SH Spotlight Test the midrange purity of your system and/or your computer speakers using Bing Crosby!

Why do you say your system failed? What do you hear? Or not?

 

It sounds to me as if your midrange failed, Steve.

 

Failed when I used AirPlay from my iPhone to send the YouTube video to an Apple TV, connected with an optical digital cable into my A/V receiver. It just sounds like his voice is a bit louder at that point, but I'm not hearing what Steve described.

So if I don't hear this effect, what is the most likely culprit?

 

It's definitely what I don't hear, as much as I wanted to. All I could discern was a slight resonance, and I was expecting a lot more with my system, and with what Steve said we should hear. Bottom line, I've spent a lot of $$ upgrading over the years, and spent a lot of time trying to dial it all in. I feel like I'm in sonic heaven, especially since joining this forum and learning so much about how much the source material impacts the whole experience. That said, I might have to change my forum name to "partial ears", at least for this topic.

 

Ah-ha! I repositioned my speakers a bit away from the wall (just about 2" actually) and listened again in absolute silence, and I now hear the effect very obviously. It's not as pronoucned as I imagine it could be on a better system, but I hear the echo trail now. I wish I had the actual CD to test it a bit better, but I do hear it in the YouTube clip Steve posted, and in this one:

 

It doesn't surprise me that "2 inches" could make a difference. My speakers are a tad close to the wall, but I love the bass reinforcement that it delivers. So what it might boil down to, and usually does, is personal taste, and room constrictions. I do agree with Steve that the magic is in the midrange, but there is magic to be found across the board.

 

Sounds like good weekend fun...repositioning the speakers to see if I can get the sound in Mr. Crosbys song a bit better!

No sarcasm...this is a fun hobby!

 

I listened again on my harmon kardon computer speakers.. the ones with a separate sub that come with a Dell computer.. and when I crank them up , the effect is very apparent and sounds really terrific for cheap computer speakers.. Having said that , I CAN hear the effect but would have had no clue as to what was causing the effect.. Thanks again Steve for highlighting something for us to focus on and why it is important... And before this test, I was just admiring to myself how terrific these speakers sound in general for the cost... And BTW, this is my parents computer system, I am visiting them, so I have no invested interest in saying this....

 

I do hear that echo trail like in this YT video but I'm thinking it should be more obvious, like I shouldn't need to pay such close attention to pick up on it. I'm expecting an 'Aha!' moment, but instead am getting something more subtle...but at least it's there and I can hear it.

Hopefully one day I'll finally get around to upgrading and thanks to Steve I'll have this CD with me for the ride.

 

i hear a slight bit of reverb at that point, very subtle, but it's there. beautiful recording.

 

Why can't I view this video? Is it blocked in certain countries?

 

I'm not sure...but it's the same version as the one Steve first posted. Can you see that one?

 

No, I can't see that one either.

 

Being that this is supposed to be a fun experience I figured I would have a little fun and experiment. I set all of the bands on my graphic equalizer to zero, except for the midrange frequencies, which I maxed out. I wanted to see if I could get a clearer idea of what I was listening for. And by golly, I got it.

Problem is it's not very feasible to listen to music in this fashion so now it's time to see where the weak link is in my system. I still feel a large part of it has to do with my receiver, but that's just a guess as much as I feel that would be the best starting point.

 

It plays OK in Australia, and I find a lot of media is blocked in our region (including much from your BBC).

 

Yes, try your receiver amd then the graphic equalizer as I dont have much faith that a GE adds any "purity" to your sound.. More likely adds a bit of degradation to the purity of the signal... But, in your case, I could be wrong...

 

I am struggling with this. I definitely hear things change after the very first line, and then at the 42 second mark, the vocals seem much drier. Is it supposed to be evident throughout the whole song or just that section?

 

Ok, I think I'm hearing it throughout the whole song, but more evident on certain lines, in particular when he sings "...for one lucky fool to be with" , "...my every kiss with theirs", and "...sense of duty"

 

Got the CD. Not so apparent via a cheap pair of headphones but the full setup produces it pretty well, it's subtle on each setup though and probably something I'd never have noticed or paid mind to if I wasn't actively listening for it.

 

I'd completely forgotten about this thread, but it must have planted a seed for all the Crosby music I've been listening too lately.

That and finding a sealed "Seasons" at the local record store...

 

Had my digital music on "shuffle" the other day and up popped Bing singing the classic Johnny Mercer ditty, "I'm An Old Cowhand (From The Rio Grande)." Made me think about how I've just been enjoying this CD and haven't even gotten around to using it to test my system's midrange magic (yet)