Guidance

How to use HFA datasets

Harmonic Frontier Audio datasets are designed for teams building, evaluating, and deploying modern audio and multimodal AI systems. This page explains how HFA data is structured, how it fits into common workflows, and how to choose the right starting point.

Not a sound library. HFA datasets are engineered for model training and evaluation.
Structure matters. File organization, metadata, and labeling are part of the product.
Designed for defensibility. Rights clearance and provenance are built in from capture.

What you receive

HFA deliveries are designed as layered infrastructure. Foundations provides the recordings and baseline structure. Proteus Standard™ adds defensibility and audit-ready integrity artifacts. Orpheus Suite adds modeling-optimized enrichment for teams who need instruction-ready and multimodal-aligned structure.

Always included
Foundations

Rights-cleared performance audio plus consistent organization and core metadata—built for repeatable ingestion and evaluation.

  • Clean exports and predictable foldering
  • Baseline labeling and dataset descriptors
  • Recording notes and QC context (dataset-dependent)
Integrity spine
Proteus Standard™

Provenance and verification artifacts that help teams defend dataset origin, integrity, and delivery history under review.

  • Hashing and signed delivery manifests (as applicable)
  • Versioning support for iterative drops
  • Fingerprint references for audit/dispute workflows
Enterprise add-on
Orpheus Suite

Modeling-optimized enrichment: instruction-style examples, aligned metadata fields, and export formats designed for modern pipelines.

  • Instruction pairs (prompt → expected behavior)
  • Multimodal alignment fields (audio ↔ segments)
  • Optional JSONL/Parquet exports for training
Important note

These layers describe delivery packaging. Your licensing tier (Research, Startup, Enterprise) describes usage scope and governance needs. If you’re unsure, start with your intended use case and the smallest relevant dataset set—HFA can recommend a path.

Data structure & ingestion

HFA datasets are organized to be predictable for engineering teams: clean audio exports, consistent foldering, and structured metadata designed to support filtering, batching, and repeatable evaluation. Exact fields can vary by dataset, but the structure is designed to be pipeline-friendly.

What you’ll typically see
  • Audio exported in clean, model-friendly formats (dataset-defined).
  • Metadata describing instrument, technique, articulation, and capture context.
  • Documentation covering recording setup, QC notes, and intended use guidance.
  • Integrity artifacts (Proteus Standard™) for verification and audit workflows.
How teams integrate HFA data
  • Ingest metadata into a table store (Parquet/CSV) for filtering and sampling.
  • Build train/eval slices by technique, articulation, and recording context.
  • Use evaluation subsets to track controllability and adherence over time.
  • Keep manifests and hashes alongside data for governance review.
Practical recommendation

Start with a small, well-scoped slice. Validate ingestion, labeling fit, and model behavior first—then expand coverage once you know what “success” looks like in your system.

Common pitfalls & best practices

HFA datasets are designed for model development and evaluation. The practices below help teams get value quickly while avoiding common mistakes that slow progress or create unnecessary friction later.

Treating HFA as a sample library

HFA datasets are not intended for browsing or ad-hoc sound selection. They are structured collections meant for systematic ingestion and evaluation.

Best practice Ingest metadata first, then select audio programmatically.
Skipping evaluation subsets

Training without stable evaluation slices makes it difficult to measure controllability, regressions, or improvements over time.

Best practice Hold out technique- and articulation-balanced evaluation sets.
Mixing licensing scopes

Using data beyond the scope of your licensing tier can create confusion during audits or future diligence.

Best practice Align dataset usage with your declared use case and tier.
Discarding manifests and hashes

Integrity artifacts are easy to ignore early—but become critical if questions arise later.

Best practice Store manifests and hashes alongside your data in version control.
Overbuying too early

Acquiring more coverage than you can meaningfully evaluate can slow iteration and increase noise.

Best practice Start narrow, validate behavior, then expand deliberately.