Greg Milner's book about Audio ?

[DizRotus]

If you missed this interview on NPR's Talk of The Nation, go to the web address below to hear the interview of Greg Milner about his book, Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Audio.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105762127

[DizRotus]

Has anyone here read this book? The interview on NPR's Talk Of The Nation was brief but interesting. He touched upon the digital versus analog issue, a topics that's debated here regularly. Apparently, the book goes into greater detail about many audio topics.

[DizRotus]

Apparently no one's faniliar with the book.

A look at Amazon.com indicates the book is new and only available in hardcover, so it's unlikely many have read it, with the possible exception of Gil, who seems to read and save everything audio.

[WMcD]

Thanks to your post I took a look at the on-line catalog at Chicago Public Library.

It shows the book will be on reserve-reference but is still being "processed."

In a week or so I'll see if it available and then let you know if there is anything interesting about horns and Klipsch.

Wm McD

[WMcD]

Highly recommended (by me, anyway).

There is nothing about Klipsch in this book. There is a bit about the fabled Bell Labs three channel and you can read it in the attached. There was more than just the one demonstration we read about in the Klipsch papers.

Milner's book is very enjoyable to read. It is not particularly technical and is a review of the history of recording and the music industry. I thumbed through it at CPL and they found me a circulating copy.

Reading for content, it the book is a discussion of live music versus recorded music, which is often enhanced, or created. (I'm in the first chapers.) PWK reported some experiment where, with a modern playback system, the live performer came out with the lowest rating.

There is also the problem that what we have in recorded music is a very contrived mix. Therefore, what we've got does not mimic any live recording in the case of pop music.

Speaking of older systems, the first chapter goes into the demonstrations of the most refined Edison mechanical system where it was compared to the same singer, live, next to it. The audience was astounded. The "cheat" in this was that the singer could mimic the recording in level, pitch, and some sort of distortion.

Thumbing through, it is a gold mine of nuggets.

The last chapters include the issue of compression in recordings, particularly CD's. You will note, though, that compression was being manipulated by Bell Labs in the three channel film recordings. Not everyone liked the result.

If you are on a tight budget you may be able to find this book at your library or obtain it on interlibrary loan.

Wm McD

Milner - Re Three Channel and Bell Labs Demonstrations.pdf

[WMcD]

I'm about half-way through. The author is on a roll -- big time. This is the section about multitrack tape recording. Sun, Beatles, Motown, Les Paul.

The opening chapters were a little rocky. Starting with the Big Bang as some sort of audio recording. Then Edison wanting only the direct sound, not the room. Then the work of "producers" with Leadbelly -- it was beginning to roll.

The author must have been a fan of William Manchester. It reads like that.

Wm McD

[WMcD]

Now, I've completed reading the work.

So, so good.

It goes off into topics of little interest to me (e.g. punk rock and, rock steady) but the education in that is worthwhile. That is in the pages along with a description of WWII German all night classical radio where a.c. bias added to then standard tape machine gave better performance.

What happens when modern radio stations compress the program to a 3 dB dymanic range and the CD producer had already done the same.

The "notes" section at the end of the book shows just how much effort and care Milner put into the book.

A gem of writing and a gold mine of information.

Wm McD

[Dennie]

Thanks so much for your review.

Dennie

[Richard Guba]

I just read the book. I got it from amazon.

What blows my mind in the book is the chapter on the "The Band that Clipped itself to Death".

This is about the Red Hot Chile Peppers abum Californication. Basically the CD was produced at such a limited dynamic range to make it "loud" that it was always clipping.

Basicallly the book implies that modern pop CDs are not even close to the quality that the redbook standard allows. They are at extremely limited dynamc range.

There is some interesting discussion on CD versus vinyl, but what I was struck with was that most pop CDs after the late 90s are deliberately produced to have a sound that has much less range than an LP. This is crazy when you stop to think that dynamic range is one of the best features of CDs, but today nobdoy seems to want it.

I assume jazz and classical CDs especially the Rudy Van Gelder remasters and the Columbia jazz remasters use the CD to the best of their abilities, but it seems that pop CDs are as bad as MP3s.

This is a good book, but it focusses on recording and mastering versus playback so their is very little mention of home HI FI equipment. Early stereo recordings are discussed and the chapter on 33 versus 45 is facinating.

Rich

[DizRotus]

Thanks Gil.

I'll try to read it in my copious free time.