[LAU] Headphones

[david]

On 12/16/2014 09:16 PM, Brent Busby wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Dec 2014, Ralf Mardorf wrote:
>
>> And while driving a car with a cheap car hifi. Unfortunately I can't
>> pay for a car any more, but the sound of the motor + the averaged car
>> hify provides much more information about the needed compression for
>> our mixes, than an Auratone in a professional control room does.
>
> I've thought about this now and then for years -- we all end up checking
> our mixes in our cars.  Even the people with acoustically treated rooms
> and expensive monitors who say they have equipped themselves to mix with
> confidence still go out and check in the car.
>
> Why don't we just mix in our cars?  :)

Hmm, why bother with cars? My millenial daughter, her ex-husband and her 
current boyfriend do not own cars.

My youngest nephew (22) has a car but plays music from his phone thru 
the car radio using an adapter plugged into the cassette player. (Yes, 
he's a poor college student, so his 1996 Toyota Camry with 230000 miles 
on it and the stock Toyota radio is what he's stuck with.)

Instead, they listen thru their telephones, mostly using earbuds, 
occasionally playing things from their phones thru external stereo 
devices like powered Bluetooth speakers, etc.

So if you're going to mix for the lowest common denominator, a car just 
isn't it anymore. Only really cheap or old cars have sound systems worse 
than phones.

> It's very tempting to get a car stereo with a direct input, equip the
> laptop with some kind of nice USB audio interface, and run Ardour in the
> car!  Maybe I could even strap some kind of 5-octave Midi controller
> keyboard across the dash.  Just don't mix and drive...

Hmmm ... sing, have autotune running on the system, then note 
recognition to also record the note as MIDI ... couple it all together 
with voice commands. Then you can mix and drive! (Especially useful for 
those tracks where you simply MUST have engine, road and wind noise, 
crossing over rumble strips, and the police siren when people start 
reporting some driver acting really strange in his car.)

Of course, if you don't like engine noise, you get yourself an electric 
car (a Tesla would be nice, yes?) or drive your hybrid on battery. On a 
smooth road, our Prius transmits only a little tire noise when running 
on battery. And the stock sound system is pretty good.

Or an array of foot switches (most useful if your car has automatic 
transmission).

> (Hmm...possible idea for future Ardour development...Ardour as an
> embedded OEM app for car manufacturers...could bring a whole new meaning
> to "Detroit techno"...if there were anything still left in Detroit...)

Maybe a special app used in cars and limos used by real musicians. Joe 
Ordinary person isn't even vaguely interested.

-- 
David W. Jones
gnome at hawaii.rr.com
authenticity, honesty, community
http://dancingtreefrog.com