Visualisations?

[-Matt-]

What are you thoughs on using visualisers?

A couple of gif examples from Goom visualiser on Kodi.

Do you find them distracting, or prefer to listen with your eyes closed?

Do you prefer to use a phone app to select tracks, rather than an onscreen gui?

Do you think you might as well have something visually stimulating on screen whilst listening?

Perhaps you prefer to watch music videos?

If you like using them, which ones do you think are best?

Perhaps you think they only work with certain genres of music?

 

[Greenman]

What are they supposed to do?

I’ve got to admit I do find a more realistic soundstage with my eyes open than shut, so certainly the virtual input does affect the soundstage impression in my case, but I do not in general have anything specific to watch, I tend to imagine the band/performers.

 

[Multicore]

What are they supposed to do?

To give you something to look at.

For my ootoobs I can record video of me playing and that's often ok but for some of the pieces I play it looks terrible. So then I'm stuck. I tried using irrelevant video, which I quite like. I tried using a sequence of stills, which is ok but also irrelevant. And I tried a static blackness, which I don't like so much. Most recently I tried a visualization and I think it is more successful. 4K60p no less.

I have to go where the audience already is and that these days is video. So what video should it be?

 

[Mikig]

They say that the screen in the middle between the speakers ruins the sound!

I confess that I would like to have a window and look out of the room while listening...but they say that even the window doesn't work...

 

[Greenman]

To give you something to look at.

For my ootoobs I can record video of me playing and that's often ok but for some of the pieces I play it looks terrible. So then I'm stuck. I tried using irrelevant video, which I quite like. I tried using a sequence of stills, which is ok but also irrelevant. And I tried a static blackness, which I don't like so much. Most recently I tried a visualization and I think it is more successful. 4K60p no less.

I have to go where the audience already is and that these days is video. So what video should it be?

Well I’m not sure this is the same question. With YouTube the expectation is that there is a video and it will usually be watched on iPad/computer with a screen but poor speakers. In your case (solo guitar, is that you?) unless you are producing a specific visualisation to that particular piece I would just do a static camera recording of you playing (first vid), for the enthusiasts at least it gives some insight into what you are playing.

For normal music listening (I.e. you’ve sat down to listen to some music), my expectation is not to have something to watch as well. So I’m unlikely to add some random visualisation (hence my query ‘what are they supposed to do’), if someone is claiming that they ‘improve the soundstage’ or some other such effect then that might be worth discussing, but just to have something to look at..not for me.

 

[Greenman]

They say that the screen in the middle between the speakers ruins the sound!

Yeh, they say a lot of rubbish. Modern TVs are barely thicker than a picture.

My speakers are against the front wall (as designed) so it seems it’s impossible for me to have any sort of soundstage either (again rubbish).

 

[Multicore]

For normal music listening (I.e. you’ve sat down to listen to some music), my expectation is not to have something to watch as well. So I’m unlikely to add some random visualisation (hence my query ‘what are they supposed to do’), if someone is claiming that they ‘improve the soundstage’ or some other such effect then that might be worth discussing, but just to have something to look at..not for me.

I still don't know what soundstage is in the audiophile sense. But I'm a terrible fidget. Sitting still is just about doable in a concert hall. But if I'm at home it's really hard for me to do the Maxell Man in a Le Corbusier Grand Confort LC2. I'm a terrible footer. So I'll end up reading or something and then my concentration on the music goes. I think it would perhaps help if I could look at a visualizer.

just do a static camera recording of you playing (first vid), for the enthusiasts at least it gives some insight into what you are playing.

When it looks ok, it's my preference. But for electric guitar pieces that use the looper it looks terrible. Moreover, video production adds a layer of complexity and distraction to the music making.

 

[DWPress]

Sometimes when I have audio enthusiast friends over that don't quite understand the frequency spectrum and what we can hear I put a RTA up on the projector which is both entertaining and instructive.

 

[Multicore]

Sometimes when I have audio enthusiast friends over that don't quite understand the frequency spectrum and what we can hear I put a RTA up on the projector which is both entertaining and instructive.

View attachment 436637 View attachment 436638

Oh oh oh.

How can I add such a feature to our system? There's one HDMI input available on the HDMI switch.

Let's share diagrams (and photos) of our total physical audio system and the whole signal path, with a few words and/or links

System wiring diagram: :p I can relate. :)

www.audiosciencereview.com

Bonus points if it runs on a Raspberry Pi.

 

[thewas]

Such rather remind me on the good old Winamp days, I am not sure though if I would like to have such for a long listening session on a big screen, guess I am getting old(er) and such "distractions" rather tire me nowadays.

 

[-Matt-]

What are they supposed to do?

Nothing really, just a bit of eye candy!

Although as @DWPress shows, there are spectrum analysers that could potentially offer some sort of utility too. I guess you could even consider VU meters to be a form of visualisation.

They say that the screen in the middle between the speakers ruins the sound!

My setup has to do multiple duties, home cinema, TV, and gaming as well as music so it will always include a screen. The screen is set behind the speaker baffles so doubt it has much effect.

@Multicore , yes it is a interesting point about what video content you might include when uploading music to youtube.

Such rather remind me on the good old Winamp days, I am not sure though if I would like to have such for a long listening session on a big screen, guess I am getting old(er) and such "distractions" rather tire me nowadays.

This is probably where I first came across such things (Milkdrop was one of the better visualisers at the time).


Part of the reason why I've experimented with these visualisations is because I use an onscreen gui (kodi) to browse through my music library (CDs ripped to FLAC). Prior to this I was an early adopter of the original Apple TV which could run XBMC. (The menu and audio is sent over HDMI from an Android mini PC to my AVR).


I wonder what method of selecting the next track others prefer?

E.g. Do you use a phone app, tablet or laptop so that no main screen is needed? If you do this, are you sending the audio from you phone/laptop via bluetooth or wifi?

Do you use the small screen on the fascia of a streamer box, perhaps with its physical buttons or dial?

Do you prefer to manually load individual CDs or records onto a player?

 

[Mikig]

My setup has to do multiple duties, home cinema, TV, and gaming as well as music so it will always include a screen. The screen is set behind the speaker baffles so doubt it has much effect.

I know that often the configuration forces especially in the living room to have the TV right there. Mine was more of a Sunday joke!! I also obviously have my mini HT system in the living room with the TV between the speakers. While in the listening rooms I tried to have the rear wall completely free "broken" by the tube traps

 

[Soniclife]

The playstation 1 came with a visualiser app, you loaded the visualiser, then took that disc out and put a CD in, it reacted to the music, worked really well with beat driven music. I really liked it, would like something like that again.

 

[DWPress]

Bonus points if it runs on a Raspberry Pi.

It's a audio plugin so if you're running audio through an app that can host plugins try TDR Prism, it's free and available in VST2, VST3, AU and AXX format.

 

[EJ3]

What are you thoughs on using visualisers?

A couple of gif examples from Goom visualiser on Kodi.
View attachment 436599

View attachment 436600

Do you find them distracting, or prefer to listen with your eyes closed?

Do you prefer to use a phone app to select tracks, rather than an onscreen gui?

Do you think you might as well have something visually stimulating on screen whilst listening?

Perhaps you prefer to watch music videos?

If you like using them, which ones do you think are best?

Perhaps you think they only work with certain genres of music?

I do not (since 2007) have a TV or screen of any sort in the same room as my stereo. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that I don't.

 

[MattHooper]

I love visualizations. I think they are really cool. I always enjoyed the visualizer on my desktop iMac when listening to music.

And in fact, I thought it would be cool to have a visualizer projecting onto my projection screen, which is behind my two speakers.
Since I didn’t want to use the bulb of my projector itself, I never did figure a solution to do that exactly.

However, I have the next best thing: I have a multicoloured LED light system over my projection screen, and so I can choose a single colour cast on my screen while I am listening to music, or flashing lights, or slowly blending colours. I love the effect.

Some examples:

Lights down from sofa view:

I even like covered lights over some of my other gear, such in my turntable and tube amplifiers:

 

[Cote Dazur]

Do you find them distracting, or prefer to listen with your eyes closed?

That.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I found it interesting for about 5 minutes. Tried a few that reacted in different ways to the music being played. Maybe interesting for 15 minutes. After that, turn that off, please. I don't like them. Closed eyes, a dark room, looking out a large picture window or any real thing is more interesting to me.

 

[EJ3]

Although, I do like smaller things like meters. But they are not something that I just sit & watch.

 

[Greenman]

wonder what method of selecting the next track others prefer?

E.g. Do you use a phone app, tablet or laptop so that no main screen is needed? If you do this, are you sending the audio from you phone/laptop via bluetooth or wifi?

Do you use the small screen on the fascia of a streamer box, perhaps with its physical buttons or dial?

I’m relatively new to the streaming scene (18 months). My habits with streaming somewhat mirror my previous (and current) Vinyl and CD, i.e. I just play full albums. I use an iPad to stream Qobuz albums using a separate streamer (Rivo), the streamer has no screen, I can see no advantage to it having a screen. I don’t create or use playlists, very rarely play individual tracks, rarely even skip tracks ….as I say old habits die hard.