What is high-fidelity?
To fully understand what happens when you listen to music, you need to know what it's all about. It's well known that the art of music is made up of sound, but what must be faithfully reproduced when we listen to it via an audio set?
When a device or loudspeaker reproduces music, the challenge is to reproduce the various aspects of that music as it is. Without these fine details, the artist's emotion simply won't reach the listener...
To do this, you need to keep an eye on the following:
Frequency and harmonic.
Fundamental and harmonic note frequencies.
Sounds have two components that enable us to distinguish them: the fundamental and the harmonic.
The fundamental frequency is the frequency at which the note vibrates, giving the tonality that determines its position on the scale. Theharmonic , on the other hand, is the component accessory to the note that gives the instrument its distinctive timbre. For example, when a musician plucks his bass guitar string, the drier sound that accompanies the note is made up of harmonics. Without harmonics, instruments would all sound the same, and human voices would all sound the same...
Guitars of all kinds, varied sounds.
The distortion
Distortion is a deviation from the original. When a device creates distortion, it changes the sounds in such a way as to make them less faithful to the source. Sometimes this is barely perceptible, while in more severe cases it is openly unpleasant.
Two types of distortion concern audiophiles: harmonic distortion , which affects timbre by altering harmonics, andintermodulation distortion, which causes phonological units from bass to treble to influence each other, resulting in a confused sound.
Unwanted background noise
Another challenge facing audiophile equipment: reproducing music, and only music.
Left to their own devices, electronic devices let through sound interference that sounds like hissing and buzzing. They are expressed in decibels and correspond to the level of amplification at which this residual noise begins to be heard.
A ratio of minus one hundred decibels (-100) means that from 100 decibels of sound power, residual noise begins to affect performance.
The higher the number, the better. In fact, as well as being distracting, background noise will steal power and dynamism from the amplification, as the amplifier works to push out these unwanted sounds in favor of the music itself.
Efficient power
In addition to timbre, music is dynamic; that is, it varies in amplitude constantly. To keep up with the music's fortissimo movements, we need reserves of power. This power is expressed in watts, a measure of the heat produced as a result of work; the greater the power released, the more heat or watts produced.
It's best to choose a more powerful device so that it can meet demand without being overloaded, which would lead to undesirable distortion.
Comfortable, uncompromising listening means hearing the softer passages loud enough to hear the more dynamic passages without restriction. To achieve this goal, 100 watts per channel is a good start.
Power doesn't tell the whole story, as reserve capacity varies from one amplifier to another. To make the right choice, you'll need to check out the construction and amplification principles, such as class "A" or "B", or hybrids like "D", etc.
Power indicators on vu mètre.
Watts vs Distortion
One of the tricks manufacturers use is to present the high power of their devices as an absolute. In fact, the advertised power only matters if it occurs at low distortion. The same amplifier can deliver 80 watts with a very low distortion of 0.002% (the sound has a deviation of 2 thousandths of 1 per cent), whereas if you push it to 110 watts, it will do so, but with a huge deviation of 10% (a sound resembling AM radio). The manufacturer who advertises his products with a high power rating without worrying about the level of distortion is doing his customers a disservice...
What good is strong if it's not beautiful?
Stereo channels
In the jargon of electronics, we hear about this or that "per channel"; in fact, we're talking about the left and right channels for listening to music.
Stereophonic sound, more commonly known as stereo, is a method of reproduction that allows for a spatial effect.
Spatial effect of stereo
Sound effect designed to reconstitute the spatial distribution of the original sources.
Under ideal conditions, the listener hears sounds as if in nature, or as if facing the orchestra at a concert. The precision of the sound rendering has a major influence, as it's what makes it possible to distinguish what's coming from left or right and front to back.
The damping factor
An amplifier's dampingfactoris a value more rarely disclosed by manufacturers, and generally only at the top end of the market. When an amplifier induces a loudspeaker to react, the latter physically resists the requested movement. This resistance returns an opposite effect to the amplifier via its electrical wiring, so quality is altered. The loudspeaker's membrane will not follow the required movements, and fidelity will be lost. A high damping factor will guarantee better control of the loudspeaker, which should faithfully follow the required movement.
Bass, Mid and Highs
To put it bluntly, depending on taste, some people prefer to pay attention to the bass to physically feel its effects, while others prefer means that include the human voice, just like the majority of instrumental sounds. For others, it will be to hear with distinction high-pitched sounds such as the twinkling of cymbals and other fine percussion.
The devices generally allow you to adjust this, although more and more people prefer to listen as they are, without alterations.
Good equipment and loudspeakers should maintain the integrity of the pieces reproduced. Depending on personal tastes, the choice should be based on the artist's musical expression, not the equipment's propensity for exaggeration.
Bass, Midrange and Treble.