DASHED HOPES
----The Magnavox FD 3030SL CD player was shown at the AES Convention.
Last month, in my report on the 74th AES Convention in New York, I discussed the new DASH digital format. You may recall that this is a joint proposal by Studer, Sony/ MCI, and Matsushita for a digital recording format standard.
Unfortunately, opposition to the DASH format has appeared at this early stage. Spokesmen for JVC, 3M, and Mitsubishi, all manufacturers of digital recording equipment, indicated they thought there are some inadequacies in the error-correction systems of DASH and that the DASH format would have little influence on their digital activities. Ampex, who has not yet introduced a digital recorder, indicated they expect to market this type of equipment within the next two years and emphasized that it would not be compatible with DASH. It would appear that these attitudes are not likely to lead to an industry-wide adoption of DASH, at least for the present. Thus, about the only thing the manufacturers of digital recorders have been able to jointly approve is the use of 48- and 44.1-kHz sampling rates.
In spite of the opposition to DASH, no one is likely to deny the marketing clout of the DASH proponents. Sony announced that their 24-channel digital recorder, the PCM 3324, is now equipped for the DASH format and that earlier versions of this model can be retrofitted for DASH operation. Down the line, when new, thin-film heads are available, this will make double density recording possible and permit up to 48 channels of digital audio.
To illustrate the possibilities of the DASH format, the Technics arm of Matsushita showed a prototype DASH digital recorder at the AES Convention.
This unit features high-density recording and reproducing on thin-film magnetic heads, permitting 16 digital audio channels on quarter-inch tape. The transport features isolated loop tape drive, similar to that found on Technics 1520 analog tape machines. The recorder is mounted in a console, with a full-function remote control mounted on a pedestal with castors. No prices were quoted, and Matsushita spokesmen emphasized that this recorder is a "look what we can do" project and may not be marketed in this country.
Studer has shown an 8-channel digital recorder, but this is very likely an interim model, with little chance of being marketed.
---------The CDP-200 is Sony's first step toward a less expensive CD player.
Into the midst of all this infighting steps dbx. You may recall I reported on their Model 700 CPDM (Companded Predictive Delta Modulation) digital recorder in the January 1983 issue of Audio. Dbx announced they will make available CPDM cards and associated digital hardware on an OEM basis to the manufacturers of professional tape recorders. They contend that since they will be supplying the digital hardware and specifying track formats, a typical tape recorder manufacturer needs only to integrate this circuitry into their own units. The result will be a fixed-head digital tape recorder with a dynamic range claimed to be 20 dB greater than is currently available from PCM recorders. Further, dbx claims these machines will be cost competitive with analog recorders of comparable track format. Finally, since dbx controls the digital hardware and specified track formats, there will be full compatibility between tape recorders produced by manufacturers using the CPDM technology. No prices for the CPDM hardware have been announced yet, but it is a most interesting development, conjuring up images of relatively inexpensive CPDM recorders from the likes of such analog tape machine manufacturers as Otari, TEAC/ Tascam, Technics, Fostex, etc.
-------- The Tube, from AKG, is a modern version of the C-12 microphone
introduced in the early '50s.
It goes without saying that whatever kind of digital tape recorder is employed, the machines are no better than their input signals. The sad fact is that many digital recordings are degraded because the signals they receive are from analog mixing consoles, which in varying degrees add noise and distortion to the program signals. It has been anticipated for some time that a pure digital mixing console would appear on the market. That time is now, and Rupert Neve of England, well-known for their line of sophisticated mixing consoles, introduced a pure digital DSP (Digital Signal Processing) console via an audio/visual presentation. The DSP console, developed with the help of the BBC (one of the first customers for the unit), is totally automated, with special remote control via fiber optic cables, all sorts of memory functions, and assignable controls.
There are said to be several other studios in England which have ordered DSP consoles. According to The Daily (the first AES Convention newspaper, and a welcome service similar to the daily papers at the CES), negotiations are currently underway with an American studio for a DSP console. Anticipated price of the DSP is a rather breathtaking $600,000. There is no question that the DSP console is a giant step forward in digital technology, soon to be followed by similar units. Needless to say, the DSP is a big console, and I am bound to say that, with all its multiple input facilities, it properly belongs in a studio. There, ironically, it will be used to record a great deal of pop/rock music that has limited dynamic range and a number of distortion-producing instruments (such as the "fuzz box"). What price a super-quiet, ultra-low-distortion digital console? As a recording engineer mainly involved with classical music, my plaint is, "Hey, Rupert Neve, how about a portable, pure digital input mixer that I can use to record classical music on location in a concert hall?" I use purist mike techniques, i.e. Blumlein coincident mikes, M/S, simple two- or three-channel spaced arrays, etc., so your portable digital mixer need not be very elaborate. Give me eight to ten mike inputs, pan pot facilities, four outputs.
Peak reading and peak-hold bar graph metering (á la the Sony PCM-F1) will also do nicely. I don't need echo send or return, and I abhor EQ controls. As you see, all quite simple, but desperately needed! If you can make one of these digital mini-mixers for about 8,000 quid, give me a call, quick! There were various bits and pieces of digital equipment shown at the AES Convention. Sony took the first step towards less expensive CD players with the new CDP-200. This $700 unit features Sony's horizontal, front-loading "Linear Skate Drawer" mechanism, with feather-touch front-panel controls.
For the first time, a consumer Sony CD player has an "Index" function that enables the user to find sub-coded sections within movements of a classical recording, or to zero in on sections of episodic-type music, such as the "Nutcracker Suite," or "Pictures at an Exhibition." There are displays for track and index number, elapsed time, and remaining time. Sony very considerately continues to provide headphone jacks with level control, a facility found on very few CD players.
On a more professional level, Sony introduced the CDP-3000, a special player designed for broadcast work, with extremely rapid and analyzer/performance check facilities.
Philips, through its North American Philips Magnavox division, introduced two new CD players. The $850 FD 2020SL is a top-loading unit, with much more rapid access to the tracks on a disc than in previous Magnavox players. There is also a display showing elapsed time for the entire disc or for individual tracks. The FD 3030SL is a more elaborate model; it features front loading and is priced at $950. Philips also showed a professional CD player for the broadcast market. This is a two-piece system comprising a CD drive unit and a CD drive-control unit.
Ultra-fast access time and many specialized timing information program functions are provided.
Here we are at the cutting edge of digital technology, so would you believe a new tube microphone was introduced at the convention? Yes, AKG showed their new condenser microphone, simply named The Tube. This mike is a modern version of the much admired C-12 of the early '50s. I often used a pair of these mikes in those days, and especially liked their warm, very natural and musical sound. It is these qualities which resulted in a resurrection of this microphone type. The Tube features specially selected 6072 tubes. There is a remote power supply, a 9-position polar-pattern selector and a three-position bass roll-off switch.
The Tube comes complete with shock mount, windscreen, and cables in a heavy-duty flight case; the price is $1,700. The people at Sheffield Lab have been using tube mikes in their recordings for years, so they should be especially happy about this new AKG model.
John Meyer finally has his Model 833 studio reference monitor loudspeaker in production. The 833 is amplitude and phase-domain regulated. Frequency response is stated to be ±3 dB from 35 Hz to 18 kHz. Maximum SPL is a phenomenal 120 dB continuous, with a peak of 130 dB. John claims his Model 833 is "bulletproof," what with its extremely rugged drive units and Speaker Sense protection system, which employs an rms limiter.
However, unlike other limiter circuits, this one is out of the circuit, protecting sonic purity until the overload threshold is reached. John hints that a consumer version of this 833 loudspeaker may be forthcoming. To say it would be digital ready is putting it mildly.
Preprints of papers presented during the AES Convention which should interest you include "A Subjective Comparison of Five Analog and Digital Tape Recorders" (No. 2033, H-8) and "Subjective Measurements of Loudspeakers-A Comparison of Stereo and Mono Listening" (No. 2023, H-5). Both papers were written by Floyd Toole and are fascinating reading! They are available from the Audio Engineering Society ( 60 East 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10165) for $3.00 per preprint.
-----------
(adapted from Audio magazine, Feb. 1984; Bert Whyte )
= = = =