Introduction

Each manufacturer will have a different approach to the research and development (R&D) process. Most manufacturers approach it in terms of technique, technology, and finishing quality. For those who have a core R&D role at ThivanLabs, all of these criteria are an obvious must-have. So what concerns us more than the above issues? It’s a signature sound for the audio equipment we build. Accordingly, we approach this issue from the perspective of sound and music because one of the most important things a user needs in an audio device is to listen to music and how the sound is amplified, as well as the musical experience they would get.

This is also the basis for us to choose research methods and conduct product development research to identify the right issues rather than concern or discuss more about technology. Engineering serves as a tool to achieve the sonic goals we define and work towards. At ThivanLabs, engineering solutions are always researched and improved to serve our sound aims. Like a chef with adept knowledge and skills, how the dish should taste is an expression of unlimited creativity. The sound is the same. Let’s think of sound as a personality; then what is the personality of ThivanLabs’ sound?

Purpose – Goals – Scope of discussion – Research methods

After attending many live concerts and sound testing, a sound philosophy has been developed for ThivanLabs in parallel with the development of engineering and sound standards. In the ThivanLabs sound philosophy, along with the technical specifications that are always optimized, the naturalness of the sound and faithful sound reproduction are the top goals that the devices must achieve. So what are the naturalness of the sound and faithful sound reproduction? And what is ThivanLab’s sound destination?

This article will share our product development design thinking with you more clearly and introduce the research methods we have selected and implemented during our journey to define and build a sonic characterization for the sound-reproducing devices we build.

For the article to focus, the issues discussed will have specific limits!

In this article, we limit our discussion of sound to a narrower scope, which is music and entertainment sound and may also include movie sound. These are the main forms of sound for human entertainment needs and are directly related to the research and development of our sound amplification and reproduction devices. To research, discover, and find the truths for product development, defining the distinctive sound that ThivanLabs audio devices will need to achieve, the core people of our R&D team have always focused on musical experience and experimented with amplification and sound reproduction in the most diverse ways.

The musical experience here is not merely a love of music but rather applied as a research and development method for our products, namely a form of exploratory and empirical research to determine the goals for our next experimental research steps. Through these research methods, we have the observation, experience, and comparison to identify natural sound issues and thereby get the right assessment and objective judgment on sound reproduction. Then, along with the device testing process, various experiments, comparisons, and assessments of technical design solutions in real-life use and performance situations were conducted to perfect the sound quality of each model. The ultimate goal is to create optimal products that bring the best music experience to users, especially those who genuinely love and listen to music!

Combining music experience with product research and development (R & D) is really exciting! For the music experience, which is not only a personal love of listening to music, we also put ourselves in the position of people who listen to music and look for emotions from it. In these categories, we are objects of music. In these diverse musical experiences, to experience the most natural and original sound, we prioritize classical music experiences and live concerts, which are not amplified by any device, to get a more objective assessment of the natural sound.

Accordingly, a subjective factor is that audio-amplification devices are excluded. Because each manufacturer of amplifier equipment will have different philosophies, opinions, criteria, and subjective perceptions about the sound they will reproduce. So, it is obvious that the sound amplified by the equipment of different brands will be different. In addition, the audio signals after going through the amplifier stages will be less or more transformed and no longer original, specifically reducing the “dynamic” and “dynamic range,” which are the inherent dynamics of natural sounds. We are particularly interested in researching this issue to minimize the attenuation and transformation of the original audio signal when reproducing the sound through the amplifiers we develop.

After excluding this subjective factor, for other peripheral factors that may affect the sound transmitted to the listener’s ears, only the influence from the architecture and interior of the auditorium will remain. This is where acoustics are concerned, and the role of architects is vital here! The world’s top auditoriums mostly have to go through a long period of tens to hundreds of years of improving acoustic architecture to achieve sound optimization. Normally, as spectators, we all have to accept the acoustic conditions available in the auditorium. Also, we don’t want to go further than experiencing music and won’t discuss acoustics in this article.

Therefore, in the scope of this article, we assumed that auditorium acoustic environments are already available, whereby the sound in each auditorium will be different. The discussion in this article will only revolve around experiencing music and feeling the sound directly in different auditorium acoustic environments that we have selected to experience and experiment with. Then, based on the facts gained from these, we analyze and define the natural sound we aim for. Theories and perspectives on auditorium acoustics will not be covered in this article. Let the architects take care of that! However, there are still a few other factors that will also affect the feelings of sound and emotions the listeners would get from the music that need to be analyzed, including volume in the auditorium. This issue involves the correlation between the size of the auditorium and the orchestra, the different types of instruments performed, and the talent of the conductor and musicians.

The issues that we will discuss in this article are as follows:

Part 1: The concept of naturalness and sound fidelity

Part 2: Aim and destination of ThivanLab’s signature sound in the latest product generations

… It is to be continued. Let’s follow us to be updated in the next post!

CASE STUDY

Experiencing classical music, sound and acoustics at the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK

To define the standard and natural sound quality for the sound reproduced through ThivanLabs audio equipment, the direct music experience has always been our priority during our European trips.

As lovers of classical music, at the same time, through the process of experiencing music and researching and manufacturing sound reproduction devices, we have found useful values in the classical music experience in different concert halls, especially those with the world’s best acoustics and concerts performed by the world’s leading orchestras.

Having attended BBC Proms concerts at London’s largest theater several times, Royal Albert Hall is one of the most exciting experiences in acoustics and direct sound. During the BBC Prom 69 concert on September 7, 2022, the orchestra, choir, and violin solo were performed live without amplification. In massive auditoriums like the Royal Albert Hall, this acoustic experience is truly special.

The BBC Proms are a series of classical concerts held annually at the Royal Albert Hall during the summer, lasting eight weeks. The Proms program has been around since 1895 and is currently hosted by the BBC. The name BBC Proms is familiar to classical music lovers in the UK, and the BBC Proms concert seasons have become a special event in British culture, especially for the classical music community in the UK.

Experiencing classical music, acoustics and sound at Philharmonie de Paris, France

It is indeed a very special occasion when we have the opportunity to experience music for two consecutive days at two of Europe’s leading auditoriums: the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany, and the Philharmonie de Paris, France. While the exterior architecture looks different, the interior architecture of the two auditoriums is quite similar in style. Regarding the size of the internal space, the Elbphilharmonie is larger and wider, and the layout of the aisles makes it quite convenient to move between areas in the auditorium and somewhat more convenient than in the Philharmonie de Paris. However, sound and acoustics are a different story. Experiencing live music in these two auditoriums for two days in a row enabled us to compare the sound and music performed at these famous theaters. Of course, we will continue to attend more concerts in the future to ensure the most objective and accurate assessment.

The Philharmonie de Paris (English: Paris Philharmonic) is a concert hall complex at the Parc de la Villette in the 19th district of Paris, France, consisting of the Philharmonie 1 and 2 theaters. Philharmonie 2 was designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc and opened in 1995 under the old name Cité de la Musique (City of Music). The name Philharmonie 2 was used instead of the old name in 2015 after a larger theater was built here. Philharmonie 2 is a complex consisting of an 800-1000-audience music auditorium, an amphitheater, a music museum displaying an important collection of traditional musical instruments of different cultures dating from the 15th to the 20th century, a music library, an exhibition area, a hall, and conference rooms.

The Philharmonie 1 opened in 2015. It was designed by architect Jean Nouvel and has a capacity of 2,400 seats. This auditorium is mainly for symphony concerts, but sometimes for other concerts, such as jazz and world music. With its unique architecture, which looks like a spaceship with a sparkling surface, this theater has become the highlight of the whole area.

The concert we attended in Philharmonie 2 performed Symphony No. 9 of Gustav Mahler, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and L’Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris.

From our musical experience here, the acoustic design of the auditorium is outstanding. The size of the auditorium correlates very well with the orchestra size of over 100 musicians, so the sound is naturally amplified with great clarity and detail through the acoustic architecture of the auditorium. The sound covers the entire room well and is clear and detailed. Some segments playing solo or at very low volume can still be heard clearly and in detail, depending on the instrument and listening position. However, in this space, for classical music played by large orchestras, the position in front of the stage will give the most accurate and best sound space. When seated on the flank or rear wing positions, the instruments farther away will not be as detailed as the ones closer, especially if sitting near the trumpet and the percussion, such as big drums. There is a tendency for these loud instruments to drown out the sound of the string instruments. Therefore, there will be a difference when listening in different positions. In addition, when looking at the overall sound structure of a classical piece, the seats on the wings will not have an overall balanced sound and the correct placement of musical instrument groups in a symphony orchestra. However, experiencing music directly without amplification equipment, is still really valuable and true, providing the most accurate sound perception and real emotions.