Since I am a beginner and interested in investing myself in this field, I was recommended to read this book very highly.
While reading this book by Floyd Tool, I thought why not make this thread to index and hold all the information for anyone who will be reading this book in the future or wants to go along with me.
sound is the most important source of information in evaluating performance in music
On a very different, but related, topic, Tsay (2013) tested the popular notion that “sound is the most important source of information in evaluating performance in music.” He found that both novices and professional musicians were able to identify the winners of prerecorded live music competitions better when viewing a video of the event in silence than when listening only, or viewing and listening together. The evaluation of musical performances was found to be dominated by the visual impact of gesticulations, not audible output. Remarkable. It is no wonder that the visual aesthetics of loudspeakers precondition our reactions to the sounds they produce
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Hearing Differently
Add to this the popular notion that we all “hear differently,” that one person’s meat might be another person’s poison, and we have a situation where a universally satisfying solution might not be possible. Fortunately reality is not so complex, and although tastes in music are demonstrably highly personal, enormously variable, we discover that recognizing the most common deficiencies in reproduced sounds is a surprisingly universal skill when listeners are given a chance to reveal their unbiased opinions. More good news is that most people can do it, even those who think they have “tin ears.” Inexperienced listeners take more time, make more mistakes along the way, but in the end, their opinions generally agree with those of the experts. Only those with hearing loss routinely depart from the norm. To a remarkable extent we seem to be able to separate the evaluation of a reproduction technology from that of the program. It is not necessary to be familiar with or to enjoy the music to be able to recognize that it is or is not well reproduced.
I ceased writing this thread upon discovering that the 4th Edition is currently in development, which promises to offer an improved version of the material found in the 3rd Edition. Additionally, it appears that Sean Olive has contributed a chapter to the 4th Edition.
They have recently finished writing the book, which has now been submitted for publication. I will continue to contribute to this discussion once I receive my copy.
Stay Tuned! Happy Listening
