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Amp with variable loudness as peak limiter (?) + mids control for intelligibility. For use with headphones, mainly speech.

rothwellaudio said:
If the sound is already compressed, I'm not sure how adding another compressor would help. I'm not sure why it isn't safe either.
Sounds like a parametric EQ or EQ with sweepable mids is what you need.
Something like a 4u rack unit could house the gear you need and probably wouldn't take up excessive room on your work surface.
R8600-500-4UTW_R8600-500-4UTW-00.jpg
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Now we're talking.
EQ is essential BUT it has to be mostly automatic as I have to focus on my work. so I can neither manage software EQ on a separate screen or use many different faders/knobs. Sweepable mids require two knobs if I understand correctly, and then there should be treble and bass, and volume. Not good. Having bass, mids and treble + volume is the max. Or many bands with faders that can be grouped (is that what you call it?) Something likt this:

Behringer | Product | P24

www.behringer.com www.behringer.com

My hunch is that a combination of some automatic EQ and physical tone controls is the way to go.

Here's an article about the damage that digital sound (even uncompressed) can cause. It is pretty horrendous. AIIC is the international association of conference interpreters.

here's more, if you're interest. Look at the RSI section.

Professional resources and links - AIIC Switzerland

Sectoral agreements United Nations, European Union, GUFs, etc.: Agreement Sector AIIC documents Code of Ethics AIIC Professional Standards Statutes Rules of Procedure, Regulations AIIC Switzerland documents Règlement régional de la Région Suisse Réglement financier de la Région Suisse AI and...
aiic.ch aiic.ch
 
RunOutGroove said:
This is how little I actually know about AVRs! I just hook up my newer (but still some years old) Roku-capable TV up to my vintage Marantz receiver (though a DAC, of course) and I'm fine with the sound, though of course it isn't surround sound. I figure that I have to have something extra to look forward to when I see a movie at a theater.

I can't really say too much about the subject here, but I will say that my limited experience with AVRs has told me that they don't sound that great to me. I sold a pair of Wharfedale bookshelf speakers to a friend and he had them hooked up to a brand new, definitely not bottom of the line AVR type thing, a Denon, I think. I helped him hook these things up and went through the menus, finding the right settings for a simple set of stereo speakers, but even with all of the tweaking that I did, those speakers sounded totally different than they did with my Marantz receiver, and not in a good way. I don't quite buy the idea that the Marantz has some kind of warm "vintage magic," just that the sound of that Denon, at least with that one pair of speakers, was really thin.

I really don't think that you necessarily need to go vintage to get that fuller, warmer type sound that you're looking for, just that newer, cheaper amps can sound rather thin, but there are lots of options, though likely not so many with the kind of dynamic range limiting options that you're looking for.

I wonder if there's some kind of studio rack unit compressor that would work? There's so many of those kinds of things available, and it's true that they can do pretty radical things to the sound, which is not likely to be desirable, but there may be something that's designed to work with a stereo mixdown that's more subtle and would do the trick that you're looking to have it do perfectly. You then could just buy the amp of your choosing and run everything though that thing...
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I do have an older Denon AVR driving Wharfdale floor-standing front and small centre, and Polk Audio satellite speakers mounted in the ceiling. My subwoofer was also Wharfdale, but got damaged by a power surge and the one company that can repair it simply doesn't get round to do it. So I may get a new one at some point.
I also have a Sony stereo amp - newish but highly rated - driving a pair of Ellipse bookshelf speakers. It does not have physical tone controls unfortunately, and I doubt the sound is all that good on the headphone out with my 70 Ohm Sennheiser HD 25s.
I love the sound of both, although they don't sound the same. I do often use Direct mode on the AVR.

Not sure what if any studio gear would be useful. Digital sound is so unnatural that it can be damaging in itself, which needs to be mitigated somehow. There should be either automatic software EQ or a physical unit that turns this artificial sound into sound with natural properties. And I do mean physical characteristics like that of natural human voices. If there is any such solution, either automatic software or a device, I'd love to know. That's pretty much the opposite of compression. An expander maybe? But I still need protection from volume spikes.
And pyhsical tone controls to make speech more intelligible if I need to.
 
TerpSound said:
I'm in need of some advice, hope you can help.

I'm looking for an integrated amplifier for use in professional remote interpreting. It looks as though no headphone amps have physical tone control knobs these days, so they are out of the question. I need physical tone control knobs, preferably mids as well as the usual treble and bass to adjust sound for speech intelligibility, but just bass and treble can also work.

And there is variable/adjustable loudness control, which makes me wonder whether it could be used as a peak limiter of sorts, to maximise the volume of the amp, and keep speech intelligible even at lower volumes. It is crucial that volume and loudness both need to be safe even after long hours of use, and the sound should be warm (as opposed to analytical) and as close to natural as possible. This is a challenge, since the source is a Windows laptop and the sound from e.g. meetings on Zoom is often not professional depending on whether people use a proper mic or a wired internet connection as is recommended. I'll use a decent DAC to connect the amp to the laptop. I'll only use the amp's volume control, and use a fixed setting in Windows. My mic can be connected directly to the laptop, so is not an issue.

Unfortunately, digitally compressed sound can cause hearing damage even at lower levels where peak limiters are not triggered because of the unnaturally high-energy mid-range frequencies. I'm using Equalizer APO for baseline calibration to the headphones (Sennheiser HD 25, 70Ohm) and to get a neutral baseline EQ, which should in theory help with this, but the amp also needs to do its bit and make the sound more natural and rounder, while keeping it safe.
The question is whether loudness control does indeed meet these requirements, and whether variable loudness control in particular would help keep speech intelligible at all times at the same constant volume, without any strain on the ears.

Importantly, the whole setup will have to have close to zero latency (not usually an issue with analogue systems, but had to mention anyway).

Any advice and ideas on the above would be much appreciated, and recommendations for specific amplifiers most welcome.

Thanks!
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I didn't read the whole thread, don't know if this has been mentioned but a little mixer might be perfect. Inexpensive and versatile with built in limiter and three band, or more, eq., good headphone drive and control.
 
spicer said:
I didn't read the whole thread, don't know if this has been mentioned but a little mixer might be perfect. Inexpensive and versatile with built in limiter and three band, or more, eq., good headphone drive and control.
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Yes it was, although only briefly. I had a look at them and did not find any that did all that I needed and not much more. There are several that do what I need, but they are big and expensive, so I'd use a fraction of their functions. That was the conclusion we came to with an expert at an events/sound/DJ store. They were very helpful, very patient, kept thinking of potential combinations of devices, but we didn't find anything. I might go back again and do some more brainstorming with them.
Three-band EQ is not common, EQ applied to the monitor is not obvious, listening to USB input (if there is one) on the monitor with EQ is not common, and it also happens that there is no way NOT to mix the mic and the incoming (USB) sound, so I'd have to use a USB mic.
There's no mixing involved, namely.
There may be some mixers that come close to what I need as there are many.
 
TerpSound said:
Yes it was, although only briefly. I had a look at them and did not find any that did all that I needed and not much more. There are several that do what I need, but they are big and expensive, so I'd use a fraction of their functions. That was the conclusion we came to with an expert at an events/sound/DJ store. They were very helpful, very patient, kept thinking of potential combinations of devices, but we didn't find anything. I might go back again and do some more brainstorming with them.
Three-band EQ is not common, EQ applied to the monitor is not obvious, listening to USB input (if there is one) on the monitor with EQ is not common, and it also happens that there is no way NOT to mix the mic and the incoming (USB) sound, so I'd have to use a USB mic.
There's no mixing involved, namely.
There may be some mixers that come close to what I need as there are many.
Click to expand...
Don't know your budget but something like this seems to do it. There are smaller less expensive units. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ger-xenyx-x1204usb-mixer-with-usb-and-effects Sweetwater is a great place to deal with and have about anything one might want. Fun to look at their catalogue.
 
spicer said:
Don't know your budget but something like this seems to do it. There are smaller less expensive units. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ger-xenyx-x1204usb-mixer-with-usb-and-effects Sweetwater is a great place to deal with and have about anything one might want. Fun to look at their catalogue.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure this one can do everything I need and it is definitely too big and complicated.

I have been in touch with Sweetwater, they are a great company. I described my needs, and one of their engineers made some recommendations, but unfortunately it would have been expensive AND still would have missed some of the basic functions I need. He recommended a Focusrite audio interface with a battery-powered personal monitor amp. Not ideal.
 
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