Transcript My list of “10 worst mistakes”

My list of “10 worst mistakes in
Audio”
(some of which are pet peeves)
J. D. (jj) Johnston
Neural Audio
Kirkland, Wa, USA
#10
• Applying tube circuit design to transistors
– Yes, it’s over and done with. Thankfully.
#9
•Magnitude (frequency) Response
•Without phase, amazing things
can slide by.
#8
• Signal to Noise Ratio
– That includes THD, IMD, TIM …
– ‘A message weight’ – No, it’s not for music!
#7
• Making an audio demonstration in a paper,
workshop, or tutorial session at any
conference, anywhere.
#6
• “we’ll never understand”
– When I started in audio, I heard this over and over.
– It’s not true, either.
– Understanding has often been waiting in the wings from the IEEE or ASA for
years before it arrives in the audio community.
• Nobody understands how the ear works
– Yes, it’s hard to understand, but we do have a good idea
– Giving up doesn’t help anyone.
#5
• Giving people a pan pot
–
–
–
–
Not telling them how it works
Not explaining how the ear hears it
Not including time delay
Worrying about “mono compatibility” any time after 1990
#4
• Pointing out that in blind testing, “slightly louder
is perceived as better”
– It’s a fact.
– It doesn’t justify a loudness race
#3
• Forgetting that digital designs must include analog
sometime
– Grounding
– Noise
– All manner of digital techniques that don’t work in analog audio
• I won’t even mention computers. Oh. I did.
#2
• Trying to apply analog processing to digital
systems
– Distortion works differently
– Filters work differently
– Noise methods are different
– Resolution issues are different
– It’s never going to work!!!!
#1
• Letting anyone find out just how low
you could turn the bit rate in a
perceptual coder and still get something
remotely approximating music.
– Do I really need to explain this one?
– Do you really think anyone could have
stopped them?
The Takeaways
• New things come along. Resistance is futile, you
will be assimilated
• You don’t want something new every time you
have a new problem!
• Enthusiasm for the new does not excuse excess.