Atlantic 40th Anniversary CD - 1958 - 1977

Bob,

That's my point. Almost everyone uses that term and it is highly subjective with widely varying defintions. I suggest we dispense with it in favor of a more elaborate description of what we each hear.

 

Steve & Grant,

That is what I was trying to capture with my attempt at defining "musical". I guess what makes it subjective is how we make that comparsion. Certainly, around here there are some very well-trained and credible ears.

Bob

 

I would like to repeat here a post that Steve H. just made on another thread. I think it pertains to this discussion as well:

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SH:

The deal is this. It doesn't matter (to me) what system YOU are using.

What matters is that we all are in agreement as to what real music sounds like.

There is no way that my stereo is going to reproduce the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a lifelike manner. BUT, our systems CAN reproduce the human voice as well as smaller instrumental groups correctly.

So, I suggest we all go out and listen to some live music, somewhere. A solo acoustic guitar in a guitar store, or a string quartet, or a brass ensemble at your local college. SOMETHING. Even having your wife or a friend stand by your speakers and sing something, at a normal tone of voice.

Now, play a good recording of an unamplified jazz group or a string quartet, or (not meaning to give a plug here) try the DCC Nat "King" Cole/Greatest Hits CD. Listen to the song "I Love You For Sentimental Reasons". AT THE SAME VOLUME as a real person singing in your room. Do they match in tonality, etc? If so, good. Now you have a reasonable system to be able to judge if a CD or LP sounds good, bad, or whatever.

If your system sounds spitty or bassy or compressed or whatever on Nat Cole's voice, then you have a bit or work to do. Try moving your speakers away from the back wall, changing your interconnects, etc.

Once your system can reproduce the human voice correctly, everything else can fall in to place. The magic of the music is in the midrange. This is the hardest area to get to sound correct on most mid-fi systems. This is where the speakers cross over from one to another, and there is a dip in this area....

Don't be seduced by the bass and treble on most modern CD's. The magic is in the midrange. This is the first area to go in a "modern" remaster!

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JO: I think most "mid-fi" systems (like mine) have no good midrange to speak of. It's ALL bass and treble. My system sounds NOTHING like Steve H's system. It's depressing, but, I can also understand why a modern remaster might sound better on mine. BUT, if I upgrade someday, most of the modern CD's I own are going to sound WORSE on a better system. So, what is a guy to do?

 

Yeah, I read that, John. Good advice.

 

Great post about the midrange! The best aspect of the new system I've been putting together is how wonderful and real human voices sound. I'm still trying to balance out a couple nitpick things (bass, etc.) but the midrange is superb...


Todd