ATC and New Doug Sax/Bill Schnee Recording Technique Two Track Digital Recording Format at AES
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 2008: ATC (Acoustic Transducer Company) will put the spotlight on a new high-resolution music recording technique at the 125th AES Convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. All of the stereo source material played in the ATC demo room during the convention has been recorded using this new technique, which was co-developed by mastering engineer Doug Sax and recording engineer Bill Schnee, and utilizes A/D and D/A converters designed by Josh Florian of JCF Audio.
For Sax and Schnee, who pioneered high-quality, live, direct-to-disc studio recording on the audiophile Sheffield Lab label over three decades ago, the new format is a return to the fidelity of that golden age. “What we’re getting is true high-fidelity, true dynamics again, and realism that you haven’t heard in thirty years,” states Schnee. “The level of true high-fidelity in recorded music has consistently gone down from the LP to the CD of the early 80s, to the overly compressed CD of the last fifteen or so years, and now finally to the mp3. With HDTV being the current state-of-the-art for video, shouldn’t we once again have high-definition audio for music?
The new two-track material was recorded live by Bill at Schnee Studio with a variety of ensembles and comprises mainly acoustic instruments which benefit most from the high-resolution recording method and also serve as an excellent demonstration of its fidelity. The recording chain includes Schnee’s custom, minimal signal path, analog mixing console with tube microphones, preamps, and summing through JCF Audio 192kHz/24-bit converters, with the mix printed to disc in a Tascam DA-RV1000 high-definition master recorder.
“Doug and Bill’s live to two-track digital recordings, can’t help but impress,” stated Billy Woodman, president of ATC, “for they have high-resolution with great quality and integrity. When I first heard sample recordings at Doug’s mastering studio in Ojai, California I was confronted with a large image that was three-dimensional, stable and coherent whilst also having natural acoustics. A great achievement.”
Interspersed between the Doug Sax/Bill Schnee presentations, ATC will present 5.1 surround program playback using DSD Pure technology from the Sonoma multi-track recorder/editor. In an analog studio, the Sonoma DSD Pure multi-track offers sonic fidelity like that of analog tape, and the production power of a digital workstation. Gus Skinas of Somona Systems will handle the surround presentations and be available to answer questions.
Sax and Schnee hope that, in addition to providing the highest possible quality audio with which to demonstrate ATC’s reference monitors, the new recording technique will attract pro audio manufacturers and record labels interested in commercializing the method. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the ATC demo room #111.
ATC will be showcasing the stereo demonstrations though their SCM150ASL speakers and the surround sound presentations through the SCM150ASL 5.1 system supported by two SCM0.1/15ASL subwoofers.
ATC TO INTRODUCE NEW DOUG SAX/ BILL SCHNEE TWO-TRACK DIGITAL RECORDING FORMAT AT AES schneesaxpad
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