Mastering Room To Living Room

Mastering Room To Living Room
The Important Connection Between Engineer And Listener
Presented by James Anderson, Sonic Studio
Hi-End, Munich - May 2012
Our Discussion
•  About Sonic Studio
•  What is “Mastering”?
•  Example:
•  Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s “XXI Century”
•  Why a digital audio engine matters
•  About Amarra
About Sonic Studio
•  Founded in 1985
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Located in Marin County, CA
Spin-off of Lucas Film, Ltd.
•  Music creation-to-consumption technologies
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Oscar® and Emmy® awarded
We are focused on audio professionals and audiophiles
•  Business focus
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Professional mastering
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Ultra-resolution audio processing and content preparation for commercial release
>80% of all music titles mastered on a Sonic
Consumer business focus on music enjoyment
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Industry leading audiophile player for Macs – Amarra
•  Broad range of customers
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World’s major record companies
B2B partnerships with most DAC manufacturers
Consumer audiophiles everywhere
Sonic Studio – A History of World Firsts
•  First computer assisted digital noise removal system •  Declicking •  Broadband Denoising •  DeCrackle NoNOISE® 1989 •  First digital audio workstaCon •  First 96kHz, 24-­‐bit digital audio workstaCon •  First 192 kHz, 24-­‐bit digital audio workstaCon •  MulC-­‐channel hi-­‐definiCon audio ediCng •  MulC-­‐channel hi-­‐definiCon audio ediCng PMCD Burning HD Audio SACD, DVD-­‐A securePlayer 1991 1996 1999 2005 •  First PQ Code editor •  First-­‐ever premaster CD burning •  First 128-­‐bit encrypted DDP master embedded player •  First computer-­‐
based audiophile music player •  Winner of Stereophile Product of the Year 2011-­‐12 2009 Sonic Studio Products
soundBlade
World's most sonically accurate mastering system
•  Purpose-built audio engine – unparalleled clarity
•  Detailed real-time editing model, plug-ins, fast
•  Retail: $395 - $1995
Amarra
World's most sonically accurate music player
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Mastering quality reference playback
Accepts wide range of formats including FLAC
Uses soundBlade audio engine
Retail: $49 - $189
Our Message Today
•  Music is emotional…
•  Its the soundtrack for our lives
•  Audiophile and Mastering Engineer are alike
•  One listens professionally
•  One listens for pure pleasure
•  BOTH want the purest musical experience possible
•  The digital audio engine matters
•  The ultimate connection between the mastering
room with the living room
The Focal Grande Utopia EM What Is Mastering?
The Journey Music Takes From Studio To Home Listening
Allan Tucker – Mastering Engineer A Thrilled Music Lover How Digital Music Is Prepared For Delivery
•  In the recording studio
•  Only the best gear is used
•  Music is recorded at high resolution
•  88.2 or 96 kHz (2x)
•  176.4 or 192 kHz (4x)
•  24-bit
•  Source influence REALLY matters
•  The recording environment
•  The choice of microphones
•  The cleanliness of the signal chain
•  In the mastering studio
•  Only the most pure audio engine is used
•  Essential to maintain audio integrity
•  Finished recordings are sent to mastering
•  Only the most precise A-to-D converters are
used to capture the music into digital files
•  The technology REALLY matters
•  The adherence to specifications
•  securePlayer Client Reference
What The Mastering Engineer Does
•  Sample rate conversion
•  Puts the songs in sequence
•  Sets the pace of the album
•  Editing for content,
•  Adds fade-ins, fade-outs
•  Applies final equalization
•  Minimal phase Sonic EQ
•  Overall tone and loudness adjustments
•  Set track start and end marks (PQ)
soundBlade fade editing tool
•  Informs the CD player where songs begin and end
•  CDTEXT metadata
•  Exports of finished ‘gold master’
•  Disc Descriptor protocol (DDP) format
•  Sends master to CD replication plant
soundBlade creates precise waveforms
World-Class Mastering Relies on Sonic Studio
•  Stephen Marcussen
Stephen Marcussen Mastering
Hollywood, California
•  Peter Mew
Sr. Mastering Engineer – Abbey Road Studios
London, England
•  Gavin Lurssen
Chief Mastering Engineer – Lurssen Mastering
Los Angeles, California
Featured Artist: Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s “XXI Century”
Released April 2012 on the 5Passion label
•  Ensemble recording: Piano, Bass, Drums, Percussion
•  “Time Remembered” released as 96kHz and 44.1kHz
•  Dynamic and explosive; very wide dynamic range
•  Attention to detail, performance and recording
•  Gonzalo is a multiple Grammy® winner
Mastering Overview For Gonzalo’s “XXI Century”
Gonzalo chose award-winning mastering
engineer Allan Tucker to master his project
Allan says…
“I rely on soundBlade because the Sonic
Studio Audio Engine provides the most
pure and transparent digital audio
translation available.”
Allan Tucker in his mastering room
Amarra and soundBlade use the same digital playback engine
Audiophiles Listen Like Mastering Engineers
•  Mastering engineers and audiophiles share critical listening skills
•  They are interested in the same things
•  Preserving and hearing the most emotional performance
•  Musical intricacy
•  Sonic accuracy
•  Sonic Studio feels the same - we’re passionate about music, too!
•  We created a unique connect between mastering room and living room
•  Amarra and soundBlade products use the same digital audio engine
•  The Sonic Studio Engine has been refined since 1985
•  Amarra – no other music player has a mastering pedigree
•  A unique bond with the mastering engineer
•  Ensures you hear music exactly as the engineer intended it to be heard
About Amarra v2.4
•  Music player software for the Macintosh
•  Seamless integration with Apple iTunes
•  Two Amarra products to choose
•  Amarra - US$189.00
•  Amarra Hifi – US$49.99
•  Amarra infuses the Sonic Studio Engine with iTunes
•  Creates ‘best of breed’ audio experience with Apple ecommerce and asset management
capabilities of the Mac
•  Stunning analog-like performance and incredible convenience
“Amarra delivers the best sound quality” Steve Nugent Empirical Labs
Amarra 2.4 – World-Class Audio Playback
•  Sonic Studio Engine
•  Support for all file types
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Aiff, wav, FLAC
•  Sample rates to 384kHz, 24-bit
•  Sonic Mastering EQ
•  Sonic Mastering Dither
algorithms
•  Cache play mode
•  Autonomous playlist creation
without Tunes
•  US$189.00
Introducing Amarra Hifi
•  A new product designed for music enthusiasts
•  Classic Amarra sound
•  Even the built-in Macintosh DAC will sound amazing
•  Brings astonishing clarity to music playback on the Mac
•  Even to non-audiophile level speakers
•  Perfect for headphone listening
•  Support for sample rates up to 192kHz, 24-bit
•  Seamless connection to iTunes
•  US$49.99
“Amarra Hifi is simply a stunning combination with iTunes; it’s really like you just upgraded your speaker system without
spending the thousands it would take to do so.” Paul Stellingwerff, MediArte – The Netherlands
Please Visit Us In Halle 3/A06
•  Hear Amarra for yourself
•  You’ll never want to listen to music without it again
•  No, really...!
•  Listen to Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s “XXI Century”
•  Compare both 96kHz and 44.1kHz versions
•  We’ll answer any questions
•  We look forward to seeing at the stand
Thank You
Mastering Room To Living Room
The Important Connection Between Engineer And Listener
Presented by James Anderson, Sonic Studio
Hi-End, Munich - May 2012
Web sites for more information:
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www.sonicstudio.com
www.g-rubalcaba.com
www.5passion.com
www.foothilldigital.com
www.tuckersound.com
“Time Remembered” 96 kHz vs. 44.1 kHz Comparison
Spectrograph of “Time Remembered” @ 96 kHz/24 bit
Spectrograph of “Time Remembered” @ 44.1 kHz/16 bit
Listening To Music Is An Emotional Experience
•  It’s why you are an audiophile
•  Good/bad experience depends on playback quality
•  Pure and perfect reproduction
•  Amarra is like listening for the first time
•  Audiophiles are using computers for playing their music
•  Apple Mac is popular
Al Bedecarre’s system powered by Amarra
Amarra is the purest connection to the emotion in music
Sonic Studio Engine Is the Connection
• Purpose-built
• Award winning
• Used in Amarra and soundBlade
• Nothing comes closer to the music than Amarra
Version 2.4 Of Amarra Is More Affordable
Amarra $189 (euro conv)
•  Designed for users who want the ultimate control
•  Full playlist creation
•  Support for 384kHz resolution
•  Sonic mastering-level EQ
•  Cache-play mode
"…the audio quality is absolutely remarkable and very close to analog sound."