432Hz Retuned Music

Network Audio
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Well, I must first credit Steve Deckert of Decware for turning me on to the idea of 432Hz and providing the background information to support why this frequency deserves recognition.

I’ve read Steve’s white paper on the subject (http://www.decware.com/newsite/DECWARESOUND.pdf). I also did independent research and perused the many sources of information that contribute to this subject matter.

As a result, I purchased a 432 EVO AEON music server. Why did I purchase this server? Well, the name kind of shows its hand. It is a music server that uses a special technique to retune 440Hz music (99.999%+ of all we listen to) to 432Hz. They use a proprietary technique to achieve the retune, so it is not simply done by changing the playback speed or pitch which has shown to produce undesirable artifacts. Pitching is not enougth! Doing so just shifts everything 8Hz lower. But the tempered scale is still 440Hz based! (e.g. A4 is now 432Hz, but A5 is not 864Hz, it’s 432Hz + 440Hz). If interested you can read up at www.432evo.be. It is a Belgium company.

Anyway, I have had this server in my system for four months. I am able to turn the 432Hz retuning process Off and On at will. The beauty of this feature is in it’s ability to convert all digital music sources to 432Hz in real-time, including streamed music from Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, etc.

I have done the A/B/A testing and there is something to this. The 432 EVO server is a high-end music server with top-notch engineering, parts, and custom software so even if I did not invoke the 432Hz processing, it is a KILLER server with just gorgeous sound. With the 432Hz retune feature disabled, it is bit perfect. Just to put it in perspective, I use (3) discrete linear power supplies to power this server. Each LPS is assigned a very specific duty: (1) to power the server main board; (1) to power the SoTM USB output audio card; (1) to power the SoTM Superclock board that drives the USB card timing.

Anyway, there have been some scientific studies done on the effects of 432Hz vs 440Hz audio. Maria Reynold did extensive research on the topic and eventually published a book. Her findings concluded 90% of test participants blindly preferred 432Hz over 440Hz.

For the last 4 months, 100% of my digital streaming has been processed to output audiophile worthy 432Hz music and I can unequivocally state that I prefer the processing function enabled as opposed to disabled. If I was to sum up my observations by comprising a single statement, I would say that the 432Hz music drastically reduced my need to skip tracks, turn down the volume, look for a higher-res variant, or accuse my system of aurally violating me.

Here is an interesting video on 432Hz that was just brought to my attention:

In 100% honest disclosure, I did pick the 432Hz version of the acoustic guitar solo as my preference. (Please ignore/discard any of the non-music related content contained within this video). And most importantly, take it for what it is.

I intentionally refrained from making any “knee jerk” statements or proclamations based on the fact that I was genuinely unsure whether or not it had merit. That skepticism has officially been put to reset. There is something to this 432Hz stuff and my experience over the last several months substantiates (for me) what is being claimed by the legitimate players in this arena.

Subjective? Certainly. But, unless you’ve been subjected to the A and the B, you can only speculate. That said, it’s still worthy of sharing.

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Wow! Over 4000 Euros…

Schiit Audio is developing a music processor that will do what that server does for substantially less. I think I will wait…

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Interesting… How is Schiit approaching the retune… exactly?

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And I find your proclamation odd.

Here’s why:

  1. You have never heard the 432 EVO server I am referring to.
  2. You have never heard the Schiit server you allege is under development.
  3. You assertively claim the Schitt server will be equivalent to the 432 EVO without discussing hardware and software differences.
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Hmm interesting topic Jeff,i need to dig deeper in to this 432 thingy, just to educate myself.

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@somppsa It really has been a hoot! My suggestion is have fun, keep an open mind, and if an opportunity arises to experience the differences between 432Hz and 440Hz tuned music, by all means TAKE IT!!

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I’ll tell you what, Jeff. You go over to baldr’s Schiit Audio forum over at Head-Fi and read about how they are approaching it. They call it “the gadget”. Basically, they know all the issues about changing the pitch without changing the timing. They have been working on it for a couple years now. They hired a brilliant scientist to work on the project.

By the way, I have researched the 440Hz vs 432Hz issue extensively and understand the subject fairly well. That has nothing to do with what it takes to change the pitch of existing music in real time without affecting the timing.

Converting 440 to 432 is not worth over $4000 to me so I will wait to hear what Schiit comes out with.

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I respect this statement. This is your opinion, but it is not rooted in science nor does it decipher objective differences between what Schiit has been developing for years and what 432 EVO has created in a product that has been on the market for years.

The burden is not upon me to “go over to baldr’s Schiit Audio forum over at Head-Fi and read about how they are approaching it.” That is not the point of this thread. You took it upon yourself to profess that what Schiit is developing is on par with what 432 EVO has already developed, but provided no equitable data to back this claim. I really couldn’t care less about what Schiit is developing but if you feel the urge to prove your point, please refer to my prior post: 432Hz Retuned Music - #4 by JeffofArabica

And then respectfully start a new thread titled, “Schiit ‘The Gadget’ (theoretical) vs. 432 EVO AEON (existing product)”

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Not to mention the $4k isn’t for a mere gadget, it is for an entire server, a class where $4k isn’t out of line at all. Especially in a world of $5995 DACs.

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Yes, the Schiit product will be only a DSP. But I don’t need all the other crap as I have what I want in my 2 channel setup. The Schiit DSP will fit in the digital chain. The prototype had only SPDIF in and out. The final product, whenever it is done, will have more options. I would use USB in and USB out.

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Crazy stuff…wouldn’t it have been interesting to compare the 432Hz guitar video to the tuned down guitar at 440Hz, so both have the same tune?

Otherwise just the lower tuning of 432Hz could have the effect people think to hear…

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I am not certain we need daily updates of what people don’t need.

Oh wait…

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Laughed out loud at that one, thanks : )

The title of that video made me want to hear that John Mellencamp song, “Hertz So Good”, C’mon baby make it hertz so good,
sometime tunes don’t sound like they should,
so make it - hertz so good : )

So now - we would assumedly need to get source music originally recorded at 432Hz tuning. None of this fake retuned stuff for me!

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The Music of the Spheres returns.

As a related aside, digital audio workstations have long had the ability to change pitch without modifying timbre, change tempo without disturbing pitch, etc. Like Auto-Tune It works quite well as long as one is making small changes. (440Hz to 432Hz is a change of roughly 2%.)

I have never had a practical use for it, but I imagine being able to tweak the length of musical snippets could be very useful when lining a score up to a film.

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Jeff - I realize you said not to watch the whole video, but as an (unwilling) student of YouTube - the defacto information channel for a lot of people these days - I found it fascinating.

So, apparently what you can do is watch everything you find from a Google search (much of which is on YouTube) and then do a “book report” on it. Fascinating. (How to make money at home in your spare time!) Sorta the modern version of going to the library and reading up on whatever they happen to have for reference - Lord knows libraries were/are often selective unless you were lucky enough to live near a truly great one.

Note how the guys in the video seem to have never heard a lot of words actually spoken by other humans before - their dialogue is rife with mispronunciations.

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Jeff - to be clear, my first reply above where I laughed out loud was to Aangen’s joke, not to your post. I do think there are valid reasons for tuning down a half step, such as putting less strain on voices - and instruments would also be less “tightly wound”. The question then becomes how that affects the resonances and harmonics produced. Are these somehow better or less annoying? Is it simply because it is lower, or is there truly some sort of “tuning to nature” that is occurring that got lost in going to 440?

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Al is a funny guy, so assumed that but thanks for clarifying.

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Haha… Noticed the same thing.

Kinda hard not to watch the whole thing so my suggestion was to “ignore/discard” any parts not music related… or not as they could have some sort of entertainment value.

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Why waste time listening to half measures? Take in some of the many historically accurate baroque pieces with A at 415hz!

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There are some bands/musicians that do record at 432Hz and advertise such. I have some of that material too.

Hmmmm… Have you heard any of this “fake” stuff or is it simply a philosophical barrier for you having nothing to did with how it might actually sound?

Kind of like Kopi Luwak coffee. It is processed through the Civet cats digestive track as opposed to a coffee processing mill/facility. Even though the coffee seed is encased in parchment and never touches the cat’s poop, some can’t fathom the idea of drinking this type of coffee. But, it is still coffee and tastes like such.