Surround Me with Sound

In the world of sound amplification  there are two separate universes.  The first is domestic hi-fi and the other is PA - public address.

In the domestic environment the nature and quality of the acoustic experience has really come on.  Quality and affordable domestic Hi-Fi is now well established, certainly beyond the very entry level kit.  The development of home theatre and surround sound has added a new dimension too.   Also this quality has been applied to the in-car sound systems ,especially given the very predictable acoustic environment.  Add to that developments like DAB radio, and what people hear at home and in the car, whether consciously or not, can be really good quality.  That represents a real challenge for PA which is more challenging, but where expectations can be set really high.

Amplifying music well at the higher volumes of PA is technically more difficult to get right.  It tends to be about getting the sound to travel well over distances, and so create a full wrap around, especially in the lower bass end of the sound.  This is especially so for larger venues and volumes.  Also, the acoustic properties of the space start to have a relatively stronger influence on the quality and projection of the sound.  The laws of physics are such that bigger speaker cones deliver and project a fuller, deeper and lower bass, and that's where the smaller speakers will always suffer, especially those little satellite speakers dotted around a venue.  That said high spec small speakers, 10", even 8" can be excellent  when combined with a dedicated but bigger bass speaker, which tends to b our approach.  So for lots of technical reasons amplified music can be missing that quality edge, unless the effort is invested to overcome those challenges.

Interestingly in lots of pubs, clubs and restaurant, the sound is often amplified in mono, rather than stereo.  This is to reflect the fact that speaker location can be less than optimal, and hence difficult to hear a stereo effect.  Much better to hear a combined and full sound in mono rather than just one half of a signal.  So the challenge for public address is to continually strive to create that domestic finesse and in larger spaces at higher volumes.

A Sound Quote

We really believe in the magic of music, and regularly see that magic engage people individually and connect people together.

Expressing that is words can be a bit of a challenge for most of us.   For great philosophers and musicians  this can come quite naturally.  So here are some of those insights that we've come across...

• I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by.  No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.  Billy Joel

• After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.  Aldus Huxley

• If music be the food of love, play on.  William Shakespeare

• Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.  Frank Zappa

• Music is the shorthand of emotion.  Leo Tolstoy

• Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.  Ludwig van Beethoven

• Music is well said to be the speech of angels.  Thomas Carlyle

• Music has charms to sooth a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.  William Congreve

• Music is very spiritual, it has the power to bring people together. Edgar Winter

• Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.  Herbie Hancock

• Music is intended and designed for sentient beings that have hopes and purposes and emotions. Jacques Barzun

• Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato

• Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. Victor Hugo

• Music is my religion.  Jimi Hendrix

• Music is the soul of language.  Max Heindel

• There's nothing like music to relieve the soul and uplift it. Mickey Hart

• Who hears music feels his solitude peopled at once. Robert Browning

Why Blog

From time to time we think something, hear something, see something, that's really relevant and interesting. So from 2012 we've been writing those things down as short articles, and sharing them through our blog on a regular basis. So there's a real mix of quite important perspectives  balanced with some interesting reference items plus some more fun thoughts too.

We've found that a number of benefits have come from doing this, and we feel they're worth sharing too.

1.  Actually writing things down helps us to structure and refine our thinking from which we can reflect, learn, and so continually improve.  There's always something that can be done better, however small. It gives us a neat way of preserving and referencing too.

2. We can easily share thoughts and perspectives with fellow professionals, interested in the same things as us. In fact, these articles have often resulted from, or lead to, some really interesting professional conversations.

3. We like openness and transparency and from these articles, our clients can get a real sense of what we're about, wider and deeper that the usual headlines.

We like the idea of that our articles and their content can be applied and developed.  So to help make a wider and positive difference, were making our articles available under a Creative Commons Licence.  This is a way to maximise creativity and innovation, while also respecting and crediting the original work and effort.

Hope you find our observations and reflection are informative and enjoyable.

Hello and Welcome

Hello and a very warm welcome.

We are Paul James Disco, and this is our blog.  Here you'll find our observations, reflections and musings on things we find informative, stimulating and interesting.  We hope you find them useful too.

From time to time we think something, hear something, see something, that's really relevant and interesting. So from 2012 we've been writing those things down as short articles, and sharing them through our blog on a regular basis. So there's a real mix of quite important perspectives  balanced with some interesting reference items plus some more fun thoughts too.

We've found that a number of benefits have come from doing this, and we feel they're worth sharing too.

1.  Actually writing things down helps us to structure and refine our thinking from which we can reflect, learn, and so continually improve.  There's always something that can be done better, however small. It gives us a neat way of preserving and referencing too.

2. We can easily share thoughts and perspectives with fellow professionals, interested in the same things as us. In fact, these articles have often resulted from, or lead to, some really interesting professional conversations.

3. We like openness and transparency and from these articles, our clients can get a real sense of what we're about, wider and deeper that the usual headlines.

We like the idea of that our articles and their content can be applied and developed.  So to help make a wider and positive difference, were making our articles available under a Creative Commons Licence.  This is a way to maximise creativity and innovation, while also respecting and crediting the original work and effort.

Hope you find our observations and reflections are informative and enjoyable.

Best

Paul