A masterclass in home audio from Bang & Olufsen's Tonmeister Geoff Martin!

[@soundsheavenly]

Steve from Sounds Heavenly meets with Bang & Olufsen's Sound Designer and Tonmeister, Geoff Martin, to find out what makes Beolab 90 so special and how to get the best sound from Beolab speakers! The full range of cables to connect your B&O products can be seen on Steve's website here: soundsheavenly.com

[@Mikipedia]

Excellent conversation and interview, it's always a pleasure to hear from Geoff! Thank you for taking the time!

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, always good fun to meet up with Geoff, I'm happy to be able to share our discussions on video at last!

[@dlmp70]

A highly enlightening conversation. Listening to Geoff is such a pleasure because he knows how to bring it all down to a level where we can all understand the concepts. Thank you, Steve, for conducting this interview and then for bringing to us.

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, it is always a pleasure to speak to Geoff. Great to be able to share our discussion on camera at last!

[@freerkderuiter8822]

I was lucky enough to have met him back in 2012 together with you, Steve.There are very few people who can translate difficult concepts into something that easily understandable. It's been a pleasure to hear Geoff once again.

[@soundsheavenly]

Hi Freerk, yes it was great to chat with Geoff on the Beoworld trip to Struer in 2012 and I was excited to be back at the home of B&O!

[@michaelmarcosjunior]

What a smart and interesting man Geoff is. And at the same time a normal person to talk

[@soundsheavenly]

Yes, I agree. It is always a pleasure to speak to Geoff, I'm happy that he finally agreed to chat with me on camera!

[@BangOlufsenManchester]

Thanks Geoff & Steve, this was fascinating to watch. - John

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks John, always fun to chat with Geoff. Great to be able to get this on video 😁

[@EastMontana1]

Steve, that was a brilliant interview! I loved everything. If all the sales associates that sell B&O would hear and understand that you probably would have much more clients hooked on to your products. He clarified a lot of things and taught me not to be afraid to explore my settings on my products made by them. Genius 👍👍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I always enjoy talking to Geoff, he is so good at explaining technical things in a simple way

[@EastMontana1]

He is good on explaining to people why these products cost as much and that they have so much to offer in their world 🌎 But you are taking that in perspective as well. I’ve seen the evolution on your videos also. 👍❤️👨‍🏫

[@soundsheavenly]

Thank you!

[@Leo.501]

Good interview

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks!

[@simonduncan8327]

Excellent content Steve 👏👏👏👏👏👏 Geoff is a legend as is Steve

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks!

[@leecollins8051]

Fantastic Steve..loved the technicalities of the legendary beolab 90...

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, it was great to hear Geoff's views on the sound design process

[@olivierbessler7856]

Excellent, for me it sounds like a « medical sound consultation » 🤩

[@soundsheavenly]

Absolutely, the sound doctor will see you now 😎👍🤣

[@kris668d]

I was thinking 'whoa 42 minutes, maybe I should watch this another time when I don't mind getting a little bored.' But when it was finished I thought 'really? Done already??' 😂 I love that you can actually hear that Geoff becomes ecSTATIC when he is touching the 90 😂

[@soundsheavenly]

Yes, sorry about the long video, but it was too good to cut anything out!

[@kris668d]

@@soundsheavenly It was not too long at all 😋

[@soundsheavenly]

👍😎

[@bangandolufsenofealing1009]

That was a very enlightening video breaking down the technical jargon for us all to understand. Wasn’t it ABL on Beolab 5’s? Acoustic Bass Linearisatio…

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad it was helpful. Yes, I think the tech was called Acoustic Bass Linearisation on Beolab 5, that does sound familiar.

[@stathigm]

Awesome video!! Always love listening to the passion in Geoff's voice. His analogies always convey the message of a very technical concept into such simplicity. Shows how much of a guru he actually is!! If I was Tim Cook, and having watched this video, I would do what (surprisingly) Steve Jobs never did, and that is be on the phone to talk shop with B&O. Two companies with two key passions, design and a love affair with aluminium, oh and the 'dare to be different' ethos. Awesome work Steve once again!!

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad you liked the video! I always enjoy talking to Geoff, great to finally be able to get our discussions on camera!

[@stathigm]

@@soundsheavenly I was wondering while watching your video, if there would be any mention (or perhaps a comparison of sorts) of the humble little BL20 sitting next to the monolithic BL90.

[@soundsheavenly]

Good question! Not in this video unfortunately, but maybe in a future video...

[@2Beers4me]

Awesome! As a new owner of Beolab 5's, this clarifies a lot hiow they compensate the sound. Thanks for a great video.

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@MegaCJ25]

Amazing interview, very informative.

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@irshadkhan3727]

Great. Very informative. Thank you Steve

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks!

[@jimmcgonigal]

Love this much more technical insight presentation.

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@gadymarcus2362]

Magnificent.

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks!

[@sakaspuds]

great video, and totally enjoyed the stereo positioning

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks! I used a "faux stereo" effect, with myself and Geoff each positioned either side of centre - hopefully this works well when listening on either speakers or headphones

[@beomille509]

@@soundsheavenly Well….not even the True Image processor of my tv could handle that - could not create a proper center channel out of that. Kind of weird!

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, that is good to know, I will test this on some different TVs to see how the results vary

[@michaelmeyer6088]

Thanks for the great video. In my understanding listening to music/speakers is a little bit like food and wine. You should listen to how you like it or eat/drink what you like. However if you look at food and wine there is the possibility to learn how to distinguish a good from a bad wine and how a good meal should taste. Is there something similar to develop your listening taste?

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, yes that is exactly correct. Harman have an online course entitled "How to listen" that is great at helping you to learn the details of what you are hearing in music to develop the art of listening.

[@TheWooDaWoo]

Awesome video learned a lot thank you!

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad you liked it! My next interview video launches tomorrow on my channel, please let me know what you think when it goes live!

[@anandshah71]

Thank You for the video very informative. Also would had loved it if he could had talked on the internals of the speakers and job of each drivers work. Amps and dsp too

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, there was a limit to how much we could cover in the time we had, maybe that is for a future video…

[@BangOlufsenHome]

Thank you very much enjoyed the video

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@FactsNReason]

Epic video!!

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks!

[@csaba5415]

At 10:25 I went «woah…». Doesn’t it just make you feel like you want to work for B&O? Or rather «Mr Beam» :). Fantastic video, Steve!

[@soundsheavenly]

Yes, I was very sad to have to leave Struer as it is almost my spiritual home!

[@alexandrethethe1412]

Wonderful and informative. That's it. Thank you for the video this is great

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@skodbolle]

"if you're that customer with one chair and no friends.... like me" It's funny because it's probably true :P

[@soundsheavenly]

That is me as well 🧐🤣

[@skodbolle]

@@soundsheavenly aren't we all, when it comes to good sound most of my friends are hopeless 😆

[@soundsheavenly]

🤣👍🏻

[@tomehCanada]

To mix and master most informed engineers calibrate their playback system (summed, metered mix average level, and measured SPL at the mixing position) to 83db while leaving a targeted headroom for the desired dynamics (usually to meet expectations of the market but now also checked to ensure a streaming service won't change it (most are targeted to -14db) , by leaving that average summed mixed level 10, 12, 14, 18 or 20 db below the digital maximum (0 db). This way the well known Fletcher-Munson experimental results for average human sensitivity flatness (bass sounds equal to mid range and treble to our brain) creates a relatively portable (between playback systems and listen environments) audio mix. Even though I find 80db at the mixing position much more comfortable for long periods of mixing and mastering, 83 can be returned to for all final checks. With respect to 1% of the direct sound gettting to the listener and 99% coming from reflective room surfaces, this is why I aim for a low average RT60 of the mixing and mastering room of 250 ms and a playback design similar to the Beolab 90 to increase the ratio of direct sound to reflected. This is the only way to know how much "room effect" that you are hearing from the raw recording (recording microphone and room dependent) and then what the total is after the mixing engineer adds reverb and other effects.

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, that is a helpful summary. I also find 83dB at the listening position too high for comfort so 75-80dB is a good compromise. RT60 is hard to achieve in a home listening room but a good target for keeping reverberation levels down when setting up a professional monitoring room.

[@dappawap]

Can you mix with these speakers?

[@soundsheavenly]

Good question - the answer is NO due to their audio processing causing a delay to the sound.

[@dappawap]

Thank you for the quick reply but can you elaborate? Why is latency during mixing a problem if it is " removing" the room problems when U say mixing, I do not mean in a live to tape setting...

[@soundsheavenly]

@dappawap sorry, I thought you meant live mixing at a concert. The latency isn’t an issue when mixing for recording

[@dappawap]

Thanks again. It seems to me even with the high cost of the speakers it could save professional Studios a considerable amount of money on acoustic treatment if I am understanding this correctly

[@soundsheavenly]

@dappawap yes, the earlier Beolab 5 were designed as studio monitors and they were superb for this.

[@simonduncan8327]

Basically if I make sure soft furnishings are in front of my speakers sound being outputted the less reverb ……. And more accurate the sound will be ? I must look at acoustic panelling ……… Cheers again guys

[@soundsheavenly]

Yes, soft furnishings behind the speakers (between the speaker and the wall) can greatly help to reduce sound reflections and hence to improve the sound

[@simonduncan8327]

@@soundsheavenly thanks Stevie 👏👏

[@simonduncan8327]

Ps Steve , you must of gave this interview some thought and detailed planning the questions and content . This is a fantastic insight , hey I’m not soaking it all up sone of it’s above my current knowledge but it’s packed with information again thanks for all you do for the hobby 👍

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@81Nightro]

Steve so cute

[@soundsheavenly]

Thanks 🤣👍

[@MrCowfood]

As an artist I find it amusing that someone will improve my sound with their speaker. I use filters, eq’s, compressors, and effects to a desired setting with neutral reference monitors and cans only to have someone else’s speaker system add all the above again to my intended work. I am not singling out any manufacturer, they all do this to some degree or more. The poor audiophile should stay with neutral playback devices imo

[@soundsheavenly]

I know what you mean, but as Geoff explained in the topic of "Loudness", neutral speakers won't give you the sound that the artist intended, unless the listener was somehow able to guess the exact volume that the track was mixed and mastered at...

[@MrCowfood]

@@soundsheavenly Loudness, that never factors into a mix for me. I never boost the overall volume for the entire mix. I leave it at -4 db and lower and fit what parts are too loud to “sit in the mix” yet the loudest will never go above that. The mix is generally carving out frequencies that clash, rarely boosting them. Mastering is the art of compression and further Eqing, more carving generally. Bottom line I listen to the entire thing at a multitude of different loudness levels making sure the entire thing sounds good across the spectrum. Of course style of music/content will sound better at different volume levels, but that is for the audience to discover on their own. If a system adds more eq, boost bass lvls, boost highs, or has a built in limiter these will skew the intended levels which the artist and mastering engineer intended

[@SWade-rn9yj]

I have to question if you even listened to this video. My takeaway from this video is that the main point of the filters, eqs, compressors and effects that B&O adds to the speakers is for room correction. People don't have your recording studio at home so regardless of how great your recording sounds in the studio, it will sound different in your listeners' home. Early on, Geoff says 99% of the sound you hear at home is from the room, only 1% comes directly from the speaker. He says the goal is to make the music from their speakers sound like it did in the studio by correcting for all the reflections and whatnot you find in a home. Other speaker manufacturers may have different philosophies where your feedback might make more sense. Geoff even points out the misguided nature of "jazz/rock/classical" voice selections on amps.

[@soundsheavenly]

I find B&O’s room correction to work wonders in my home setup. I am enjoying my music more than ever.

[@pascalkrzeminski7341]

B&O made nice speakers but why they don't made any nice controlcenter. The Beosound Core is not quality.

[@soundsheavenly]

There is certainly an opportunity for a really nice, tactile music system to control B&O speakers, instead of one that is meant to be hidden away…