Defining HD Audio

I recevied an email yesterday from a member of the Intel "Platform Architecture" area asking about my definition of HD Audio. As you may or may not know, Intel is very big in this space and if you google HD Audio you will get a whole lot of search results that point to them. However, there seems to be some imprecision as to the definition of HD as it applied to audio. I thought it might be useful to express my frustration with the terminology and application of HD as I currently see it.

FIrst let me ask a question? What does "HD Radio" stand for? If you answered that it mean "High Defintion" radio, I would not be surprized. The good folks behind this technology [iBiquity] want you and I to believe that there are delivering a completely revolutionary form of radio that is capable of high definition. It is most definitely not high definition...or even close. The digital sidebands that they use to create KLOS-1 and/or KLOS-2 along side there main analog transmission are created from a digital bandwidth of 96 kbps [kilo bits per second]. They do use a new codec to improve the quality of the audio but the quality of the signal is barely as good as the worst quality MP3 download that you can get from Napster or iTunes. Even if you grant them the possibility that the music is "CD Quality", that stills falls far short of the new high definition or high resolution standards.

So I would ask of anyone that trips across this blog. What is HD Audio? I'll give my take on the definition in the next post.

Welcome to the world of HD Surround Music!

My name is Mark Waldrep. I founded and run a small media label that speciailizes in recording and releasing music that can elevate your listening experience beyond anthing that you've ever heard before. AIX Records is the name of the label that I started about 7 years ago. The thing that makes our tracks different than the stuff that you hear on the radio, on your iPod or even on your CD player is that we don't follow the usual recording studio techniques [I teach the subject at a SoCal university and have worked in professional studios for years]. Instead AIX Records captures "live" performances using multiple stereo pairs of microphones in a performace space...but without any audience. We mix the results in a couple of 5.1 surround sound perspectives and make them available on DVDs. I think we're the only label on the planet that doesn't release anything on CDs...they just can't deliver the kind of fidelity and immersive experience that has won AIX Records a loyal following and lots of awards.

I'm completely new to the world of blogs...although I do know what they are. This one is going to be my opportunity to share my passion for music, my desire to advance the art of recording through new technologies and spread the word that the music industry is not the end all, be all of recorded music.

If you're curious already...you can visit www.aixrecords.com and get ahold of our FREE sampler. One listen and I think you'll find that music in surround and high definition is the only way to go.