Apex binary audio?

Harold said:

One of the things I liked from the short video was the modulated audio 'aka' deeper the target is the fainter/softer sound it has. Why is this called binary audio?
I always called it modulated audio, what is the difference? Or is it the same thing just a different name?

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The tone will ring at a preset frequency based on the discrimination settings on the detector. The detector first decides what the target is, then rings a simple tone to alert you. The tone is either "on" or "off". That is binary audio.

To make this "hybrid audio", the Apex uses the binary system described above, but additionally the detector modulates the volume (only) of the tone based on the strength of the signal.

Analog audio would be where the frequency and volume of the tone adjusts dynamically based on the characteristics of the signal. More of the information about the signal is passed on to the operator.

"Modulated audio" could describe either the Apex's hybrid audio (the volume of the tone is being modulated), or analog audio (volume and frequency are being modulated). I suspect the choice of what to call modulated audio is more a marketing decision than a technical one in many cases.

Harold said:

One of the things I liked from the short video was the modulated audio 'aka' deeper the target is fainter/softer sounding it has. Why is this called binary audio?.........

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Edited to add: Ditto what Barnett25 wrote.

Binary audio isn't necessarily volume modulated/proportional. But, it is on the Apex, which is why they're calling it "hybrid binary". It's a hybrid of the volume modulation you'd get on an AT series detector, with the binary audio you get on the Ace.

Binary just means "beep" or "no beep" audio. Various algorithms and thresholds determine what signals trigger a beep. For the Apex, the beeps will vary in volume and pitch (5). In binary audio you don't hear the more descriptive, "raw" sounds that could convey more information but also be confusing.

To me it sounds nothing like the Ace or AT? I think is has a more analog type modulated tone. To me that is a good thing. Of course all I have to go by is the short part of the video but I like what I heard.

Harold said:

To me it sounds nothing like the Ace or AT? I think is has a more analog type modulation sweet tone. To me that is a good thing. Of course all I have to go by is the short part of the video but I like what I heard.

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Agree. It sounds nothing like my 350 or the PRO that I had.

Modulated Audio.... On White's Detectors Since 1991

Whites metal detectors had modulated audio since 1991 or so.
My White's Eagle Spectrum has the setting to turn on or off the
"Modulation" setting in the settings menu.

How's that for a 29 year old technologically advanced detector that was
way ahead of its time.

Yes Fisher 1200s and CZs have had it too. On the CZs you can even adjust it with the volume control/ audio boost knob.
And the Etrac/ Explorers call it volume gain and adjustable also.
The V3i also has 5 levels of adjustment I believe?

Harold said:

To me it sounds nothing like the Ace or AT? I think is has a more analog type modulated tone. To me that is a good thing. Of course all I have to go by is the short part of the video but I like what I heard.

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Nobody is saying the Apex sounds exactly like the Ace of AT. The point is that it has a combination of audio features from those machines. That's repeating what the engineer in the Apex video said. To paraphrase, the Ace has the audio modulation (proportional volume) from "their higher end models" and the binary audio from the Ace series. Thus, "hybrid binary".

You could have hybrid binary in two different detectors that sound totally different as far as the timbre of the tones and the pitches assigned to each conductivity range. But, what neither of them would have is the more unfiltered, scratchy, chatty, raw audio sound you get from a non-binary audio like the tone roll audio of the AT Pro. Whether that's good or bad is up to the user.

The faster the processors get, and the better the algorithms get, the more effective binary audio can get at signaling good targets including high probability sketchy signals.

In the past, Garrett's binary audio has been less deep simply because it is hesitant to report sketchy signals, and the recovery speed is slower due to the extra processing involved. (That's not my opinion. It's what Garrett says themselves.) Maybe the Apex will be the best binary audio anybody has seen at reporting higher probability sketchy signals at near equivalent depth and recovery speed. In other words, just as well as what the majority of people can do with their own ears using non-binary audio. That would be impressive if true.

barnett25 said:

The tone will ring at a preset frequency based on the discrimination settings on the detector. The detector first decides what the target is, then rings a simple tone to alert you. The tone is either "on" or "off". That is binary audio.

To make this "hybrid audio", the Apex uses the binary system described above, but additionally the detector modulates the volume (only) of the tone based on the strength of the signal.

Analog audio would be where the frequency and volume of the tone adjusts dynamically based on the characteristics of the signal. More of the information about the signal is passed on to the operator.

"Modulated audio" could describe either the Apex's hybrid audio (the volume of the tone is being modulated), or analog audio (volume and frequency are being modulated). I suspect the choice of what to call modulated audio is more a marketing decision than a technical one in many cases.

Click to expand...

Excellent info, thanks!

Harold said:

One of the things I liked from the short video was the modulated audio 'aka' deeper the target is the fainter/softer sound it has. Why is this called binary audio?
I always called it modulated audio, what is the difference? Or is it the same thing just a different name?

Click to expand...

I have always known it as modulated audio too. I guess the times they are a chang'n.

He is saying the Apex has basically belltones.