With the development of manufacturing technology and the ever-decreasing cost, PC speakers that once only sounded OK are more and more concerned about the quality of sound reproduction. Many speakers have more or less Hi-Fi features. - Of course, in the fierce market competition, in order to find a selling point for the promotion of its own products, the manufacturer does not care about the true performance and quality of the product and hugs the thigh of Hi-Fi to prove that its product is superior to the competitor. It can even be said to be the main reason. - So, more and more PC speaker evaluation articles are increasingly Hi-Fi.
Compared with the previous PC speaker evaluation articles, these Hi-Fi-level evaluations seem to have two trends. One is to completely entertain and develop into women's magazines, as pointed out in "Let's talk about the lack of technology in speaker evaluation." Use the words "high-end" and "luxury" to follow the path of lyrics; the other is to try to add more "professional" elements, and seriously evaluate the PC speakers as Hi-Fi speakers. A variety of different terms, many users often have the feeling of breaking into the cloud when reading such articles: Although the pictures are composed of Chinese characters, it seems difficult to accurately grasp the true intentions they want to express (to be honest, I see There are similar feelings in stock reviews. Many times I imagine that the "Kung Fu" is so loudly screaming, "Brother, speak Chinese! Can't understand"), maybe for some manufacturers, such evaluations are more in line with their requirements. It seems that only ordinary users can't understand it to show their professionalism, and they can prove that they put the Hi-Fi tag name on their PC speakers. Of course, for the evaluation media. This article is intended to introduce the terminology involved in speaker evaluation, hoping to help friends in reading such "professional" articles.
However, it should be emphasized that many of the terminology industries do not have corresponding standards. The extension and the intrinsic are quite vague. The descriptions in this article are not necessarily accurate, and I hope my friends understand. In addition, it should also be noted that many media reviewers do not necessarily understand the meaning of a large number of professional terminology, and there are many situations in which they are forced to talk about and even talk nonsense. Everyone needs to be familiar with reading the evaluation. In addition, more importantly, there must be a clear understanding of the Hi-Fi-class PC speakers. The so-called Hi-Fi, more efforts to reflect the fine details of the sound quality, and a price of a few hundred dollars PC speakers, even if their manufacturers earn money in the loss, how much can be invested in carving details?
What sound field is the sound field and space? This is a rather vague concept in itself. The source is probably nothing more than the words "Sound Field" and "Sound Stage" in English. Among them, "Sound Field" tends to refer to the space where the sound is filled, and "Sound" Stage is more about the arrangement of the bands on the stage when the music is played (including the width, depth, height, low, etc. of the different instruments). In Chinese media, the common "sound field" seems to be largely similar to "Sound Stage", while "Sound Field" is more described by "space sense".
Sound field
Sound field shape
The so-called sound field shape refers to the arrangement of the playing orchestra that the speaker reproduces when the sound is restored. Due to the uneven distribution of the frequency response curve and the horn directivity and room sound wave reflection conditions, some sound fields are concave, some are wider than the depth; some are deeper than the width. Some sound field shapes are square and have no concave shape. The reproduction of different shapes of this sound stage is the shape of the sound field.
A good speaker, of course, the shape of the restored sound field is the same as that of the recording. This is a basic principle. However, the absolute concept of this concept is also biased. For example, the recording of the live performance, the arrangement of the orchestra is wider than the depth; but in the studio, often for the sound effect, the arrangement of the orchestra will change, usually in depth. Will stretch, especially the percussion instrument will be placed farther. In this way, it is not the arrangement we see in the concert hall. In many cases, the faithful reduction of the speaker will weaken the overall effect of infection.
Sound field position
In addition to the shape, the sound field has a problem of position, that is, where the different instruments are located in the entire sound field and its front, back, high, and low layout. During the playback of different speakers, some will make the whole sound field approach the listener; some will retreat relative to the listener; some will sound like floating in the air; some will sit on the second floor of the concert hall. Looking at the stage in general, this is caused by the difference in the position of the sound field in the playback of the speaker.
There are many factors that affect the position of the sound field. The main one is the uniformity of the frequency response and the position of the speaker. For an ideal speaker, the restored sound field position should include: such as double bass, cello sound should come out from a lower place, the violin position is higher than the double bass and cello; if the orchestra has a low before the recording When the arrangement is high, there should be a pattern of low front and high height in the sound field. For example, the copper tube is generally located at a relatively high position; the height of the entire sound field should be substantially equivalent to the two eyes of the listener when sitting. The height is a little higher. That is, the violin should be above the line of sight, and the cello and double bass should be in sight. The copper tube must be at least as high or higher as the violin. China Home Theater Network
As for the front and back positions of the sound field, the ideal state should start from the front of the speaker horn. Of course, this optimal sound field position is not easy to find because it has a great relationship with the listening software. Usually, it is easier to find backward from the back of the horn, but it cannot be retracted too much.
Sound field width
In general, when the speaker is played back, the entire sound field should be able to fill the space of the room, the so-called wide side wall.
Sound field depth
In theory, the depth of the sound field refers to the distance between the frontmost instrument and the last instrument in the sound field. In many cases, it is the distance between the violin and the bass drum and timpani. Some speakers or environments have too many mid-low frequencies or low frequencies, so the position of the drum and the timpani will advance. At this time, the depth of the sound field is of course poor.
As for some speakers, because the position of the sound field is retracted, it is absurd to be evaluated as "excellent sound field depth". [page] Sound field and space sense
The spatial sense of the speaker is essentially the size of the three-dimensional space of the recording place that can be restored. In order to be able to fully express the sense of space, excellent detail regeneration is the basic guarantee, especially the regeneration of the "canyon". In a sense, it can be said that if you can't hear the complete hall sound, then the "space sense" can't be completely reproduced.
In many speaker evaluations, the hall sound is often confused with the reverberation, but this is two completely different things. The English of the hall is Ambience, which refers to the surroundings, the environment or the atmosphere, and was later extended to the hall in the concert hall. From the "atmosphere" in its meaning, it can be understood that it refers to the details of the music surrounding us. In addition to the perceptual meaning, Ambience has a rational explanation, especially the first reflection sound that is transmitted to the ear. The friends with acoustic foundation know that our ears are through the original sound and the first reflection. The time delay between positioning the sound source is the same for the speaker playback. By the time delay of the first reflected sound and the true sound, we can “feel†the size of the concert hall space, in other words, if it cannot be played back. When you find the hall sound, you can't restore the sense of space in your brain.
The reverberation of English is Reverberation. Although the reverberation is also a reflection sound, the reverberation has a more rigorous time definition, that is, the energy of the sound is attenuated to one millionth after the occurrence of a çŒ pronunciation. (60dB) length of time. This is far from the dojo of the auxiliary human ear positioning.
Speaker positioning ability
Can you hear the complete hall sound and restore the sense of space? Does it mean that the positioning ability of the speaker is no problem? The answer is obviously not that simple. Many beginner photography friends may have encountered such a situation: the focus of the photo is blurred when the photo is taken, and the florets in the background are quite clear, similarly, in the speaker In playback, phase distortion can also lead to drift of positioning, which often occurs when the instrument that should be in front of the front is restored to the front. In addition, the poor ratio of direct to reflected sound in space, especially if the high frequency reflection is too strong, will lead to inaccurate positioning.
Layering
The layering is easy to understand. It refers to whether the interval between the instruments and the rows in the back row can be clearly reproduced. In the case of television, the words that dark gray and black can distinguish are layered. The sound is also the same, the arrangement of the orchestra will not be mixed together and there is a good sense of hierarchy. What's more, we have to hear the space between the instrument and the instrument so that we have the best layering.
Sense of form
The sense of form is also the ability to make a sound or musical instrument show a three-dimensional sense. A good-looking speaker will make the sound more embossed, more stereoscopic, and make the shadow of the sound contour clearer. [page]
Sound quality and tone quality
Sound quality refers to the quality of sound. In English, the sound quality (TONE QUALITY) and the sound (TIMBRE or TONE COLOR) are not the same thing at first glance. However, in Chinese, sound quality and tone are often mixed and misused.
So, what is the quality of sound? For a simple example, for example, when we evaluate the quality of a car, the quality refers to the performance, safety, and service life of the car. It does not mean whether its shape is fancy and fashionable. Similarly, the quality of the sound and the quality of the speaker. In terms of it, it does not mean how its level, positioning, etc., more specifically for its resistance. A sound good speaker, it is comfortable and resistant to hearing. In comparison, some speakers may have strong and powerful resolving power, but they are not durable, which may be a problem of sound quality. A good speaker, its sound quality should be like a good pair of people, so that people can not listen to it. China Home Theater Network
In a sense, "quality" is an innate nature. The sound quality is noble, very good, beautiful is the nature of this equipment is very good, it makes people sound very comfortable.
Tone
The tone is literally the color of the sound. Of course, we all know that the sound is colorless. However, I often hear a similar saying: This violin sound is really cold, the violin sound is really warm, etc. In terms of the sound of the violin.
In the eyes of Hi-Fi people, the sound is like light, it is colored, but it is not seen with the eyes, but with the ears. Usually, the warmer the sound, the softer the sound; the colder the sound, the harder the sound. Too soft or too hard is certainly not very good. Sometimes, the tone can also be described by words such as "noble", basically it is also one of nature. However, just like cloth, cloth refers to its material, but cloth color refers to its color, which still has obvious boundaries.
Transparency
The transparency of sound is almost a term that can only be understood and cannot be said. However, friends who use innovative sound cards can compare the same piece of music to another sound card – of course, if you want to use a speaker with good quality – you might be able to appreciate the innovative advertising word “crystal†The meaning of "clear", which to some extent represents transparency.
The difference in transparency makes some speakers sound clear and clear, and some are like a mist. For the speaker, if the transparency is not good, the overall performance will drop several grades. The best sense of transparency is soft, it sounds like the ears are not tired; the poor transparency is like the sun that hurts the eyes, although it is clear, it is very sad. Most audio equipment cannot achieve a clear and soft degree of transparency, but can only be clearly expressed. [page]The speaker's detail reduction ability is vivid
The vividness of the speaker's ability to restore can make the music sound more lively and not dead. This is an important factor in whether music is good or not, just as a great conductor can be full of musical command; and a lame command often makes the music dull.
Resolution
The concept of resolution is relatively easy to understand, the resolution of the display can be analogous, the display with high resolution can display the details of the image more clearly, and the good speaker can clearly restore the subtle and complex parts of the sound. Come out, the indicator describing this ability is the resolution.
In general, the resolution of a speaker refers to the resolution when the low level (subtle change in sound), and the high-level Hi-Fi device has a high level of resolution, which refers to the sound when it is extremely bursting. The ability to restore various elements. - For PC speakers, this is purely a luxury.
Detail regeneration
In a sense, the level of detail and darkness can also be attributed to the resolution. However, the resolution does not represent all the details of reproduction and layering. For example, the level of hierarchy that goes to the next row is not enough. To complete.
The details refer to the details of the instrument, the subtle regeneration of the dome and all the noise in the recording space. The amount of detail in a piece of audio equipment is easily compared with AB Test. The details of the speaker's reproduction and reproduction depend on many factors, such as low distortion, high signal-to-noise ratio, high sensitivity, high resolution, and transparency. The less detailed equipment sounds boring on the tablet: the details of the equipment are fun. An excellent speaker must guarantee the ability to regenerate in rich details. Speaker dynamic reduction speed
The specific reduction of the speed in the speaker is mainly reflected in the rise time and slew rate, emphasizing the speed of each reaction in the performance of the speaker.
Dynamic contrast
Dynamic contrast, in layman's terms, can also be understood as the contrast between sound and weakness, that is, the contrast between loud and small.
In general, dynamic contrast can also be divided into dynamic contrast of large contrast and dynamic contrast of small contrast. For example, the dynamic contrast of classical music is often very large, because the contrast between its maximum sound and the minimum sound is very large; while rock music has a large sound, but the fluctuation of its size is not large, so the dynamic contrast is not large.
What is the contrast of minimal dynamic contrast? That is, the subtle contrast between the strength and the weakness is very close. This subtle contrast between strength and weakness is like a ripple of water. It seems to be moving from a distance. It is known from a close look that it is always undulating. The most shallow statement of dynamic contrast should be like this: great dynamic contrast like a slap in the face; the contrast between the strong and the weak is the fluctuation of the lake under the breeze.
Overall balance of the speaker
From a holistic point of view, the speaker is like the conductor of the orchestra, and should seek an overall balance. This is like an orchestra in which everyone is a solo master, but everyone wants to show their heads and not listen to the interpretation of the command. As a result, although the individual performance level is high, the overall balance of the orchestra must be poor. This is not a good orchestra. In the same way, a speaker can look at each performance indicator separately, but if you can't achieve a delicate balance, you must not listen. At this time, no matter how high the resolution and how good the dynamic contrast is, it is useless. Regarding this indicator, it is often impossible to measure with specific quantifiable indicators. To distinguish the overall balance of the speaker is like listening to a concert to distinguish the orchestra. It is judged by its rich listening experience. China Home Theater Network
In addition, the overall balance capability also includes the appropriate amount distribution of the high, medium and low frequency bands. For example, what we call the low-frequency foundation is one of them. The so-called low frequency basis is the stable and stable state of the low frequency band in the whole music. Most music fans hope that the music is very thick and rich, and they don't want high frequency more than the intermediate frequency and low frequency, which makes the top-heavy situation. This reasonable sense of high, medium and low frequency is also the embodiment of the overall balance of the speaker. The overall balance of the speaker will sound good, which is what the average person said.
For example, when the speaker is placed, the first thing to get is the overall balance. Don't sacrifice the medium frequency and low frequency for the performance of the sound field. If your speaker is too far away from the wall, the low frequency will be insufficient, then you should let the speaker lean against the wall.