contrast between the joy that emanated from this incredible show and the terrible living conditions of this country made me understand the power of the show and made me want to participate in this magic. If we can be used for that, that’s already quite a lot. I find myself always moved by spotting people in the audience who seem to forget everything and have a good time.

What role does listening to music play in your life?

Not really the one I would like it to play. It’s the story of the shoemaker’s son always going barefoot. As I move around a lot, I only invested in a real listening system for the house quite recently! Otherwise I listen through headphones, but it’s true that as a live sound professional, I work in an environment where sound is omnipresent and I also need to rest my ears. In short, I listen to less music than I would ideally like.

“I heard a real difference with a more qualitative feeling. I shared my discovery with Bertrand who also confirmed my impressions. I have remained faithful to Audirvāna ever since.”

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

Sound is my job. I have learnt to listen, to pay attention to what is wrong, to make sure that each element of the chain is carefully chosen and implemented. But here too, the world of live show requires a lot of concessions. It is above all a show in which sound is only one component, certainly an important one, but not always a priority even in a concert. We have to make do with the lights and more and more today with video. As a result, the placement of the speakers in particular is not always optimal, as well as the mixing position in front of the stage, which is crucial to adjust the sound in real time during the show according to the events, the audience, etc., and which sometimes ends up in the wrong place, such as under the balcony in some halls. We compensate, but it is sometimes frustrating. Luckily today technology offers us fabulous tools. In fact, I am part of a generation that has experienced over the last 30 years the digital revolution that has brought products that do pretty amazing things with what you give them. All the equipment we use has made huge strides.

How long have you been using AudirvĀna? What did you think when you discovered it?

The starting point was my growing frustration with the use of iTunes. I started looking for online solutions and spotted Audirvāna without buying it right away. It must be said that in general I am very attentive to the phenomenon of psycho-acoustics and how the context can lead you to believe that you are hearing something. Shortly afterwards, my friend Bertrand Chatenet, who is a great sound professional, pointed out to me that the audio algorithms of the preview and iTunes are different on the mac, the former sounding significantly better. As a result, I tried and bought Audirvāna convinced of the influence of the computer’s internal processing. I heard a real difference with a more qualitative feeling. I shared my discovery with Bertrand who also confirmed my impressions. I have remained faithful to Audirvāna ever since.

How do you rate listening from your computer with AudirvĀna compared with other equipment?

Today, the computer plays a central role in broadcasting. It has become the key and essential tool in my profession. You only listen through it, there is no longer really a dedicated source. I can’t always use Audirvāna for live broadcasting because I need to adapt to events with a great deal of reactivity, with transition functions for example which force me to use Qlab, Abbleton live or this type of software.

Do you talk to people about it?

Yes. Not every day of course. But as soon as someone asks me what I use or an alternative to iTunes in particular, I recommend it.

What are your passions outside of music?

I try to take the time to live, to share as many things as possible with my son. Living by the water, I practice various water activities.

Issey Kakuuchi

Hubert — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 14:12:00 +0000

His track “Medicina” was included in the Buddha bar 2019 compilation and is presently involved in the Stone Age project. Sound engineer for a Tokyo club. Editor of the Studio Okina blog for DJs and producers.

Interview

Issey, How would you define your profession?

I am in the sound and mastering business in general. Recently with the Stone Age project I’ve been focusing more on events and releasing music.

What role does listening to music play in your life?

Since my job is to “deliver good sound,” thus good listening experience is a reflection of my work. So I’m always striving for “good sound”, “good music” and “good music experience”.

“I’ve been using Audirvāna for about two years. Before that I was using another pay-per-player, but immediately I was surprised by the difference in resolution.”

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

It’s very important to me that I listen to music with good sound quality. The better the sound quality, the more clues I have about what elements are in the song and how the mixing/mastering process is done, for example when analyzing a song that I like. Also, I simply get extremely excited when I hear a song I love with good sound.

How long have you been using AudirvĀna? What did you think when you discovered it?

I’ve been using Audirvāna for about two years. Before that I was using another pay-per-player, but immediately I was surprised by the difference in resolution. I can now hear sounds that I obviously hadn’t before, and it’s been very useful in music production and work at the music scene. Listening to music has become more fun than ever before!

How do you rate listening from your computer with AudirvĀna compared with other equipment?

I don’t know much about the world of pure audio because I usually listen to music using my computer. Of course, I know that using a million dollar CD player can produce ridiculously good sound, but even with a “PC + Audirvāna” you can have a fairly high quality music experience. There’s no end to the amount of attention that can be paid to dedicated audio equipment, and I’m someone who would rather spend money on synthesizers and mixing equipment than audio equipment, so if you’re looking for good sound quality on a limited budget, I think Audirvāna is a great choice.

Do you talk to people about it?

I recommend Audirvāna to anyone who is obsessed with sound. If you want to change speakers and audio interfaces, you’ll spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, but if you quit iTunes and switch to Audirvāna, it’s easy to improve the sound. I’ve tried various audio players for my computer, but Audirvāna is my favorite.

What are your passions outside of music?

I’m interested in reading, health care and alcoholic drinks tasting. How can I make better music or get more ideas? I’m always thinking about ways to maximize human potential through reading and taking care of my health with nutritional supplements, meditation, sauna, running, etc..

But I also love beer and sake, and I’m always on the lookout for a good one to drink at various places. It makes me feel good about listening to music and having fun if I drink in moderation.

Davide Ruffini

Hubert — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 14:03:43 +0000

Davide has helped create over 100 records including Alessia Labate, Amistat, Tamta, Ronnie Flex, Supa Dupa , ATN SOUL & NOAMLE, Elle Hollis.

Interview

Davide, how would you define your profession?

I am a recording, mixing and mastering engineer. I see my role very close to what a producer does but focused on the sound itself. This job has become challenging today, almost controversial. The new generation of artists creates amazing music by themselves, at a very fast pace, but has lost interest and culture regarding sound quality. In my experience, they very rarely know how to make what they do sound good. I still believe that, knowing your tools and their full potential is the right way to go, but you also have to understand and support artists and achieve their sound vision. Fortunately, the equipment and tools we use have become more and more reliable, so less time is spent fixing stuff and getting things to work, and more on the creation and shaping of sound.

What role does listening to music play in your life?

Listening to music is an essential part of my job obviously, even to the point where it becomes hard to still enjoy casual listening. I don’t have a lot of time to do that, but when I do, I like to listen to music using my phone and earbuds because it gives me a real life feel of how it is consumed out there by ‘’normal’’ people. Perspective is really important to me. I listen to all of my work that way too, trying to find aspects that I can improve on. I am still curious about new sounds and styles, which I bring inside the studio when I get to work. My playlists feature mostly Jazz or Rock music from Rohey, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kaiyote, James Blake or Hans Zimmer.

“I immediately loved it. It sounded so good, even Tidal sounded better using Audirvāna.”

How much attention do you pay to sound quality?

Sound quality is paramount to me. Even if I know that the majority of people will listen to my work on small and poor sounding systems, I have to be able to listen very accurately to what I do here in the studio also to understand what the requirements of my clients are. Given the incredible quantity and variety of tools we have available nowadays, I believe it is important to select only the ones that do preserve and maximize sound quality.
I am not an audio snob at all, but I have very specific requirements when doing critical audio processing. Therefore, I pay a lot of attention to every aspect of the audio chain: from conversion, to cables, to accurate monitoring and playback software of course.

How long have you been using AudirvĀna? What did you think when you discovered it?

It used to really annoy me, to never get the same sound after bouncing something off Pro Tools. The export would just not have the same audio quality that I would monitor while working in the DAW, probably because of various dithering and quantization artefacts introduced during playback. There is a darker feeling to it, some jittering issues and a poor rendering of transients. I have tried everything to solve this issue, ranging from the stock OSX space-bar player, to other dedicated apps like Amarra. A bout five months ago, I was browsing online trying to find a solution when I discovered Audirvāna. I immediately loved it. It sounded so good, even Tidal sounded better using Audirvāna. It’s a great tool for music playback because it really is truthful to what I hear when I mix or master and feels like nothing is compromised. I am really satisfied with its flexibility and specific features, Audirvāna perfectly integrates into my workflow. For example: the one click stop function releases the DAC and allows Pro Tools to take over; or the sample rate limiter, which is very useful when comparing a reference track while monitoring it at the same resolution of the current project.

Do you talk to people about it?

I do. I like to do that and talk about things I value. So, I recommend it to everybody. At least, to the ones around me that are interested and concerned about this topic.

What are your passions outside of music?

I am also a photographer. When I work, I use my ears to express creativity, but I also love to express it using my eyes when taking pictures. It makes me feel good.