A Long List of Compromises - new music space

[Drew Stephenson]

Not that much!

Not a lot of progress on the cabinet today but on the positive side the finger is healing up nicely.

[ManFromGlass]

You're not supposed to pull it that hard . .

[Drew Stephenson]

Ba dum tsh!

[MOF]

sync errors can also be caused by the viewing equipment, particularly if you take audio from a TV to reproduce via a hifi system or external 'sound bar' as so many do.

I listen to 99% of TV on the built in speakers. Occasionally I’ll fire up the hi-fi but it’s an analogue connection and doesn’t cause delay issues.
The rest of the programmes are in sync’ it just seems to be archival material that’s not correctly synchronised.
A mate of mine recently bought an OLED 4k TV and sound bar and there are issues.

[Drew Stephenson]

Whisper it, but I think I'm almost done...

[Folderol]

Oh dear. Didn't anyone tell you? A D.I.Y. project is never actually finished

[Drew Stephenson]

Oh I've still got some nice lights and nameplate to make, don't worry, it's only for a given definition of 'done'.
What I won't have any excuses for is not finishing off my various projects.
Anyway, I'll 'finish' it tomorrow and post some rough sample recordings. Proper ones will follow in due course along with some REW measurements.

[Drew Stephenson]

The last job was building a cabinet for the computer.
Ends and sides:

Add some left-over acoustic plasterboard for mass:

Glue and press:

Make a box:

Opening front end:

Handle and panel clips:

Lick of paint, wheels and clips:

Ready to go in:

[Drew Stephenson]

Still a bit of tidying up to do but here we go:







But how does it sound?

[Logarhythm]

Looks great, Drew

[Folderol]

Looks good.
Now you need to invite people in to assess the performance and usability.
This should be a range from highly experienced mix engineers like Eddie, to laymen like... um... Me
{This latter group to simply go Ooo, and Ahh at appropriate moments}

[Wonks]

I must say that a computer using 300-500W of power in a small thermally insulated enclosure with no ventilation isn't going to work for very long before achieving meltdown.

[Drew Stephenson]

It really doesn't seem to run that hot actually. It was in a closed cabinet before and had no issues. If it does start playing up I can always add some additional vents on the back board and stick a little fan in the enclosure.

[Drew Stephenson]

So here's how the empty shell sounded:
https://youtu.be/pJnGeDsly6M
here's how it sounds singing to the 'live' end:
https://youtu.be/t2iIhiyjm6A
And here's how it is singing to the dead end with the baffling moved and the duvet down:
https://youtu.be/7c4hKBWk6Ac

[Sam Spoons]

That sound's a tad better Drew

[ManFromGlass]

Having a similar computer box, minus a back, I was concerned about heat too. I keep the front open unless I’m tracking or mixing although sometimes I forget to close it. I don’t find the fans noisy on the cheese grater Mac. The mini fridge buzz is more of a concern in my space so I surround it with portable sound panels when recording.

Looking good Drew, so now get to work and lay down tracks!
You still have fine tuning to do . . . . .

[Folderol]

That's a dramatic difference!

[Drew Stephenson]

I'd have been a bit disappointed if it wasn't!

I've actually cut a bit more of the ringing now by judicious use of bits of foam around all the guitar strings.

[Martin Walker]

Bravo young man - your DIY skills eclipse mine, and must give you a warm glow inside, which in turn saves on heating costs.



Martin

[Drew Stephenson]

Thanks Martin, not sure you're right, but thanks anyway!

The most surprising thing of all is that it has largely all gone to plan.

[Music Wolf]

So when is the opening party?

Nice work, now the proper work begins

[Drew Stephenson]

Unfortunately in the meantime I've completely lost any critical listening skills i had!
Feels like i'm almost starting from scratch again.
Hopefully a bit of regular use will bring things back up to speed.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Unfortunately in the meantime I've completely lost any critical listening skills i had!

I doubt that, Drew. It's more likely that your new listening environment is allowing you to hear things you weren't previously aware of.

[Drew Stephenson]

Well, you're definitely right on that front, but there's also an element of opening up a very complex project and forgetting what the heck you were doing with all routing!

Anyway, for the avoidance of doubt, I've just spent another three hours in there, and I love it.