HOW THE EAR/BRAIN HEARS
The process of hearing is active, not passive.
The sounds of instruments and voices in a band do not arrive separately at our ears, but are combined into a single sound wave. The brain makes sense out of what we hear based on its experience of real sounds. By actively processing the sound wave, the brain discerns the different instruments and voices, separates out reflections, and estimates the location of each separate source of sound.
The brain readily achieves this with real sounds every minute of every day, but the distortions in recordings and stereo systems are often such that the brain cannot fully process what it hears.
A poor recording or system will sound more like a wall of noise, albeit with a beat and melody, than as if real instruments and musicians were present.
A good recording and system will not only create a believable illusion that real instruments and musicians are present, but the brain will not have to work so hard to fully process the sound, enabling the creative and emotional parts of the brain to engage more fully with the music.
The process is very resilient to forms of distortion that are common in real sounds. Simple tonal and resonance distortions, and reflections off surfaces, are often encountered in the real world. For example, no two human voices, or even guitars will have the same tone. But their harmonic envelope will make sense based on sounds heard before.
But the brain is very highly sensitive to distortions in the time-domain that are not natural. Naturally occurring time-domain information is very important to the ear/brain system. It is processed by the brain to identify the distance and direction of sounds, and humans possess remarkable skills in this respect. But the brain relies on time-domain information fitting certain patterns (such as the greater delay of higher frequencies due to the distance the sound has travelled). As soon as a time-domain distortion is present that isn't natural, then the illuson of real sounds in real spaces collapses.
The process of hearing is active, not passive.
The sounds of instruments and voices in a band do not arrive separately at our ears, but are combined into a single sound wave. The brain makes sense out of what we hear based on its experience of real sounds. By actively processing the sound wave, the brain discerns the different instruments and voices, separates out reflections, and estimates the location of each separate source of sound.
The brain readily achieves this with real sounds every minute of every day, but the distortions in recordings and stereo systems are often such that the brain cannot fully process what it hears.
A poor recording or system will sound more like a wall of noise, albeit with a beat and melody, than as if real instruments and musicians were present.
A good recording and system will not only create a believable illusion that real instruments and musicians are present, but the brain will not have to work so hard to fully process the sound, enabling the creative and emotional parts of the brain to engage more fully with the music.
The process is very resilient to forms of distortion that are common in real sounds. Simple tonal and resonance distortions, and reflections off surfaces, are often encountered in the real world. For example, no two human voices, or even guitars will have the same tone. But their harmonic envelope will make sense based on sounds heard before.
But the brain is very highly sensitive to distortions in the time-domain that are not natural. Naturally occurring time-domain information is very important to the ear/brain system. It is processed by the brain to identify the distance and direction of sounds, and humans possess remarkable skills in this respect. But the brain relies on time-domain information fitting certain patterns (such as the greater delay of higher frequencies due to the distance the sound has travelled). As soon as a time-domain distortion is present that isn't natural, then the illuson of real sounds in real spaces collapses.
ANTIPODES AUDIO CABLE DESIGNS
Our point of difference in a crowded market is the length that we go to in order to minimise time-domain distortions. Time domain distortions manifest themselves as phase distortions and as signal smearing.
Creating a cable that is low-noise, neutral, and uncompressed is a very limited pursuit. And yet audiophiles often think they can hear resolution, tonal or dynamic differences between cables. This perception is almost exclusively due to time-domain errors which tax the ear/brain system.
The cable geometries we use are unusual, but are specifically designed to achieve phase coherence. By focusing on trying to minimise the characteristic impedance in their cables, most designers twist or spiral or braid conductors together and this creates interference between the conductors that introduces phase distortions. Our designs are different in the sense that we seek to minimise interference between the conductors while keeping characteristic impedance within acceptable bounds. This different emphasis results in our cables having superior phase coherence.
The wire we manufacture and the mix of gauges we use in each cable are designed to achieve what we call 'balanced resonance'. All wire will vibrate when carrying a music signal and mechanical resonance of the wire (which reflects the metal and gauges used) leads to smearing of the signal at the resonant frequency. This is perceived as a tonal peak, when what is really happening is that the frequency is emphasised because it lasts a little longer than it should. We employ various methods to damp the resonances, and use mixes of different metals and wire gauges to create a balance between the different resonances.
The cotton insulation we use has a much lower dielectric absorption rate than any known plastic. The greater energy storage and delay from using plastics also smears the signal in time, to a much greater degree than cotton.
The result of our unique approach is sound that appears more natural and clear to the ear/brain system, and this enables the brain to more easily engage with the emotion, expression and subtle inflexions in the music.
Our point of difference in a crowded market is the length that we go to in order to minimise time-domain distortions. Time domain distortions manifest themselves as phase distortions and as signal smearing.
Creating a cable that is low-noise, neutral, and uncompressed is a very limited pursuit. And yet audiophiles often think they can hear resolution, tonal or dynamic differences between cables. This perception is almost exclusively due to time-domain errors which tax the ear/brain system.
The cable geometries we use are unusual, but are specifically designed to achieve phase coherence. By focusing on trying to minimise the characteristic impedance in their cables, most designers twist or spiral or braid conductors together and this creates interference between the conductors that introduces phase distortions. Our designs are different in the sense that we seek to minimise interference between the conductors while keeping characteristic impedance within acceptable bounds. This different emphasis results in our cables having superior phase coherence.
The wire we manufacture and the mix of gauges we use in each cable are designed to achieve what we call 'balanced resonance'. All wire will vibrate when carrying a music signal and mechanical resonance of the wire (which reflects the metal and gauges used) leads to smearing of the signal at the resonant frequency. This is perceived as a tonal peak, when what is really happening is that the frequency is emphasised because it lasts a little longer than it should. We employ various methods to damp the resonances, and use mixes of different metals and wire gauges to create a balance between the different resonances.
The cotton insulation we use has a much lower dielectric absorption rate than any known plastic. The greater energy storage and delay from using plastics also smears the signal in time, to a much greater degree than cotton.
The result of our unique approach is sound that appears more natural and clear to the ear/brain system, and this enables the brain to more easily engage with the emotion, expression and subtle inflexions in the music.