The field guide — the listening companion to piece three
Listen for Yourself
exhibit thirty-seven The field guide
Published 2026-09-03 (UTC)
A small (human) team and a fleet of AI agents.
Every render of this arc's four rounds — the fourth adapter of the series at every setting of its dial, the untouched model, and the one-artist control — sixty-three clips. The raw renders, nothing cut and nothing re-encoded, are here and are the set every number on this page was measured from; beside each one is a listening master — one constant gain, no limiter — and that is what the players play. So you can hear what one listener heard and decide for yourself. The companion page to Ten Minutes with Living Artists, which tells the story and carries the receipts; this page carries the sound. The sounds are all over the place. That is the finding.
How to listen
Every clip on this page was rendered by ACE-Step 1.5's fast variant at eight steps, from a written request and a fixed seed, with the engine's output normalisation at −1 dB, and copied here byte for byte: never re-encoded, never trimmed, never levelled after the fact. Those raw renders sit in audio/, they are what every measured number on this page was read off, and they are in the article's data kit; the players themselves play a listening master of each one, which is the next paragraph. The only thing that changes inside a group is the adapter — nothing added, our adapter at some setting of its dial, or the one-artist control adapter — and every clip made with an adapter puts that adapter's name tag at the front of the request (mnml-shakedown for ours, fm-control for the control); the untouched clips carry none. Under each player: integrated loudness in LUFS (the broadcast unit; it runs negative, 0 is the most a file can hold, and a change of one is about a third of a notch on a fader), the true peak, the loudness range where it was measured, the first sixteen characters of both files' sha256 — the raw render's and the listening master's — the gain in dB the master applied and whether that brought it to the common level, and how long the render took wall-clock — from the moment its process started to the file being written, which runs about a second above the engine's own figure for the same render; both are in the kit's records. The article explains what each round was for; this page only plays them. Every clip is AI-generated, and every clip is share-alike — Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike, in the versions the source releases themselves record: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/ at 2.5, at 3.0 and its US and Swiss ports, and at 4.0. They were rendered through an adapter trained on Creative Commons music whose strictest licence travels with anything derived, so it travels with anything you make from a clip here, and the forty-one releases that music came from are credited release by release, deed by deed, on the article's page.
The players on this page play a listening master, and that is the one thing here which is not the file the numbers were measured from. The raw renders run from −19.65 to −13.29 LUFS integrated — 6.4 units, or about two notches on a fader — so playing twenty in a row means working the volume knob rather than comparing adapters. Each one therefore also has a mastered copy, and the mastered copy is what a player fetches: the render with one constant gain applied and nothing else — no limiter, no compression, no equalisation, no trimming, no re-encoding, the same 48 kHz sixteen-bit stereo WAV with the same number of samples, and its own fingerprint printed beside it. The gain is the smaller of two numbers: how far the clip sits from −16 LUFS, and how far its true peak sits from a −1 dBTP ceiling. Of the sixty-three, thirty-two land at −16 LUFS exactly, on gains of −2.71 to −0.13 dB. The other thirty-one are left at their raw level — eight of them at a gain of exactly zero, the rest trimmed by no more than −0.43 dB — because their peaks already sit at the engine's own −1 dB ceiling, so reaching −16 LUFS would have meant pushing them through it. The other way to do that is a limiter riding the gain, and a limiter would change the very thing you are here to judge; so nothing on this page is limited, and those clips stay between −19.65 and −16.09 LUFS. Every table below says, per clip, the gain it took and whether it reached −16. Both fingerprints ride beside every player — the raw render's first, the mastered file's second, and it is the mastered file the player fetches. The raw renders are untouched in audio/ and in the article's data kit, and the article's own players stay raw: this page is the only place the master is served.
Round one — the first listen
A human operator's first listen — one of us — rendered 2026-08-31 between 03:01 and 03:04 UTC: two requests written in plain prose, sixty seconds each, 128 beats per minute, A minor, three renders per request — nothing added, our adapter at full strength, our adapter at 0.7. One of us, listening unblinded with the labels in view, preferred the untouched clip on both requests; the 0.7 renders were never ranked. This is the round the article's verdict rests on.
The requests below print exactly as they were sent in the untouched arm; every adapter arm prepends the name tag mnml-shakedown, and changes nothing else.
minimal techno, hypnotic rolling groove, analog drum machine, deep sub bass, sparse percussion, late night
🔊 R1.1 — hypnotic rolling groove · nothing added · raw render sha256 (first 16) d6b62483885e02af · listening master e95081c7dff600e4 🔊 R1.2 — the same request and seed · the adapter at full strength · raw b1627a2f09727e89 · master f594cb392ebc65ad 🔊 R1.3 — the same · the adapter at 0.7 · raw 3ce6690db1ce56df · master cea290d4267f904c
Each code is the first 16 characters of that file's sha256 — the raw render's, then the listening master's, which is the file the player plays; every clip on this page is AI-generated.
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1.1 | hypnotic rolling groove | nothing added | 0 | −14.74 | −0.78 | 2.7 | d6b62483885e02af | e95081c7dff600e4 | −1.26 | yes | 11.0 s |
| R1.2 | hypnotic rolling groove | the adapter at full strength | 1.0 | −16.53 | −0.62 | 2.2 | b1627a2f09727e89 | f594cb392ebc65ad | −0.38 | no | 11.0 s |
| R1.3 | hypnotic rolling groove | the adapter at 0.7 | 0.7 | −16.85 | −0.98 | 2.9 | 3ce6690db1ce56df | cea290d4267f904c | −0.02 | no | 10.9 s |
minimal techno, dubby stabs, four on the floor, clicks and glitch percussion, warehouse haze
🔊 R1.4 — dubby stabs · nothing added · raw b3f55e8eb66c5d24 · master 963f1d3937a54eb3 🔊 R1.5 — the same request and seed · the adapter at full strength · raw 2cef5f056c7b4b10 · master a1cc39e6b3e1e919 🔊 R1.6 — the same · the adapter at 0.7 · raw f931809a479ed6ee · master 758e2bef30294e64
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1.4 | dubby stabs | nothing added | 0 | −17.71 | −1.00 | 6.5 | b3f55e8eb66c5d24 | 963f1d3937a54eb3 | +0.00 | no | 11.0 s |
| R1.5 | dubby stabs | the adapter at full strength | 1.0 | −19.55 | −0.94 | 4.6 | 2cef5f056c7b4b10 | a1cc39e6b3e1e919 | −0.06 | no | 11.0 s |
| R1.6 | dubby stabs | the adapter at 0.7 | 0.7 | −18.32 | −1.00 | 5.5 | f931809a479ed6ee | 758e2bef30294e64 | +0.00 | no | 11.0 s |
Round two — the caption-shape probe
The probe that followed the same night, rendered 2026-08-31 between 03:23 and 03:27 UTC: the two cheapest explanations for the verdict, tested with seven more sixty-second clips at the same pins. The dial turned down to 0.5 and 0.35; the pass-five checkpoint instead of the shipped pass ten; and two new requests written in the shape the adapter was trained on — minimal techno, <title> — with invented titles nothing could have memorised. The finding the article reports: the loudness drop of round one tracked the shape of the caption, not the adapter.
The requests below print exactly as they were sent in the untouched arm; every adapter arm prepends the name tag mnml-shakedown, and changes nothing else.
minimal techno, Schwerelos (original mix)
🔊 R2.1 — Schwerelos (original mix) · nothing added · raw e71b8c65156cb10c · master 376119584c897c6b 🔊 R2.2 — the same request and seed · the adapter at full strength · raw 0327d06999713dce · master 8109e7a69b3bde72 🔊 R2.3 — the same · the adapter at 0.5 · raw bf3bb89431fa4e6b · master 1e039b185a169509 🔊 R2.4 — the same · the adapter at 0.35 · raw 32fed7511416eb78 · master 75a4273cc3e6c39e 🔊 R2.5 — the same · the pass-five checkpoint at full strength · raw d69a459f9d49a159 · master 10feb866a1b54641
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2.1 | Schwerelos (original mix) | nothing added | 0 | −14.01 | −1.00 | 3.0 | e71b8c65156cb10c | 376119584c897c6b | −1.99 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R2.2 | Schwerelos (original mix) | the adapter at full strength | 1.0 | −14.23 | −0.82 | 2.3 | 0327d06999713dce | 8109e7a69b3bde72 | −1.77 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R2.3 | Schwerelos (original mix) | the adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −14.34 | −0.98 | 2.1 | bf3bb89431fa4e6b | 1e039b185a169509 | −1.66 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R2.4 | Schwerelos (original mix) | the adapter at 0.35 | 0.35 | −13.80 | −0.97 | 2.5 | 32fed7511416eb78 | 75a4273cc3e6c39e | −2.20 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R2.5 | Schwerelos (original mix) | the pass-five checkpoint at full strength | 1.0 | −14.75 | −0.89 | 2.3 | d69a459f9d49a159 | 10feb866a1b54641 | −1.25 | yes | 10.9 s |
minimal techno, Basement Loop 7
🔊 R2.6 — Basement Loop 7 · nothing added · raw 5889ca518f8b726e · master 3d2820364c3e81ae 🔊 R2.7 — the same request and seed · the adapter at full strength · raw 0cecc9a342b5bc04 · master 14aad8e4b22a4191
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2.6 | Basement Loop 7 | nothing added | 0 | −18.25 | −0.96 | 7.4 | 5889ca518f8b726e | 3d2820364c3e81ae | −0.04 | no | 10.9 s |
| R2.7 | Basement Loop 7 | the adapter at full strength | 1.0 | −17.76 | −1.00 | 14.7 | 0cecc9a342b5bc04 | 14aad8e4b22a4191 | +0.00 | no | 11.0 s |
Round three — the one-artist control
The control, rendered 2026-08-31 between 19:48 and 19:50 UTC: a second adapter trained by the identical recipe on one artist's ten releases instead of a tag, played on round two's two corpus-shaped requests against the very same untouched clips as round two — byte-identical, so the comparison is fair; those two base clips are R2.1 and R2.6 above and are not repeated here. Both pairs have since been ruled, on 2026-09-03, by the one listener on record, unblinded and with the labels in view. On Basement Loop 7: “the non-adapter version sounds way better, the adapter version adds in weird clippy hi hats”. On Schwerelos (original mix) the two were “pretty similar”, and then: “the adapter one might actually be slightly better though” — the adapter in this round being the one-artist control, not ours.
The requests below print exactly as they were sent in the untouched arm; the control's two renders prepend the name tag fm-control, and change nothing else.
minimal techno, Schwerelos (original mix)
minimal techno, Basement Loop 7
🔊 R3.1 — Schwerelos (original mix) · the one-artist adapter at full strength · raw 5db77e0345b032c5 · master bb6adbf726e6b1d8 🔊 R3.2 — Basement Loop 7 · the one-artist adapter at full strength · raw f0ebb8d258039c5c · master 8a98d6c682ae1027
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3.1 | Schwerelos (original mix) | the one-artist adapter at full strength | 1.0 | −14.32 | −1.00 | 2.9 | 5db77e0345b032c5 | bb6adbf726e6b1d8 | −1.68 | yes | 11.0 s |
| R3.2 | Basement Loop 7 | the one-artist adapter at full strength | 1.0 | −16.34 | −0.96 | 7.1 | f0ebb8d258039c5c | 8a98d6c682ae1027 | −0.04 | no | 10.9 s |
Round four — twelve requests, four ways
The due-diligence round, rendered 2026-09-03 between 03:13 and 03:30 UTC after one of us asked whether the verdict depended on the request: twelve requests written in advance, from the corpus's own genre outward, each with its own tempo, A minor throughout, thirty seconds each, and each rendered four ways on one seed — nothing added, our adapter at half strength, our adapter at full, the one-artist adapter at full. A thirty-second render is a different composition from a sixty-second one, not a shorter version; read these against round one by request, not by ear-memory of the earlier clips. Loudness figures under each player are absolute; the article's table gives them as changes against each request's untouched render.
Each request below prints exactly as it was sent in the untouched arm; our two arms prepend the name tag mnml-shakedown, , the one-artist control's arm prepends fm-control, , and nothing else moves.
minimal techno, hypnotic rolling groove, analog drum machine, deep sub bass, sparse percussion, late night
🔊 R4.P01 — minimal techno · dial at 0 · raw 73b95c6b7a32c9d5 · master c3f5aa0550ab0324 🔊 R4.P01 — minimal techno · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 87d9845d9dad2764 · master 3eac04dd951c20d5 🔊 R4.P01 — minimal techno · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 0f3a8892cf1eb960 · master 008889a374578980 🔊 R4.P01 — minimal techno · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw d7e2fb83607b8341 · master e8e4ee94e7595846
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P01 | minimal techno | dial at 0 | 0 | −18.40 | −1.00 | 7.0 | 73b95c6b7a32c9d5 | c3f5aa0550ab0324 | +0.00 | no | 11.5 s |
| R4.P01 | minimal techno | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −17.45 | −1.00 | 2.2 | 87d9845d9dad2764 | 3eac04dd951c20d5 | +0.00 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P01 | minimal techno | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −17.24 | −0.95 | 5.1 | 0f3a8892cf1eb960 | 008889a374578980 | −0.05 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P01 | minimal techno | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.95 | −0.57 | 2.2 | d7e2fb83607b8341 | e8e4ee94e7595846 | −0.43 | no | 10.9 s |
dub techno, deep chord stabs drenched in delay, soft muffled kick, tape hiss, slow underwater swing
🔊 R4.P02 — dub techno · dial at 0 · raw 6f0b2d81c610b7e9 · master acefde335929db2b 🔊 R4.P02 — dub techno · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 1dff1accdc243042 · master 6cd853b84100e895 🔊 R4.P02 — dub techno · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 31f288228c7aab86 · master a8a8e0d5840cd46f 🔊 R4.P02 — dub techno · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw 099d71b3fcdb1390 · master 97f0662948773a82
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P02 | dub techno | dial at 0 | 0 | −17.36 | −0.80 | 5.9 | 6f0b2d81c610b7e9 | acefde335929db2b | −0.20 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P02 | dub techno | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −19.65 | −1.00 | 3.0 | 1dff1accdc243042 | 6cd853b84100e895 | +0.00 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P02 | dub techno | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −19.28 | −0.95 | 3.4 | 31f288228c7aab86 | a8a8e0d5840cd46f | −0.05 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P02 | dub techno | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −19.29 | −1.00 | 3.5 | 099d71b3fcdb1390 | 97f0662948773a82 | +0.00 | no | 10.8 s |
detroit techno, soaring string pads, crisp 909 drums, warm bassline, futuristic and soulful
🔊 R4.P03 — Detroit techno · dial at 0 · raw 78cb1d9004b59540 · master 31e6f92e54f7e81c 🔊 R4.P03 — Detroit techno · our adapter at 0.5 · raw eee1c84becedeb42 · master 58f7fff90a4e5186 🔊 R4.P03 — Detroit techno · our adapter at 1.0 · raw db1536c8fa3f5a24 · master 403be698b2220745 🔊 R4.P03 — Detroit techno · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw 9c67020ac1f50a3e · master f788ea94d8046e0a
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P03 | Detroit techno | dial at 0 | 0 | −13.80 | −0.95 | 7.4 | 78cb1d9004b59540 | 31e6f92e54f7e81c | −2.20 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P03 | Detroit techno | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −13.59 | −0.99 | 6.1 | eee1c84becedeb42 | 58f7fff90a4e5186 | −2.41 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P03 | Detroit techno | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −13.52 | −0.98 | 6.5 | db1536c8fa3f5a24 | 403be698b2220745 | −2.48 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P03 | Detroit techno | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.62 | −0.92 | 2.8 | 9c67020ac1f50a3e | f788ea94d8046e0a | −1.38 | yes | 10.9 s |
melodic techno, driving arpeggiated synth, big reverb, emotive chord progression, steady four on the floor
🔊 R4.P04 — melodic techno · dial at 0 · raw d873b9da71e3b287 · master 2c81ef844512cf37 🔊 R4.P04 — melodic techno · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 9e1b197518397c63 · master 9b723657d4b9d623 🔊 R4.P04 — melodic techno · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 451846e92b543bbb · master 1cd1dc6919f03941 🔊 R4.P04 — melodic techno · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw bf16a7784461da29 · master 35408c64112b65b9
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P04 | melodic techno | dial at 0 | 0 | −18.41 | −0.92 | 6.4 | d873b9da71e3b287 | 2c81ef844512cf37 | −0.08 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P04 | melodic techno | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −17.98 | −0.99 | 4.6 | 9e1b197518397c63 | 9b723657d4b9d623 | −0.01 | no | 10.9 s |
| R4.P04 | melodic techno | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.51 | −0.99 | 5.0 | 451846e92b543bbb | 1cd1dc6919f03941 | −0.01 | no | 11.1 s |
| R4.P04 | melodic techno | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.81 | −0.63 | 3.9 | bf16a7784461da29 | 35408c64112b65b9 | −0.37 | no | 10.9 s |
hard techno, distorted rumbling kick, industrial percussion, relentless, dark warehouse
🔊 R4.P05 — hard techno · dial at 0 · raw 9097c045261f4174 · master 37872870fb10bf0f 🔊 R4.P05 — hard techno · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 6708b12356dfb30f · master 93face7925c66b16 🔊 R4.P05 — hard techno · our adapter at 1.0 · raw a1526f4794012ff9 · master 2c8eba33149ea5ba 🔊 R4.P05 — hard techno · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw ee305a037e77008d · master 8b23799d4b82980d
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P05 | hard techno | dial at 0 | 0 | −17.52 | −0.99 | 6.3 | 9097c045261f4174 | 37872870fb10bf0f | −0.01 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P05 | hard techno | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −17.78 | −0.99 | 7.5 | 6708b12356dfb30f | 93face7925c66b16 | −0.01 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P05 | hard techno | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −15.17 | −1.00 | 4.6 | a1526f4794012ff9 | 2c8eba33149ea5ba | −0.83 | yes | 11.6 s |
| R4.P05 | hard techno | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.96 | −0.99 | 4.9 | ee305a037e77008d | 8b23799d4b82980d | −1.04 | yes | 10.8 s |
acid techno, squelching 303 bassline, resonant filter sweeps, tight drum machine, raw and hypnotic
🔊 R4.P06 — acid techno · dial at 0 · raw 146570c9605ac836 · master 170fee857869b152 🔊 R4.P06 — acid techno · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 92f6dd66cc2f722a · master 5d13606a32b9fe30 🔊 R4.P06 — acid techno · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 67a63b886fcb20a9 · master 50f3591ced9fa8b4 🔊 R4.P06 — acid techno · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw e8f5d56c7fd863c3 · master 4aa8a31354b82486
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P06 | acid techno | dial at 0 | 0 | −15.85 | −0.99 | 7.6 | 146570c9605ac836 | 170fee857869b152 | −0.15 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P06 | acid techno | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −14.59 | −0.99 | 4.0 | 92f6dd66cc2f722a | 5d13606a32b9fe30 | −1.41 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P06 | acid techno | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.45 | −0.99 | 3.7 | 67a63b886fcb20a9 | 50f3591ced9fa8b4 | −1.55 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R4.P06 | acid techno | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.28 | −0.99 | 4.8 | e8f5d56c7fd863c3 | 4aa8a31354b82486 | −1.72 | yes | 10.9 s |
deep house, warm rhodes chords, shuffled hi-hats, smooth sub bass, soulful and laid back
🔊 R4.P07 — deep house · dial at 0 · raw 5a277ea925d97650 · master 7fa0aa9d58aac7e9 🔊 R4.P07 — deep house · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 86f238690622efee · master 42d91968e0bfbfa1 🔊 R4.P07 — deep house · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 2ef2453cb909096a · master afd410cba630680e 🔊 R4.P07 — deep house · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw 6ec9148037d678ce · master 19e0c5dd1f167c16
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P07 | deep house | dial at 0 | 0 | −16.03 | −0.94 | 3.2 | 5a277ea925d97650 | 7fa0aa9d58aac7e9 | −0.06 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P07 | deep house | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −16.92 | −0.89 | 2.7 | 86f238690622efee | 42d91968e0bfbfa1 | −0.11 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P07 | deep house | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.75 | −1.00 | 2.5 | 2ef2453cb909096a | afd410cba630680e | +0.00 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P07 | deep house | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.62 | −0.84 | 1.9 | 6ec9148037d678ce | 19e0c5dd1f167c16 | −0.16 | no | 10.9 s |
tech house, chunky rolling bassline, tight clap, minimal percussion fills, groovy and punchy
🔊 R4.P08 — tech house · dial at 0 · raw 62b2487333bbd87a · master bfabcb6310f472ae 🔊 R4.P08 — tech house · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 7608e28521268852 · master a0237131d601c872 🔊 R4.P08 — tech house · our adapter at 1.0 · raw c6d5c05f2f7cb544 · master 3b4211b47ea998a7 🔊 R4.P08 — tech house · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw ae5a1f4619d3873c · master 3bb0bd92fed07819
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P08 | tech house | dial at 0 | 0 | −16.44 | −0.90 | 1.8 | 62b2487333bbd87a | bfabcb6310f472ae | −0.10 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P08 | tech house | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −16.59 | −0.97 | 1.4 | 7608e28521268852 | a0237131d601c872 | −0.03 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P08 | tech house | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.67 | −0.82 | 1.4 | c6d5c05f2f7cb544 | 3b4211b47ea998a7 | −0.18 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P08 | tech house | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −15.87 | −0.91 | 1.6 | ae5a1f4619d3873c | 3bb0bd92fed07819 | −0.13 | yes | 10.9 s |
disco house, filtered disco loop, live strings and brass stabs, funky bass guitar, joyful
🔊 R4.P09 — disco house · dial at 0 · raw e166e8c7657a8866 · master f0e35ef055baf86e 🔊 R4.P09 — disco house · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 072e6e5a5c0d0353 · master 250c39881dcc6c2c 🔊 R4.P09 — disco house · our adapter at 1.0 · raw b8631eb15cbdfd03 · master 83cf45c61fec4d34 🔊 R4.P09 — disco house · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw 369938bc92da2ae2 · master fc6ba4b4bb84d5de
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P09 | disco house | dial at 0 | 0 | −14.70 | −1.00 | 7.3 | e166e8c7657a8866 | f0e35ef055baf86e | −1.30 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P09 | disco house | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −13.90 | −0.99 | 5.8 | 072e6e5a5c0d0353 | 250c39881dcc6c2c | −2.10 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P09 | disco house | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.12 | −0.97 | 5.3 | b8631eb15cbdfd03 | 83cf45c61fec4d34 | −1.88 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P09 | disco house | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −13.33 | −0.98 | 5.5 | 369938bc92da2ae2 | fc6ba4b4bb84d5de | −2.67 | yes | 10.9 s |
progressive house, long atmospheric build, plucked synth melody, sidechained pads, euphoric drop
🔊 R4.P10 — progressive house · dial at 0 · raw cf0dde2b4039dc4c · master c024aa5bc34d293b 🔊 R4.P10 — progressive house · our adapter at 0.5 · raw adb9a32cc46f6a0d · master 9c7f9a8eafc20201 🔊 R4.P10 — progressive house · our adapter at 1.0 · raw d260673d98b2348e · master 5ee7f467255fc76a 🔊 R4.P10 — progressive house · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw e55e3f1f406357d3 · master c30feef42a2a3f14
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P10 | progressive house | dial at 0 | 0 | −13.44 | −1.00 | 3.4 | cf0dde2b4039dc4c | c024aa5bc34d293b | −2.56 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P10 | progressive house | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −13.74 | −1.00 | 4.4 | adb9a32cc46f6a0d | 9c7f9a8eafc20201 | −2.26 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R4.P10 | progressive house | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.27 | −0.95 | 4.3 | d260673d98b2348e | 5ee7f467255fc76a | −1.73 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P10 | progressive house | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.23 | −0.98 | 4.7 | e55e3f1f406357d3 | c30feef42a2a3f14 | −1.77 | yes | 10.8 s |
electro breakbeat, syncopated broken drums, robotic bass synth, vocoder stabs, retro futuristic
🔊 R4.P11 — electro breaks · dial at 0 · raw b575b11402d4bd9a · master 8575631ae3989608 🔊 R4.P11 — electro breaks · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 16dbd675c50ae6c5 · master b678b531843111da 🔊 R4.P11 — electro breaks · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 4efbeafbe8dcc3c4 · master 96823b2f567c9107 🔊 R4.P11 — electro breaks · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw d65e8464da7a5e10 · master a8fa372147f47609
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P11 | electro breaks | dial at 0 | 0 | −15.98 | −0.60 | 2.3 | b575b11402d4bd9a | 8575631ae3989608 | −0.40 | no | 10.8 s |
| R4.P11 | electro breaks | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −14.69 | −0.63 | 2.3 | 16dbd675c50ae6c5 | b678b531843111da | −1.31 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P11 | electro breaks | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.96 | −0.91 | 5.5 | 4efbeafbe8dcc3c4 | 96823b2f567c9107 | −1.04 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P11 | electro breaks | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −16.47 | −0.72 | 4.6 | d65e8464da7a5e10 | a8fa372147f47609 | −0.28 | no | 10.8 s |
uplifting trance, supersaw lead melody, huge breakdown, pumping kick, euphoric festival energy
🔊 R4.P12 — uplifting trance · dial at 0 · raw e181082e09a54104 · master d9fccabcadb14fd7 🔊 R4.P12 — uplifting trance · our adapter at 0.5 · raw 934ca94c4a23b26d · master 929057ecbc267d26 🔊 R4.P12 — uplifting trance · our adapter at 1.0 · raw 87106c1fc57b6299 · master e76de48f70a2d831 🔊 R4.P12 — uplifting trance · the one-artist adapter at 1.0 · raw 5244e05bcbdab2bc · master 56d54e9fdb9bc52b
| clip | request | arm | dial | raw LUFS | raw true peak dBTP | raw loudness range | raw sha16 | mastered sha16 | gain dB | reached −16 | rendered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4.P12 | uplifting trance | dial at 0 | 0 | −14.13 | −0.99 | 3.0 | e181082e09a54104 | d9fccabcadb14fd7 | −1.87 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P12 | uplifting trance | our adapter at 0.5 | 0.5 | −13.29 | −0.69 | 3.6 | 934ca94c4a23b26d | 929057ecbc267d26 | −2.71 | yes | 10.8 s |
| R4.P12 | uplifting trance | our adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.46 | −1.00 | 3.1 | 87106c1fc57b6299 | e76de48f70a2d831 | −1.54 | yes | 10.9 s |
| R4.P12 | uplifting trance | the one-artist adapter at 1.0 | 1.0 | −14.03 | −1.00 | 2.2 | 5244e05bcbdab2bc | 56d54e9fdb9bc52b | −1.97 | yes | 10.9 s |
What to listen for
There is no wrong thing to notice. Three things worth listening for, in the order the article found them: whether the adapter's clip has a floor — a kick and a bass that hold the room — or has lost it; whether anything in the clip comes and goes, which is what a doubled loudness range sounds like; and whether the one-artist control's clip sounds like a different hand than ours, or the same model wearing a different tag. A fourth, measured after the fact and published rather than tidied, because this is the page where you can actually hear it: none of the arc's sixty-five raw renders exceeds the engine's −1 dB ceiling, but eighteen of them carry flat-topped stretches — runs of samples pinned at the peak — untouched renders included and the hard techno request worst of all. That is the model's own ceiling, scaled down afterwards by the engine's normalisation, so distortion you hear is the model's rather than the adapter's; the peak and flat-factor rows for all sixty-five are in the article's data kit, one line per render. As for preference: the one listen on record preferred the untouched clip on both of round one's requests, unblinded and with the labels in view, once, and again on one of round three's two pairs; on round three's other pair the same listener heard the two as similar and then leaned very slightly the other way, to the control. Nothing else here has been ruled on by any ear. If yours says something different, the article would like to know.
How to check these clips
Every file in audio/ is the exact render that was measured: copied, never re-encoded, never normalised, never re-cut. Every file in audio/master/ is that same render with one level change and nothing else, and the page prints both fingerprints, in that order, beside every player. The manifest beside the audio carries every file's full sha256, one sha256sum -c line per file; the README beside it carries each file's byte length and the render it was copied from. The listening masters have a manifest of their own, audio/master/MANIFEST.sha256, in the same one-line-per-file shape, and audio/master/master-records.json beside it carries the whole recipe and, for every clip, the raw file's sha256 and the mastered file's, the loudness and true peak measured before and after, the constant gain in dB and the rule that chose it, and whether the clip reached the common level or was held at the ceiling: two directories, two manifests, two fingerprints per player. The arithmetic, because the counts differ and a reader deserves to know why: the four rounds rendered sixty-six clips, of which one — round four's forty-ninth — is a byte-identical repeat of its own first untouched render, kept in the records as the determinism receipt and not played here. That leaves sixty-five clip slots, and round three's two untouched renders came out byte-identical to round two's, so they are registered once under their round-two names and round three points back at them rather than serving the same bytes twice: sixty-three files, sixty-three players. The article's data kit carries the request payloads verbatim, the render records with every number printed here, and the fingerprints that tie each player to its file. If a number here disagrees with the kit, the kit wins and this page is wrong.
Who ran this, and thanks
The same small team and fleet of AI agents as the article, on the same machines, and the credits are Ten Minutes with Living Artists's: the forty-one releases and their licences, the model, the trainer and the tools are all named there in full, deed by deed, because on this arc the credits are not a courtesy but the licence — how that works is next door, and the licence ledger carries the model's row.