This is [...]
the English horn over the viola tremolo type of listeners.
Now all the Smiths simply go to prove two things.
One, different Smiths enjoy listening to music differently.
Two, almost every home music lover is in search of the same thing.
The truest, most lifelike reproduction of the original music possible.
[...] perfect fidelity.
Or high fidelity.
Or high five.
But what is high five?
And what's the difference between a high fidelity record player and any
good ordinary record player?
So let's ask Smith. He should know.
Excuse me. Could you tell us?
Oh yes, pardon me. You're listening, aren't you?
Well, all right. It just so happens I know a Smith or two who also know a high
five when they hear it.
No, that's not
the high five. That's Smith.
What'd you say?
I said, you're Smith. And could you tell us what high five is?
That's what I thought you were.
[...]
Why, sure, you bet.
Certainly I can tell you what high five is.
What is it?
High five is sound reproduction from an instrument that has been especially
designed and constructed to give you sound that will be as nearly as possible.
The same sound you would hear in the original playing.
What you get in a high five set is best described as presence, a feeling of
life and nearness in the music.
If you've heard high fidelity reproduction, you'll be hard to
satisfy with anything less.
Say, you really did know, didn't you?
Now, can you tell us how does one get high fidelity reproduction?
I can. You know, of course, that most people hear sounds within a frequency range
of 20 to 15,000 cycles.
I do? No, I don't.
Well, you know that the phenomenon called sound is a wave in the air
pulsing at a certain speed.
Now, these waves hit the eardrum and are turned into vibrations, which the brain
translates into what we call sound.
Now, the waves pulsing slower than 20 times per second and faster than 15,000
times per second are mostly missed by the human ear.
Now, these pulsations are referred to as cycles and
are counted so many per second.
Thus, the number of cycles per second in a given sound are described as its
frequency. Are you with me?
Not exactly with you, but somewhere nearby.
Well, you can see the high and low frequency cycles of sound in
that motion picture film you're showing.
Now, watch while I sing a low note.
La. That was a low frequency sound, as you can see. Now, a high frequency sound.
As you saw, that one pulsated much faster.
Of course, most hi-fi enthusiasts insist that a hi-fi set must be able to
reproduce all frequencies up to 15,000 cycles per second.
Of course, when I build them, yes.
Well, what would you say it takes to be a do-it-yourself hi-fi
enthusiast like yourself?
Oh, doesn't take much. Only money or thorough knowledge of electronics. A lot of
spare time. Your wife threatens to leave you.
But if you want real hi-fi, well, and that's one, Smith,
speaking. There are others.
This Smith, for instance. Another do-it-yourself hi-fi enthusiast.
Oh, no. No, no, not me. I'm a component parts man.
Of course. Stupid of me. What do you mean?
I simply mean that I assemble my hi-fi set from preassembled component units.
[...]
And amplifier?
Record player.
And do you think you can tell us what hi-fi is?
Oh, yes. Yes, of course. You know that sound waves...
I know, I know. We're up to where the sound comes out of the record.
[...]
Well, as the record plays, the needle wiggles at the right number of cycles
per second, which have been recorded.
Now, this creates electrical impulses, which are then boosted by this amplifier,
and then pushed out through that speaker in the form of sound waves.
Then I suppose that the bigger and better the speaker, the higher the phi, so to
speak. If you don't mind a bad pun.
Oh, I don't mind a pun. But you have to be careful with statements like that.
I said something wrong?
Well, I just don't want you to get the idea that merely by adding a big speaker
to an ordinary record player or radio, you get high fidelity.
All the components of a real hi-fi system have to be of the same high quality
and properly balanced.
I see what you mean, and I'll watch that from now on.
And tell me, do you have to be an electronic genius with nothing but spare
time for this kind of hi-fi?
Oh, no. Don't know. I simply buy the components, build and finish a cabinet for
each, and hook them together.
None of that messy do-it-yourself stuff for me.
And there's still another Smith's opinion on the subject of hi-fi. Are there
more? At least one.
There's this Smith, who seems to be enjoying all the advantages of true hi-fi
the easy way.
Would you call yourself a component parts man, a do-it-yourselfer, or one?
No, I'm strictly an enjoy-it-myself hi-fi enthusiast.
I see. You like it the easy way.
And yet every component of this set is the finest hi-fi equipment made.
I get perfect high fidelity.
Still, my work is confined to stacking records or loading paper, flicking a
switch, and listening. And what listening?
For menoral listening, it just can't be beat. I beg your pardon?
For what kind of oral listening?
Menoral. That's what I've been listening to. Music from one sound source, like a
record or a radio. Then this stereophonic sound.
Perhaps I better let you hear the difference. That would be just dandy.
Now this is a stereotape player. The sound here has been recorded on the tape
magnetically. But mind you, this stereophonic tape player is
not just ordinary hi-fi.
It isn't?
No, sir. This is hi-fi plus. This is a new dimension in sound. This is...
This is what I want to hear already.
Okay. But when I push the button on the tape, you'll have to turn off
the projector. Have you got that?
When I see you turn on the tape, I turn off the projector.
Right.
[...]
Hey, that was great. Sensational. Terrific.
What is it?
I told you. Stereophonic sound. A new dimension in sound.
Stop saying that and tell me what.
How?
Well, it's fairly simple. I've heard that before, too.
Well, you know that natural sound is received through our
two ears from all directions.
So when you sit in a concert hall, you hear the music not only from directly
ahead, but from both sides, overhead, and below.
But because one ear is usually a little farther from any one sound than the
other, you don't quite hear the same sound at the same time in both ears.
Thus you can determine direction.
And that's what happens with the two-speaker system.
Yes, but be careful. Don't get the idea that two speakers on an ordinary hi-fi
set will give you a stereophonic sound. They won't.
You see, stereophonic sound for the home is recorded on two separate tracks, each
one giving special emphasis to certain sections of the
orchestra, as heard from those positions.
Now, when played back simultaneously on two separate systems, the sounds are
blended together to achieve a new dimension in sound, impossible to obtain
in a monoral recording.
But I'm able to use the speaker on my regular hi-fi because the manufacturer has
made provision for this sound of the future.
You get the idea?
Oh, yes. I've got it. But I wish you'd explain it to me.
It's really very simple.
Now, let's not start that again.
You remember when these were standard equipment in every parlor?
Sure. A stereoscope.
Hey, a ray of light. Stereoscope? Stereophonic.
Right. That's where the name comes from because the visual principle involved
here has been applied to sound.
The only difference between these two pictures is that they were photographed by
cameras set slightly apart, about as far apart as the distance
between one's two eyes.
And when seen through the viewer, the two blend together to create an illusion of
depth and width. You see what I mean?
Oh, yes. I've got it.
Now, in stereophonic recording, the same principle is used.
Two separate groups of microphones are placed from 8 to 20 feet apart, and each
group records on a separate track.
I'm with you now. The separate soundtracks play over separate speaker systems.
Correct. And when the listeners are centrally located in front of the two speaker
systems, they get the illusion of sound coming from a wide area, as if a
full orchestra were in the room.
Sounds great. But who can afford a full orchestra in the living room? Or
even a reasonable facsimile?
You can. Nearly everyone can. They're amazingly inexpensive. And new and more
exciting stereophonic tapes are being put on the market every day.
Would you like to hear a sample?
I'm with you.
All right. Let's try Ferdy Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite, as recorded by the Boston
Pops Orchestra, without the feedler conducting.
It'll make you feel as if you're really in the Grand Canyon.
Wait a minute. I can do a few tricks, too, you know. You let me hear the Grand
Canyon, and I'll let you see it.
It's a deal. Are you ready?
Let her go.
All right.