ISh wrote: > Talkin Sound (conversations with Mr Nakara - Enbee Audio) > > Hi all > Following is a conversation with the founder of Enbee Audio Mr. > Nakara. He is a multi talented Audiophile who has been manufacturing > Hand made music systems for over 35 years now. His latest range of > speakers and amplifiers (100/75 watts RMS) produce one of the best > sounds I have ever heard. And another way to put it will be that I > heard one of my favorite CDs for the first time when I heard it on the > Enbee Music System (i.e. John Mc Laughin plays Bill Evans). And as for > the other cd?s I heard on this amazing music system it was an out of > the world experience likes of which I have heard very rarely and that > too only on very high end music systems. I can not do justice to the > Enbee music system in words as it is an experience and one would have > to be there to experience it. So please make time and visit the Enbee > show room with your CD case and sit back and listen. > > This is a conversation with Mr Nakra about sound, his designs and his > life(to be contd..) It was not a straight forward interview as he is > very passionate when he talks about this subject, and to give a > structure to it (like interviews) will limit his out put. So most of > the time the conversation ebbed in and out of very technical details > which are also important but will be covered later when this project > actually kicks off (details later) > > > Thanks for Reading > > <>ISh > _______________________________________________________________________ > > Q: question > N: Mr Nakara > Mrs. N: Mrs Nakara > (side details/observations .. in these brackets) > <technical details ? in the angled brackets> > > > (When I entered the Enbee Show Room there was a discussion going on > about Vat between Mrs. and Mr. Nakara and it?s confusing ends. And how > it affects the small time manufacturers with no differentiation on > volumes etc. Tax on end-price or each product or part ?.10% ?20 %... > 12.5 %.....12,400,.. and on and on) > > Then the conversation shifts to cameras and hunting ... a friend of > mine is telling Mr. Nakara about the digital cameras and memory sticks > (CF cards). > > N: we used to go out hunting every sat and sun we used to see > beautiful shades of trees and they are of a kind which you don?t find > here in the city. . there is so much construction next to the road. > Once I saw the sun like this big red ball and it was beautiful, I just > got off and ran out to take a picture but I couldn?t find a place from > where I could take it as there were electric cables everywhere. And > till I went further up the sun had gone down. > Mrs N: we had seen the sun twice like that. Once was at the time of > sunrise. The Sun completely engulfed the car as it was red (aah). > N: Photography puts life into you. Unfortunately I do not do my own > developing. In school we used to do black and white and dotting. > (school was Bishop Cotton, Shimla) > > Q: was this in the 40?s ? > N: oh.. Much Earlier > Mrs N: in the 30?s > N: we used to do dodging and reduce the light . And then in the dark > room you can see what is coming out , it is like a painter giving the > final touch. > > Q: Can you tell us something about records and players lets start for > Gramophones. > > N: The sound box is the gramophone should be made out of film > material/ aluminum > Or paper, so that is the amplification thing. Then we have the chrome > arm. Then you have this arm inside which is not the tube complete it > is also exponential > > <TECH: the details of the conversation( on records/needles) further > can be best explained with the help of a diagram with the technical > parts later> > > The basic reproducing factor is here (needle head) and the grooves in > the record. The grooves are cut horizontally in a record and in fact > for stereo recoding the grooves are cut at an angle. > Shellac records used to wear out the pins really fast like the copper > tip pins. So when we were kids we were given records and when the pins > used to finish off we would go down in the mountains and pick thorns > of a tree(kikkar in hindi) and break them carefully and pattern them > out .. the finest sound you get from them(the thorns) and not from the > steel pins. One thorn would work one side and produce lovely sound. > The kikkar would be nature polished. (laughs) > > Q: and they will duplicate perfectly > > N: Yeah . Now what is sound? If there is no air there will be no > sound. On the moon I can not talk to you. (picks up a papper and moves > the papper around ?) > There is sound just now.. it is starting to do vibrations and produce > sound. This is where one starts perceiving sound. Sound is nothing but > vibrations and sound can not go on traveling endlessly. Electronic > wavelength can travel endlessly, it has a property that if there is a > obstruction in it?s path then divert and continue. This is not so with > sound waves. So we use this property to make sound proof rooms Eg > glass window with air in and then another glass window with air > between it so this is how you cut out the noise and sound pressure. > One thing you should have clear in you mind and that is there is > nothing perfect in the world. That is to say there is no perfect > conductor, there is no perfect insulator. Everything will have it?s > capacity to stand and resist the flow of electricity when passed > through it and beyond which it will break down and it will burn off. > No insulator is a perfect insulator . Insulating properties keep on > varying by aging also so is that case with conductors. That holds true > for everything. > > <TECH : (6:30?15.33 on track 3-- Tech explanation for records and > needles. Tracks and tracking gear, record grooves. Needle balances etc> > > Q: Tell us more about Perceiving the source of sound? > > N: See there could be a gathering/group that is producing sound. There > is a tabla some vocals and a sarangi player for example. So once you > look at the configuration of the stage at least you should be able to > feel in that manner itself. For eg the tabla player?s sound in more > prominent on the left and the vocals on the right side so partiality > to the left should be given to the tabla and vice versa the right > should be given to the vocal. But > > I found a very nice way to go about it specially for location > recordings because you can not go about carrying all this equipment on > location recordings like on top of the hill in Kashmir. You can not > subject these people to a studio you see that is not their natural > environment. The best technique I found was to cross two microphones > round 90degrees on their axis(demonstrates a crossed pair mic?ing > technique.. which he swears be) So in this case (of crossed pairs) the > sensitivity is spread all across and you can pick up beautiful sound. > So like in photography there is lot to learnt in the process of going > ahead and doing the work, when you come out of an institution if you > honestly ask me you are at a book level. Where you don?t have any > experience you haven?t had exposure to face the odds that might come > your way and you have no experience of evolving your knowledge into an > art. You have to be applying the ideas etc and that?s where the > learning starts. That is like if you have read a book you know less > than the writer , even if you have read 10 of his books 10 times you > will know less than the writer. See you can never equal that .So after > acquiring the knowledge of the books you have to develop your skills > and experience and then go beyond and when you try to do the practical > implementations is the time you start to learn in reality and grow. > > ===More about the Past ========= > Q: how did you get into sound and not some babu job? > > N: I had joined the British Trade commission . I has there as a > Marketing research officer and I worked there for 9 months. I was > there I hated their system of files piling up. ?.. > > (describes of the whole babu system and his futile attempt to change > it?.) > He then left the British Trade Comission and did a vocational course > in electronics from City and Guilds, London and then went to United > states of America and did his PhD in electronics in the 40?s) > > (He carries on ?) > N: I had majored in television and at that point of time except > teaching students I could not do anything. I knew so much about > Radios.(narrates another fable) > I had once gone to an electronic shop in California and these people > were having problems with noise which I fixed and the owner as very > impressed so that put more confidence in me to work with radios. Their > Radio were of the make ?Elecraft? and there was a distortion in the > sound and I fixed it in 10 mins which they could not do for weeks. > That was my D-day. > <brief technical description of how he did it .: Disk 1 -Track 5 ? > 7:30 to 9.30 > > then the owner gave me a job as a supervisor. > > While working for the Trade commission I felt like a personified > clerk. It was the same things that I was doing over and over again , > and I concluded that this wont give me happiness. I decided that I > will not work for any one else?. > The thirst in you is not quenched you see for knowledge and to do > something creative.. And if a person has a creative bent of mind you > have an urge to explore something extraordinary and I suppose that is > when money becomes secondary. You have to channel your energies to the > areas of your interest to evolve an identity. You want to know more > about the work you do so that you can do justice to your work. Then > that becomes the concept. The entire field of electronics is very vast > and is very interesting. > > Q: Tell us more about your system design. > > The biggest challenge has been of reproduction of sound equal to the > live performance. At least that was the basic criteria. There has been > a lot of gimmicks and techniques to create dramatics in sound. They > may be fine for exciting a person but ultimately when you season out > you want to be as natural as possible, that is to be closest to the > natural sound. You are not working hypothetically as one is working > with something visible and audible. > Like there are different schools of thought for kathak and tabla even > for audio design like there are different schools. So you have to > decide what school you belong to and should know the limitations of > that school of thought. Then one should try to move towards natural > reproduction and try to follow that. What you want is clear from the > start and you are trying to accomplish that. > > Then there is this fundamental of stereo recording which a lot of > companies including HMV got it all wrong. Nobody was sure of it and > the information(Audio data) was dotted wrongly into the channel. Then > there was these stereo recordings with Tabla?s daiyan(right) on one > side and baiyan(left) on one side. Now that is very stupid as it moves > away from the natural recording aspect. > > Now if we look at the Audio best design interiors like of an opera > house even there the audience will not get direct sound(which will be > around 8-12%) . Most of the sound that the audience will be getting > will be refracted sound. So your recording and reproduction should be > based on this principle and that is the idea. You are spending money > to enjoy it a live environment. It is like you are not listening to > the speakers, they don?t make their presence felt. > > There where a lot of reluctance to my designs, like why are you moving > away from the convention (shows a few photographs of his designs > --pregnant and froggies?these will be covered individully in detail > later under design evolution). > > <Then Mr. Nakara explains the basics of Speakers .how they are > constructed along with each component etc > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ >
