Tag: Audio Engineering

Purchased the Wharfedale D310 4-inch Passive Speakers

Hello, I’m Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.

A while back, I wrote about connecting passive speakers after I picked some up for free (though I haven’t covered that here on this English blog yet. I’ll make time to write about it soon).

Unfortunately, the ones I found picked up too much external radio interference, so I ended up throwing them away.

But, I still had my old Inkel amp sitting around unused, and I kept thinking it was a shame to waste it. So when I found these Wharfedale D310s for a bargain price, I decided to buy them.

These speakers retail for just $129 overseas, but each one weighs 2 kg, which is pretty hefty for its size.

For audio hobbyists and engineers alike, weight can tell you a lot about a speaker. A heavier build usually means the enclosure is well-designed, and you can expect decent quality woofers and tweeters.

I bought these mainly to refresh my ears when they get fatigued, so sound quality wasn’t my top priority. But the weight alone gave me a good impression.

Interestingly, these speakers have their ports placed underneath. I initially planned to flip them upside down so the tweeters would sit at ear level, but that idea fell apart once I noticed the design.

To my surprise, the sound quality was much better than I expected. At this price point, it made me question why anyone would insist on using active speakers from the pro audio world.

These are also well-shielded, so I didn’t notice any external radio interference. And since these are passive speakers without built-in amps, they have more freedom in the port design, which seems to result in better bass compared to typical 4-inch active speakers.

Even after adding in the cost of my old, cheap Inkel amp, the total was under 200,000 KRW ($150). Compared to similarly sized active speakers, these are a much better deal.

Of course, adding in cables and other extras could push the cost up a little, but you need cables for active speakers too.

I already knew Wharfedale had a reputation for making budget-friendly products, but my personal bias was shattered once again.

The build quality is a bit lacking, but if you look at active speakers in pro audio, it’s often the same. So, I don’t see it as a big issue, especially since this is clearly an entry-level model.

I strongly recommend that musicians challenge their biases and give passive speakers a try. You might be surprised at what you find.

That’s all for today. See you in the next post!

My New Book, “The Basics of Mixing,” is Now Published in Korea!

Hello! I’m Jooyoung Kim, an audio engineer and music producer.

I’m excited to announce that the book I’ve been working on for quite some time about mixing has finally been published in Korea!

Find About The Basics of Mixing

Since I first started diving into audio engineering head-on, I’ve gone through countless books and resources. One of the biggest frustrations I encountered was the lack of educational materials available in Korean. As I continued my studies, I made a promise to myself that I’d one day write a book on mixing.

After finishing the manuscript, I sent it to several publishers, but many found the content to be too complex. While navigating those hurdles, I discovered the POD (Print on Demand) service offered by Kyobo Bookstore in Korea, which allowed me to publish the book online. Although it’s a bit limiting, the book can now be purchased through Kyobo’s website.

I’m deeply grateful to my mentor, Director Yongsoo Choi, and Professor Minho Jang from my university, for reviewing my manuscript. I’m also honored that the renowned engineer, Director Jongpil Koo from Klang Studio, read the book and wrote a recommendation for it. There are so many people to thank for their support and encouragement throughout this process.

To be clear, I’m not claiming to be an expert or someone with an extraordinary career. But I’ve worked hard to organize and share everything I know in the most comprehensive way possible. While the content isn’t exactly easy, I believe it’s worth the effort.

Since this blog is mostly in English, I know most of you won’t be able to read the book. However, if you have any questions about its content, feel free to reach out to me at joe1346@naver.com, and I’ll be happy to respond.

That’s all for today’s post. Thanks for reading!

My Visit to Sorigio(a Korean acoustic construction company)!

Hello! I’m Jooyoung Kim, an audio engineer and music producer.

This semester, the CEO of Sorigio (a Korean acoustic construction company) is teaching one of our graduate courses. As part of the course, we visited Sorigio this past Thursday, so I wanted to share my experience!

Let’s get started!

Sorigio is located on the first floor of the Jungheung S-Class residential-commercial complex in Yeongdeungpo. The door that faces the street is locked, but you can find the entrance around the side.

Once you step inside, this is what you’ll see.

Here’s a view from the top of the stairs:

That area looks like it’s used as an office, and even the soundproof booths are repurposed as workspaces. I didn’t capture the ceiling in detail, but it’s quite high, and they’ve installed artboard clouds for sound absorption.

Next to the stairs, it looks like this.

If you go further in, there are several soundproof booths. Originally, they planned to rent these out to artists, but due to the pandemic, they are now used as AI virtual interview rooms.

However, one of the booths is still used as the professor’s studio, and another is a recording booth. Recording is done with an Avalon VT-737 and a Neumann TLM 103.

You’ll notice that artboards are installed throughout the studio. During class, the professor showed us test results and examples of previous projects using REW (Room EQ Wizard). He mentioned that artboards have been Sorigio’s flagship product and technology since the early days.

What stood out to me was how the bass absorption rate changes significantly depending on how far the artboards are mounted from the wall, even though they’re just artboards!

Besides soundproofing and room acoustics, Sorigio also manufactures phone booths for businesses.

If you head back towards the stairs and go up…

There’s a studio set up for filming.

They manage it using a Midas console.

They also have various lighting options to create different moods.

Here’s what it looks like from the center of the studio.

The high ceiling gave me the impression that this would be a great space for string recordings if it were converted into a recording room. I think we might end up working on a project here this semester!

While I was there, we also conducted a room measurement in the recording booth to compare the difference between having the corner traps and panels installed versus removed.

They used a microphone from a company called Isemcon for the measurement. I’m more familiar with pricier options like Earthworks, Brüel & Kjær, and NTI Audio, so it was interesting to see a brand I hadn’t come across before.

There was a lot to see, and it gave me a lot to think about—like how much money it actually takes to build a proper studio room!

Recently, I’ve had my eye on the SPL Vitalizer mk2-T, which could be dangerous for my wallet… I already bought a passive speaker I couldn’t resist a few days ago.

I’ll be sure to write a review of the speaker in a few days!

Until next time, see you in the next post! 😊