High CRI Bulb

August 18, 2016 by Fu Yongwei in EDC, tech

This is a follow-up post from my Prometheus Beta-QR EDC flashlight. I have received multiple enquiries regarding the type of light used in this particular flashlight. As some of you have observed in some of the beta-qr review videos on Youtube, you will notice that the light “colour” (temperature) is slightly different from your usual “white colour” flashlight. In this particular case, the beta-qr uses high colour rendering index (CRI) LED rather than the generic “white” LED bulb.

The CRI of a light source is a quantitative measure of its ability to reproduce the colours of different object faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source. To put it simply, CRI lights help objects to display its colours “realistically” or “naturally” as compared to a reference, usually an incandescent bulb. These bulbs have significant improvement to help photographers, videographers to achieve images that have better colour representation when used.

The effects of CRI raitings, Credits Mdidea

To answer the most common question I encountered so far, the light from a High CRI bulb can bring more merits that it looks. Though some High CRI bulb may appear to be dimmer that its generic white LED counterpart, a high-quality CRI bulb is more efficient in its colour representation and will help user / camera sensors to perceive better. Hence, even though some CRI bulb might be spec at a lower lumen rating but its efficiency can far compensate for this shortcoming.

Below are some samples were taken with respect to the different light source, namely, white LED light (Jetbeam PA10), High CRI flash (Nexus 5x) and High CRI light from beta-qr.

High CRI bulb are getting more affordable and manufacturers are starting to include them in their products, e.g. Google Nexus 5x by LG. This is a good development in my opinion, as it can help cameras (even the lower resolution ones) achieve a more flattering and accurate representation of an image. Thus, creating a more holistic balance between camera sensors and light quality. Photography and videography are the art of capturing light and emotion, without a good light source, your highly sensitive camera senses will still be flawed.

In the past, many have avoided the use of LED lights mainly due to this particular reason, namely, bad colour representation. However, high CRI bulbs are creating a viable avenue for many photos and video enthusiast to explore as they are a lot more power efficient and can be very portable (e.g. Prometheus Beta-Qr).

YWFU

Buying Inexpensive Earphone / Headphones

August 14, 2016 by Fu Yongwei in audio

It is certain that in the world of audio engineering, many of us have often associate quality audio gear with a high price tag. For instance, when buying a pair of earphones, the most convenient approach (but least objective) would associate the earphones’ performance with its relative price. Personally, I still see the values in economically priced earphones and comparing them with higher end earphones are similar to comparing a commercial vehicle to a sports car, where they are just simply different.

As mentioned in my previous post (Future Proofing Your Technology), it is important to have a realistic idea of what you are going to use earphones with, hence optimizing every single penny spend towards better sonic performances. When it comes to inexpensive earphones, I would prioritize build quality and ease of use of the earphones. Ironically, sonic superiority is the least of my concerns but adequate fidelity should be expected.

When you are looking for a low priced earphone, chances you are also on a budget and would not want to splurge on anything unnecessary. Thus, it is even more important to pay attention to the build quality of the device in order to ensure the longest possible service life from your earphones. This allows you to save up and possibly have the financial resources available for an upgrade in the future. It would be inequitable to expect inexpensive earphones to possess features such multi-core to single conductor cables to improve the signal to noise ratio (SNR). A more pragmatic perspective would be to analyse the durability of the earphones. Some earphones are built extremely sturdy, for example, being able to withstand cable stresses experienced during sports workout and being washable (water resistance) to rinse off any excessive sweat or dust. A notable example would be the Sennheiser sports series earphones that range below $100 SGD.

In addition, replaceable parts are often another strong suit to help extend the serviceability of the earphones. There are many variations from replaceable ear tips (foams) to headbands, but the one I find it most appealing would be the detachable and replaceable cables. If you have been an audio junkie like myself, you would have notice that for the most part of your listening experiences, the cables in your earphones are the ones that stop working first. Unless you favour the DIY approach where you can re-solder the connections yourself, many would just discard an otherwise still functioning speaker drivers.

My 5 years old AKG K451 headphone would only last this long thanks to replaceable cables.

The next criteria require a little bit of effort but it will save you from many unnecessary hassles and spending. When you’re on a budget, the only items you should invest in (assuming that you already have a functioning media playback device) are your earphones and nothing else. Do not be tempt by other additional accessories such as a portable audio amplifier, where it claims to help enhance sonic characteristic. Most playback devices have an output impedance that are at kilo ohms ranges and that is sufficient to drive most earphones with an impedance of 160 ohms and below (assuming output impedance of your playback device is 10K ohms). Introducing additional audio amplifier along the circuit will be futile as it does not help optimize your signal chain.

Beyerdynamic MXP 50 iE, a very popular budget earphones (46Ω), Credits Beyerdynamic

To conclude, inexpensive earphones are still very relevant, even to an audio enthusiast, it serves as a temporary option for one to save up and upgrade. Fortunately, there are many prospective earphones that are right below the $150 SGD mark where it will comfortably suffice the requirements mentioned above. Have reasonable expectations and these earphones might be applicable to your daily listening needs.

YWFU

Starting out to record in Singapore?

August 11, 2016 by Fu Yongwei in music, audio

It is no surprise that trying to pursue a career that is related to music is extremely tough and sometimes very disappointing. For the past few months since YWFUProject has started, I have been receiving many numerous enquiries about the “tips and tricks” to sustain this profession. To be honest, I do not have anything that is significant enough to ensure your success in this field (if not, I would have been really successful isn’t it?) but after much thoughts, here are some advice that I am able to think of to help you smoothen out your journey in music production / studio recording.

Your gear should serve multiple purposes

Music production can be a really costly profession to indulge yourself in, basically, everything cost money, from the microphones, DAW (computer), monitor speakers and even the microphone stands and cables, all these items can easily add up to thousands of dollars in a short period of time. Hence, a viable approach (the one that I adopted) would be to plan ahead before you purchase any equipment. Generally, the idea is to ensure that every single piece of equipment are as versatile as it should be and have a wide variety of scalability options. An example would be my two-part series on choosing your first microphone, the same ideology can also be applied in any situation.

Re-invest to pay for your gear

The best way to sustain the craft is to ensure that you don’t put yourself into a pile debts. I understand that it is every musician’s / engineer’s dream to have a wide array of equipment at your own disposal. Having relevant equipment to kick start your recording career does not necessarily equate to incurring debts. The most effective method I found was to re-invest your income back to your craft. To illustrate, many of you who are just starting out, you are probably holding on to a current occupation (e.g. student) that might not be related to this field at all. Saving up extra cash by being thrifty with your daily expenses can be rather practical but often not satisfying enough as it takes too long to save up a reasonable amount of money to buy anything.

Take up a part-time job (production based) or volunteer in a position that is related to this field (does not necessarily have to be an exact match to your dream job description). This can start the ball rolling by exposing yourself to new opportunities, meet industry friends and hone your skills. In addition, this part-time job can even be a source of extra income to help you achieve your equipment goals while giving yourself a sense of satisfaction to motivate you even further (e.g. a completion in a live show that you have worked hard for).

Freelance Jobs are one of the most effective ways for you to save up! Credits, Goh JJ

Do not limit yourself into studio space

An acoustical idea room does not always translate to a great recording. Warren Huart mentioned before “creativity will always triumph equipment”, this is especially true when it comes to music production. Music is a form emotional expression and your equipment is merely the transducing medium to sent the message across. “Music production is always about the song, the song and the song” (Quincy Jones), thus do not limit your recording space or opportunity just because you do not have a perfect room to work in. Many albums that we loved are often recorded in hotel rooms, bar, and even toilet, in fact, most of my recording projects are always in non-ideal spaces (e.g. lobby or corridor). Spend some time to experiment around and do not let your mentality bottleneck your recording experience.

Live Recording of "Sharp Tongue" in a typical lounge.

Collaborate with others

Working or involving other like-minded friends in a project brings many merits. For example, the cost of hardware could essentially be lowered as the team can share their existing resources (e.g. DI box or Microphone) into a project together. Effective collaboration can often spread out the workload, hence ensure a higher quality content (as the content has been vetted by many) while ensuring consistent upload to maintain audience engagements.

Nothing good ever comes easy, however, while in the midst of pursuing this career or hobby of yours, I hope that the mentioned suggestions above may have incited you with new ideas to help keep music production sustainable. Enjoy the process and it will eventually turn out fruitful.

YWFU