burwenbobcat.com Blog

Tweaks that cannot work are audible. How is that possible?

Richard S. Burwen — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:07:48 +0000

The frequency response of your audio system is different at every position
in your room. This is caused by the vector addition of sounds from two or more loudspeakers, each producing a different phase shift at every different frequency because of different distances from the listener. The same thing happens when sound reflects from a room surface or object in the room. If you move your head just a few inches, you
may hear a noticeable change in sound quality.

Tests for the audibility of tweaks or changes of equipment may result in false positives if you or anything else moves during a test. More details and some sine wave measurements
appear in an article in a new book:

Audible Tweaks That Cannot Work – Linear Audio Vol 3 – Guest Editorial – Dick Burwen http://www.linearaudio.net/

The Audiophile Voice review

Richard S. Burwen — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:56:58 +0000

Review of 2 BURWEN BOBCAT software products, April 2012:

Burwen Bobcat Tone Balancer & True Music Software – Bascom H. King -
The Audiophile Voice, Vol 15, 1 http://theaudiophilevoice.com/

Appreciated in Japan

Richard S. Burwen — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:47:53 +0000

Yoshihiro Sasaki, author of the Japanese book, “Enjoy superb sound
audio on a PC” http://bitly.com/JhWnyQ?r=bb
wrote his story of BURWEN BOBCAT, Dick Burwen, and Mark Levinson at http://vaiopocket.seesaa.net/article/265415559.html
Use Google Translate to see it in
English.

Sound Improvement – Real, Imagined, or Fraud.pdf

Richard S. Burwen — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:17:11 +0000

Don’t waste your money on on a lot of audio stuff.

A lot of audio equipment sells based on the power of expectation. Even Dick Burwen has sometimes deceived himself into hearing what is not there. Some products make real sound improvement and some make imagined improvement. Many high end products just make a slight difference in frequency response that can be done better with an equalizer. Beware of two classes of products that just waste your money.

Sound Improvement – Real, Imagined, or Fraud.mp3

Richard S. Burwen — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:49:01 +0000

Don’t waste your money on on a lot of audio stuff.

Frequency Response Is Most Important.pdf

Richard S. Burwen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:36:55 +0000

Make your audio system better and get more for your money by changing its frequency response.

Frequency response is by far THE most important characteristic of your sound system. Dick Burwen found that your ears are sensitive to tenths of a dB. Make your speakers and program material sound a lot better by applying high frequency ambiance to produce thousands of ripples in the frequency response in combination with very fine tuned equalization.

Frequency Response Is Most Important.mp3

Richard S. Burwen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:22:23 +0000

Make your audio system better and get more for your money by changing its frequency response.

Make MP3s Sound Better Than CDs.mp3

Richard S. Burwen — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 23:55:42 +0000

Dick Burwen tells you what really works for better audio.

Dick Burwen explains two types of frequency response – smooth and rippled. Audio electronics, tone controls, and equalizers have smooth response. What your ear really wants to hear is rippled response produced by reverberation at extreme high frequencies, way above existing real or artificial reverberation. It makes instruments sound musical and reduces high frequency imperfections in CDs and MP3s. The trend of the frequency response curve is equally important and should be tuned to within 0.1 decibel.

Make MP3s Sound Better Than CDs.pdf

Richard S. Burwen — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:44:52 +0000

Dick Burwen explains two types of frequency response - smooth and rippled. Audio electronics, tone controls, and equalizers have smooth response. What your ear really wants to hear is rippled response produced by reverberation at extreme high frequencies, way above existing real or artificial reverberation. It makes instruments sound musical and reduces high frequency imperfections in CDs and MP3s. The trend of the frequency response curve is equally important and should be tuned to within 0.1 decibel. Continue reading →

Hi! I’m Dick Burwen

Richard S. Burwen — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:48:51 +0000

I have been an audio enthusiast ever since ham radio was shut down during World War II. My home in Lexington, Massachusetts is built around my 20,000 watt hi-fi system. The photo above shows 3 of my 5 speaker horns which contain 150 tweeters, 5 mid-range horns with dual drivers, 10 16-inch woofers, and 4 24-inch subwoofers. I started designing my 5-channel system in 1962 and it is almost finished.

After designing electronic circuits as a full-time consultant for 41 years I retired to part consulting in 2002. Equipment for which I designed circuits included: airborne, seaborne, audio, video cable TV, automotive, industrial control, medical, detection, laboratory instruments, function modules, space vehicle, and integrated circuits. Partial retirement enabled me to work 60 hours/week for more than 8 years at my passion, high-fidelity audio. During that time I developed audio signal processing software to improve the sound of my hi-fi, and incidentally become professional and consumer products. It has 1,400,000 long mathematical equations and now every one of them works.

You can read about my sound system and software at http://www.burwenbobcat.com and at http://www.burwenaudio.com.

Now! Podcasts by Dick Burwen, MP3 for listening or PDF for reading – HOW TO ACHIEVE HIGH FIDELITY SOUND

1. Make MP3s Sound Better Than CDs

2. Frequency Response Is Most Important

3. Sound Improvement – Real, Imagined, or Fraud?

Look for new podcasts occasionally.