I need to go do this...

[elgato8905]

I just read this article about the Audium in San Francisco, CA... I need to go do this. It looks awesome. :yes:


http://www.vice.com/read/the-audium-in-san-francisco-is-acid-for-your-ears?utm_source=vicefbus

 

[markshan]

We are their target audience for sure. I look at that and think "awesome". I bet lots of people look at that and think "huh".

 

[just dave]

Looks really cool.Is he gonna take it on the road?

 

[House de Kris]

I went to this place several times back in the early 80s. The bad news: if you are looking for ultra fidelity, this place will disappoint. The good news: if you are into spacialization and localization, this place will have you in heaven. The random collection of sounds will leave you feeling a bit ripped off if you value flowing and lovely composistion in music. Stan is not about melody, he's all about sound placement. I've heard plenty of overload distortion and other nasties from electronics there, as Stan doesn't really care about fidelity, just localization of moving sound.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing the guy. I wouldn't have gone back with different people each time if I didn't have a good time there. I'm just trying to set expectations right.

The text of the article says the chairs are arranged in a half-circle, but the picture shows them in a full circle. All the times I went, there were a full circle of chairs, so I'm not so sure the author knows what half-circle means. Stan plays multiple sources simultaneously and uses his custom mixer to make things work in his place. The mixer is a bizarre array of knobs which allows each individual source to be placed in 3D space. He mixes the location of sounds live, so he claims each show can be, and is, a unique experience.

The room itself is probably the most impressive aspect of this whole thing. The article says it is sound proofed. It is, and how. It is a complete room within a room. You absolutely cannot hear the traffic outside on Bush. It gets completely dark and completely silent before the sounds start. I would love to have a really good quality sound system in that room. Even a bottom-feeder two-channel system in that room would be a great experience. But, sitting in there before the lights go down and looking at all the speakers hanging from the ceiling and around the walls is very impressive and makes the mind think of all the wild effects that will soon be heard.

Don't waste any more of your life, go see this place. I'm surprised, and happy, it still survives to this day. Since it is an isolated-slab room within a room, I doubt it will go on the road anytime soon.

 

[jberger]

I went there with a bunch of Deadhead taper friends in the early 90's, and was impressed with the way that he could drive the sounds in a three-dimensional space.

Like House de Kris, I remember the chairs being in a full circle, and being fixed and not folding or mobile chairs; some of the speakers were on the floor underneath the chairs. I'd expect the wiring closet for this to be either meticulously laid out, or utterly chaotic in an 'only a mad scientist can figure this out' configuration.

We tried to talk him into experimenting with some of the spacier segments of Grateful Dead music in his space, but he was content with painting with his pallete of sounds.

And why was the writer so impressed with how good surround sound sounds in the dark, and why did he think that was weird?

 

[sKiZo]

After the second half was said and done, we returned to the lobby, the walls covered in projections of waterfalls, which made me have to pee immediately.

Huh ... awesome!!

(note to self ... if I ever go, take a trucker's buddy along)

And why was the writer so impressed with how good surround sound sounds in the dark, and why did he think that was weird?

I've been heading in the same direction here for years, and know some of the pain involved in trying to get it right. What with six channels of quad (Dynaco w/Haffler channels added on to the rear of the room), and ghosts and holos and expansion, oh my ... I'm thinking I'm close to audio nirvana. One of my favorite games is having someone close their eyes and play "find the speakers" .