Airy Sound and Projection

[CosmicDolphin]

I am interested. Can anybody else not hear my vocals at low volume.

 

It depends which speakers I use..mine are all connected to a switchbox / master volume controller..there are 100 steps in the volume control..basically once you to 8 you can't hear anything if everything else is set to unity gain.

 

So it was easiest to hear on the big Adam speakers..on the Avantone I couldn't hear you on the word "leaving " but I could on the rest..same on my boombox which I use as a reference for mixing.

 

[davie]

I am interested. Can anybody else not hear my vocals at low volume?

 

This could explain a lot of the difference of opinion.

 

I've just tried turning down two volume controls in series, and I still hear my vocals. We are talking ridiculously low volume at this point.

 

I think it really depends on what the listener is using to listen with, playback can vary. For example, probably clear as day on a set of bulky closed-back headphones, or almost inaudible on smartphone speakers. I was listening on desktop speakers with 3-inch woofers at the time.

 

Another thing you need to take into account, this is far from a controlled test. You may have listener's bias because your ears and mind already know what to expect and what to listen for, since you created this experiment. A random person without prior knowledge of the details may perceive things differently.

[kickingtone]

All true, Davie, but I think that the psychological side also extends to what genre/kind of music you prefer.

 

(I would imagine that Felipe's system can carry base tones.)

[kickingtone]

The reason the lower tones are coming through is because of the way creak/edge is used in accessing lower notes. So the "boom" of the original vocals occupy that space. If your listening equipment can't output reasonable base, then maybe it would be difficult to hear, or it'll get converted to creak and disappear.

 

btw, I can also hear my vocals clearly in a higher range, too. I am not just hearing a boomy shadow. I hear the full thing, even though CD's attempt is more forward.

[FelipeCarvalho]

The issue with the said test is that you can not compare something like projection without controlled conditions during the capture. The sensibility of the system must be the same.

 

Listening then would need to be double blinded, making sure that no gain differences happen from the capture to the listening. Total gain would therefore need to be set depending on the highest SPL level produced and most importantly no level matching on the playback.

 

The loudest sounding one is more projected. Simple as that. When that contradicts the absolute SPL level, you have a significant result, the rest is irrelevant (follow expectations).

 

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[kickingtone]

The issue with the said test is that you can not compare something like projection without controlled conditions during the capture. The sensibility of the system must be the same.​​​​

 

You are still trying to compare the wrong things. You are comparing my deliberately lighter tones with CD's best effort to drown them out, to no avail.

 

What you should be comparing is my original vocals with the same thing in the mix. Me, I can hear them equally well.

 

Also, it is only about loudness if the vocals are competing at the same frequencies. The bandwidth created by edge is not cadence carrying. That is why all my lighter tones are still tracking through.

 

You could get a classical singer singing much quieter than CD and able to drown out my tones completely. It's to do with bandwidth.

 

[kickingtone]

 

I think it really depends on what the listener is using to listen with, playback can vary. For example, probably clear as day on a set of bulky closed-back headphones, or almost inaudible on smartphone speakers. I was listening on desktop speakers with 3-inch woofers at the time..

 

**light-bulb moment**

 

Should have thought of this before. I've just found a £1 set of in-ear headphones, turned the volume down, and listened with the phones NOT in-ear, but in front of me. I can still hear my vocals. Try it! Volume was down through 2 volume controls in series.

 

Frankly, I don't believe Felipe's excuse: "of course, I was listening for presence, so I turned it down and heard what would come forward." I think he actually cannot hear what is clearly there.

 

His first response was not "turn the volume down and see what happens", which is the sort of thing a normal person would have said if that is what they had done. Instead he said, "actually I just played it here and the only voice audible was his."

 

That means that HE can't hear.

 

I've tested the most extreme setup I can create, and I can still hear both voices.

 

EDIT: Oops. Only one volume control, not two. The first was not turned down. The second was enough to reduce the whole clip to inaudibility (for me) though.