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All --

In the latest Zoom client release (version 5.3.1), under "Audio Settings --> Advanced", there's a new arrangement of options, and a new option:


When you click on the "?" next to "High fidelity music mode", a warning appears:


There's a discussion of this new feature -- and a good explanation of what all the audio options mean -- here:

https://midnightmusic.com.au/2020/09/complete-guide-to-zoom-audio-settings-for-music-teachers/

and officially from Zoom here:

https://blog.zoom.us/high-fidelity-music-mode-professional-audio-on-zoom/

Note that there is _no_ specification of what the "high fidelity" bandwidth is, just that it's wider than the previous range.

I haven't tested these capabilities yet, and I may be handicapped by _not_ having an Ethernet cable to my router. If I _do_ manage a test, I'll report back here.

This post risks being buried. It shouldn't be. We're hearing from someone who plays piano, understands something (a lot) about this aspect - as opposed to folk coming into it recently and already trying to feature a product - Charles, please do report back as you learn more.

I can report here:

Sound quality depends on the Internet connection on the receiving end. People with god awful Internet service will hear a lot of echo and/or delay on their end. But I imagine this is true regardless of platform.

I have updated Zoom and some have reported that my piano's sound quality didn't change much, i.e., Zoom was already pretty good before, and the new updates didn't reflect much discernible change.

The people who routinely complain about the quality of Zoom usually are the ones with bad Internet connection to begin with. Or they are too cheap to buy an external microphone, so everything they send out from their phone or laptop is garbage.

Thanks for the information here, I will update zoom and check out the music mode. The problem I have been seeing is that during the natural decay of the resonance, at some point (to soon) zoom cuts off the transmission. Internal or external mic with my mac, makes no difference. My internet with speed test is 100 Mbs both ways. I have played with the setting with no success (5.1.2 version). I'm not sure if anyone has seen this, and solved it already. I would be interested.

One difference between "original sound" with the "high fidelity" setting, and standard Zoom audio:

. . . Standard Zoom audio has a "gate" -- it shuts off the mic input when the level drops
. . . below some threshold.

. . . "Original sound" + "high fidelity" has _no gate_.

So the listener can hear the full decay of a note, and then hear the background noise in your room (if there is any). I just discovered this a few days ago.

A friend and I were doing some tests. There are several layers of "echo reduction' in Zoom, and if you turn them all off (or minimized), you can run into a echo or feedback loop so:

. . . sound comes into user A's mic;
. . . . Zoom sends it to user B;
. . . . . User B uses a loudspeaker;
. . . . . . user B's mic picks up the sound;
. . . . . . .. Zoom sends it to user A;
. . . . . . . . User A's mic picks it up.

If you _don't_ remove the echo suppression, Zoom may do funny stuff like cutting off long, sustained notes. It thinks they look like feedback or echo (which they do), and kills them.

So, I urge you to use headphones -- not speakers -- with "Original Sound".

With good mics, good Internet connections (including Ethernet if possible), and the proper options for "Original Sound" and echo suppression --

. . . you can get perfectly good sound over Zoom.

Before playing with these features, update your Zoom client to the latest version.

Thanks a lot Charles, will try !!