Bongiovi Acoustics - DPS Insider

Will it Tune? A DPS Waveform Analysis…

Joey Butera — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:22:17 +0000

The video teaser above is for our new series, Will It Tune. The first episode will be coming out Tuesday February 7th!
During the filming of our new video series, we had the opportunity to record the output of our wacky creations using Earthworks TC30 microphones. These microphones have extremely accurate frequency and transient response which is why we chose them to represent the sound of our Will It Tune creations. I can now present fairly accurate wave forms for the “speakers” with and without DPS. Read on and get ready for some Sound Science!

top waveform: DPS OFF bottom waveform: DPS ON

The top wave form looks like the output of a fairly standard speaker. The “thicker” areas represent more RMS power (average power over time) and quick transients (the little spikes) peek out of the larger mass of the wave form. As expected, lower frequencies will show up as more RMS power because they require more energy to reproduce. Long vocal notes will also show up as more RMS power (and a thicker wave form) because the vocals are mixed loud in the song. And since RMS is power over time, they can be as powerful as the bass line in some cases.

Now take a look at the bottom wave form with DPS ON. See the difference in RMS power? The DPS technology is “active” which means it is constantly reacting to the incoming program material and making adjustments in real time to provide the maximum amount of power possible within the limitations of the playback device. These particular “speakers” (if you can even call them that…watch the episode!) had quite a few limitations. But by creating a custom profile for them, I was able to divert power away from frequencies where it was being wasted into frequency ranges that needed help. The DPS “toolbox” allows me to use this new power available from the small 20 Watt amp we were using to make the speakers sound pretty darn amazing. This is all done by hand/ear and, in case you were wondering, the DPS “toolbox” is NOT a glorified multi-band compressor. There is some special sauce at the core of DPS.

If you look closely at the DPS ON wave form you will see large peak transients spiking out of a fat and consistent body of RMS power. This wave form actually looks more like the wave form of the actual recording! However, the transients are actually LOUDER than those of the original recording. This has the effect of adding life, color, excitement and drama to the program material. It is these non-measurable intangibles that we strive for when creating profiles for DPS. So at the end of the day it looks like the DPS technology has not only distributed the power evenly across the audio spectrum specifically for these speakers, it actually INCREASES the dynamic range.

When all frequencies are tuned for a given DPS application, the device now has more headroom available. This headroom should result in an increase in volume but sometimes it can’t! The bottleneck becomes the actual digital audio engine itself. Most systems (Windows and iOS for example) use PCM audio as the backbone of their audio engines. This means “digital zero” is the loudest possible signal that can be reproduced before very nasty clipping will occur. Modern music is already mastered right up to this “digital zero” level so if we are INCREASING the dynamic range for a louder output, where can all of this new sound go? It’s like putting Dr. Bruce Banner into a Honda Civic and making him angry. The Civic may become slightly distorted! We’ve worked around this issue by building headroom into the Windows version (since it becomes a part of the whole computer audio system) and creating HIFI profiles for iOS. This isn’t a problem for integrated DPS applications since we are part of the design of the system.

Hopefully you found this technical insight into DPS interesting. Respond to this post if you have any questions or wish to elaborate.

Joey Butera

DPS Playlist 12

Joseph Beaty — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:16 +0000

Our last DPS Playlist was filled with Holiday Music and Video. This will be the first for the new year. A short and eclectic mix. Feel free to let us know what you have been listening to with your DPS Plug-In or Bongiovi DPS (iOS) App enabled. Enjoy!

I just got an online subscription for SiriusXM. The audio is just soooooooo crappy, I connected my laptop to my home theater just so I could DPS-IT. I’d rather have my laptop dangling from my entertainment center than listen to the horrible satellite by itself! Once again, DPS Saved the Day!!!! HairNation Here I Come!!!! (just kidding) – Rob Roy, Bongiovi Acoustics.

SKRILLEX – First of the Year

Alesso- Raise Your Head

Chuckie ft. Gregor Salto – What Happens In Vegas

Aphex Twin – Flim

Opti + my.head – Glimmer

App Overload

Joseph Beaty — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:01:09 +0000

It has been over year since I have had my smart phone. It is a highly capable phone. It does everything I need it to do. I can update all my social networks with a variety of tools that make it easier. (Like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck for example.) I can play games like Wordfeud (or Words with Friends) with people all over the world. My tablet does all the same things with a slightly better camera and larger screen for eBooks for Kindle (or Nook). Like most people, I bought these devices and started going crazy downloading every App I heard about. It seems there are a million apps to do the same thing. Or at least claim to do the same thing. I am happy to say that the Bongiovi DPS App for iOS is in a league of its own. Sound enhancement for our phones is not a new idea. However, Real Time Audio Re-Mastering is a patented process. So, I feel good about where we stand in the App world. Still, I cannot help but think about the Photo Editing App, the Coupon App, the Music App, the blah blah blah App! I actually spent a good hour deleting Apps I don’t use from my phone the other day to realize that I was an App addict. I was suffering from App Overload and had no idea! Are we downloading and trying things out to see if we are to purchase the paid versions? Or do we just consume everything because we can? I think it is a little of both. So I suggest a few questions to ask yourself the next time your thumb gets anxious and enters an App Store. Will this App make my life better? Is it offering a service that is unique? These simple questions might just give you piece of mind (and a much needed vacation for your thumbs) when flipping through screens of useless fluff. NOTE: If useless fluff is the whole idea, then disregard this statement.

2012 CES Pictures

Joseph Beaty — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:07:12 +0000

If you happened to miss the photos of our recent trip to Las Vegas for 2012′s CES, Click here.
Great photos by one of our very own, Phil Fuller.
Enjoy the pics.

Pawn Stars

Joseph Beaty — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:00:24 +0000

It can’t be all about work at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. We had to stop by the site of History Channels top show, Pawn Stars! Such a great show. I bet they have some amazing primitive audio devices in their shop that we could make better with DPS technology huh?

2012 CES Innovations Awards

Joseph Beaty — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:10:39 +0000

The Bongiovi Acoustics crew is out at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show and has accepted two innovation awards! One for the Bongiovi DPS Audio Enhancer for iOS and one for the Bongiovi DPS Audio Enhancer for Windows system wide. Both awards fall into the design and engineering category. Thank you.

Celleste in Bongiovi DPS Player

Joseph Beaty — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:10:42 +0000

We previously posted about a groundbreaking partnership between the Mighty Music recording artist, Celleste with Bongiovi DPS. We are pleased to announce that we have now added Celleste’s hit song, “Real Love” to our DPS Player at http://dpsplugin.com
Click through the player at the site until it looks like the image below, hit play and enjoy!

Here is the Official Video for “Real Love” in case you missed it:

Bongiovi in Faze Magazine

Joseph Beaty — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:00:22 +0000

Bongiovi DPS has recently been featured in Canada’s #1 Teen Magazine, Faze! The product feature and magazine cover are featured below. Enjoy!

2011 Bongiovi DPS Videos

Joseph Beaty — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:35:30 +0000

Thought it would be nice to feature a few Bongiovi DPS videos that may have been overlooked from 2011. Here is a nice group of highlights, instructional and fun videos for DPS in 2011. Enjoy.

DPS Holiday Playlist

Joseph Beaty — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:00:19 +0000

All of us are doing the Holiday Season shuffle trying to get ready for family, gifts, etc. All of this while we work. A few of us at Bongiovi Acoustics have a few things we enjoy during the holidays we wanted to share. So put on your reindeer sweater, pour yourself a glass of Eggnog and listen/watch this! Feel free to respond to this post with your favorite Holiday Music, Videos, etc. Enjoy!

Rudolph The Red nosed Reindeer – Silver and Gold

Snow Miser Song – The Year Without a Santa Clause 1974

Frosty the Snowman – (Cocteau Twins Version)

She and Him – I’ll Be Home for Christmas

Charlie Brown Christmas Time is Here Song