Analogue vs. Digital Sound for Use in Auditory Stimulation
The position long held by Tomatis International was that analogue was better
than digital primarily because of issues of digital music being cold,
sterile and unnatural.
This information cascaded throughout the Tomatis network. At the time this
debate arose the available digital quality was 8 bit, very low quality.
Current CD quality is 16 bit and DVD Audio is 24 bit. Needless to say times
have changed.
One reason the Tomatis group promoted this idea was due in large part to the
source of their music, LP's recorded onto reel to reel, then transferred to
metal cassette for use by the centers. It is important to note that cassette
has a maximum frequency response of 16,000Hz and begins to degrade at about
12,000Hz. We have spectrally analyzed the Tomatis tapes and have confirmed
this in addition to a large masking noise band across all frequencies.
Human's hear to 20,000Hz and are affected by sound in ultrasonic
frequencies. CD's go to 22,000Hz at 16 bit and DVD Audio to 96,000Hz at 24
bit.
There have been many changes in the Tomatis Network in recent years,
especially with the passing of Dr. Tomatis in 2001. Many of the centers are
now using CDs NOT cassettes, but many of the old timers have stuck by the
tapes not knowing any better. Tomatis International is in the process of
moving to CD, and most all new Tomatis delivery systems use digital sound
now.
The Listening Program is recorded in
digital and processed in the digital domain from start to finish. The Listening Program
recordings from 1997-1999 were at 16-bit, 44.1kHz, 2000-2001 at 24-bit,
44.1kHz and 2002 to present at 24-bit, 192kHz(this is High Definition).
Recording quality is critical to the end product ABT insists on recording
our own music and we maintain 2 audio production facilities. High Definition
rivals the best analogue recordings, and allows use countless processing
capabilities to train the auditory system that are simply not attainable
with analog recordings. To match the quality the end user (you) would need
approximately 2 inch reel to reel for your listening and even with that not
all the capabilities would be present. Given the cost of the tape required
for recording versus digital storage, processing sound using analogue
techniques rather than with digital signal processing, the costs of our
current programs would likely need to be 5-10 times the cost they are now.
There are many other factors involved, but The Listening Program is
leading the charge on using High Definition sound in our
programs and making the investment to do it. Of note, The Listening Program's Music Director,
Richard Lawrence a Scottish born conservatory trained violinist, composer,
concertmaster and audio engineer was an analogue purist in his early
recordings. The possibilities and quality of digital sound converted him.
Over 100,000 people have successfully used The Listening Program over the
last 7 years. With over 2,000 trained Providers on six continents we can say
with confidence that when done right digital recordings work.
Monday, January 05, 2009
The position long held by Tomatis International was that analogue was better
than digital primarily because of issues of digital music being cold,
sterile and unnatural.
