SH Spotlight Play the Kinks "Waterloo Sunset" in stereo, check and fix or improve your stereo playback with it!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Jun 15, 2013.

  1. wes

    wes Senior Member

    Oh god, the top end is so aweful sounding on that album..
    I don’t understand why it would want to be emphasized..
    I’ve got the ugly pink mono LP and a cheap reprise cd version..
    I’ll have to search for the west German disc..
     
  2. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Ugly?
     
  3. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Ugly pink cover. Most accurate sound (to the original tapes).
     
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  4. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    I can hear it just fine, but it's much more pronounced on my right (sounds just like the backing vocals are floating up and somewhat over my shoulder) than to my left. :shrug:
     
  5. hutchguv

    hutchguv Rock/Metal/Prog/Pop

    Location:
    England

    Not sure if any one has mentioned this...

    But try to make sure the gap behind the speakers to the rear walls and next to the side walls is NOT the same....
    This may cause unintentional nulls at certain frequencies
     
  6. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    Requires loudspeakers or will this work with headphones?
     
  7. riknbkr330

    riknbkr330 Senior Member

    Traded that in years ago for the first remaster...bad mistake.
    I still have the UK vinyl from the 80s, which predates the CD, so I'm assuming that may be the best version on vinyl?
     
  8. Changingman

    Changingman Forum Resident

    While checking this I've just discovered I've got two different stereo mixes of this track.
    The one from Something Else (Castle Communications CD from the early 90's) has Ray Davies's vocals from the first verse on the left channel, while the mix from The Complete Collection CD (also on Castle, same period) has them on the right channel.
    I'm not an expert but I don't think it's just a matter of having reversed the channels. I'd say the SE mix has more depth, whereas the backing vocals from TCC are slightly more out of phase. I prefer the SE mix.
     
  9. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    Not the same? I would think that you would want to mirror both speakers in positioning, back and side, to be as close as possible.

    I figured the differences in my set-up may be why I'm hearing the effect more pronounced on my right side as opposed to the left.
     
  10. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    There is just one stereo mix. Voice on the right. The channels can be reversed if someone likes it better that way, no harm done.
     
  11. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Reverse channels. More pronounced on left now or still right?
     
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  12. Changingman

    Changingman Forum Resident

    Mmmm... interesting. In that case the Complete Collection CD version is more faithful to the original mix and they must have reversed the channels for the Something Else CD. (?) My Castle CD reference is CLACD159 and it was made in France.
    Still there's some depth in the SE version that is somehow lost in the TCC version. I will compare both versions with a sound wave analyzer software and see the results. :righton:
     
  13. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Much to my annoyance, a LOT of the Moody Blues LEAD vocals are out of phase.
     
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  14. hutchguv

    hutchguv Rock/Metal/Prog/Pop

    Location:
    England

    I may have been unclear in my explanation


    Just an example of set up

    Left speaker 12 inches from rear wall 20inches from side wall
    Right speaker 12 inches from rear wall 20inches from side wall

    Does this explain what I mean?


    My apologies for being unclear originally
     
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  15. SkeletonPete

    SkeletonPete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn
    Great fun listening to the sublime "Waterloo Sunset" in the service of speaker tweaking. I haven't spun my vinyl copy of Kinks Kronikles in ages.

    I read through the entire thread and haven't seen a mention of Poco's song "Crazy Eyes." On this track the phase mismatch appears to be used specifically as an effect. Listen through the 9" + tune and you will hear the banjo parts suddenly jump out of the soundstage. IIRC, the original LP jacket included a disclaimer about instruments disappearing if you were listening in monaural.

    The song itself - from the 1973 album of the same name - is an homage to Gram Parsons written by Richie Furay and arranged for orchestra by Bob Ezrin. It's definitely worth a listen beyond the effectiveness of the effect.
     
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  16. Adam9

    Adam9 Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    With the exception of Village Green Preservation Society, all of the Kinks' original Castle CDs have the channels reversed.
     
  17. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    Still more pronounced on the right.
     
  18. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    That's your setup then. Try moving speakers around slightly... Side walls hurt the effect..
     
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  19. aroney

    aroney Who really gives a...?

    Yup, that's what I figured - my left speaker is near stairs and closer to a side wall than the right side.
     
  20. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    I have the same problem in one of my rooms. Can't really do anything about it.. Not the end of the world..
     
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  21. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    If you don't have WATERLOO SUNSET in stereo you can still get your speakers in the correct position by just finding something with a mono center (a mono recording or if you don't have one, the "phantom center" vocal of any stereo rock, pop or jazz record).

    Now, switch ONE PAIR of speaker leads behind your speaker, either right or left. Switch the leads. This will throw your speakers out of phase with each other. Sit in your fun spot and the vocal sound that usually comes out of the middle should be diffused all around you. Move your speakers a small amount until this effect is optimized. Now, switch the leads back again (don't forget that!)

    You are in business, your stereo image should now sound wonderful. More fun with WATERLOO SUNSET though..
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2023
    supermd, hi_watt, eyeCalypso and 4 others like this.
  22. spacecoyote

    spacecoyote Astral Resident

    I did this today, with Waterloo Sunset in stereo. The effect was an instant upgrade to my listening space.

    Thanks Steve.
     
  23. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    And while your at it, just keep playing more Kinks !
     
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  24. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Simple but it works..
     
    KinkySmallFace1991 likes this.
  25. Changingman

    Changingman Forum Resident

    Oh, I didn't know. Thanks for the info. Looks like they got the channels right for The Complete Collection CD.
     
    Adam9 likes this.

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