The most visited page on this site has always been the guide to distortion measurements, written when I had just discovered the thread on DIYAudio. That post, like many of my other posts here, was written more as a reference for me and this one fulfils much the same function. If it’s of use to…
Category: Software

A quick note on distortion
Recently I built the Nelson Pass H2 Harmonic Generator, a circuit that injects some 2nd harmonic distortion into the signal chain. Whilst I still need to get this boxed up to play with it properly, I’ve been mooching around and doing some reading on distortion. As part of my meandering, I came across this website…

A DIY approach to distortion measurements for audio amplifiers
I imagine I am typical of many DIY audio enthusiasts in that I build something and hope that subjectively it sounds good. However, I am also curious about the objective measurements of the equipment. I thought this level of analysis would be beyond my ability and budget, but an interesting thread appeared on DIYAudio.com recently,…

A comprehensive introduction to computer based audio
Computer-based audio can be overwhelming when going beyond a simple pair of desktop speakers plugged into the output of the computer. The Well-Tempered Computer offers the best introduction I’ve come across. For measured, thoughtful thinking of topics relating to computer based audio (including measurements), have a read of Archimago’s Musings. For questions, discussion and often…

Anouar Brahem – Blue Maqams: MusicScope Analysis
Two tracks from this recent CD on ECM by the Tunisian oud master together with Django Bates, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette.

Musicscope Analysis: Gogo Penguin – A Humdrum Star
I thought I would start posting Musicsope analysis data from recent music purchases. The results are presented without comment: dynamic range (DR), loudness levels, pushing levels to clipping – all are artistic choices. For the most part, it’s not my cup of tea to have such restricted DR but then again, I don’t suppose I’m…

Is it real or is it……
In the 1970s Memorex ran TV adverts that attempted to show how people would not be able to tell the difference between a live recording and one that was recorded to their cassette tape. The tagline was: Is it live or is it Memorex? Now we are told that 16/44.1 music is not really good…