General Asylum

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Return to General Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?

173.57.127.9
Posted on September 1, 2015 at 07:19:54
Inmate51
 'Cause, if so, there is a serious problem in audiophilialand. A bias toward compensatory designs in electronics and speakers in the HF range would seem to be a reasonable goal among "high-end" audio manufacturers who target the "older" buyer.

All hearing-impaired audiophiles please raise your hand.

On the other hand, there ARE these new-fangled things called "equalizers" which may be useful to some people. (Although, in the interest of full disclosure, some people prefer all of their EQ to be contained within the speaker crossover.)

:)

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
Some confusion in your assumptions., posted on September 1, 2015 at 07:27:43
Smelly_Socks
 The goal is to hear it as it is in real life.
So if one is 'hearing impaired' then real life is 'hearing impaired too.
No 'goal' of recreating what one guesses one could hear at age six.

And how, exactly would one be able to guess at what normal is anyway, if you can't hear shit?
I do agree though, for those who want to try... an equalizer is ideal.

 

I rather doubt that a sane manufacturer would slant his product toward people with impaired hearing., posted on September 1, 2015 at 07:33:43
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7799
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
 I rather doubt that a sane manufacturer would slant his product toward people with impaired hearing. Two of the most respected panel-type loudspeakers (original Apogee, and Sound Lab) were in large part designed by people with impaired hearing and in one case as a practical matter deafness.

What I have heard mumbling and grumbling about from a few loudspeaker designers over the past decades, designers who used live music for a reference,* is the notion (nobody had any proof or confessions, it was a matter of "they must be...") that designers of more successful speakers designed their speakers to be more impressive and grabby in a brief audition in a showroom, caring less whether the features that caught your ear on a first audition might get tiresome over the course of months.

*Sidebar: Using the sound of live music as a reference is a great idea, but there are pitfalls in reality. I love Anne von Otter's Mahler "Urlicht," but the Deutsche Grammophon CD of it is as spot-miked and close-up as the average Diana Krall or Patricia Barber release. Andris Nelsons' new BSO CD of Tannhauser overture and Sibelius 2 is great, but... the soundstage is from Alice in Wonderland, it seems to me. So, at least as far as orchestral music goes, unless a loudspeaker designer is very very picky about chosing test tracks, he might be fooling himself.

JM

 

Not sure, but AM pretty sure at least that many hear..., posted on September 1, 2015 at 07:39:07
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31874
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004
 what they want to hear.

And aren't shy about sharing the results.



"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

No...., posted on September 1, 2015 at 07:51:10
three_sox
 .. Next question?

 

There is no way to design a product for hearing impaired customers., posted on September 1, 2015 at 08:14:25
DFaulds
Audiophile

Posts: 616
Location: Northeast Ohio
Joined: October 19, 2000
 People who suffer hearing loss don't all experience the same thing. Almost everyone loses some ability to hear the highest frequencies as they age, but most diagnosed hearing loss affects lower frequency ranges, and the range(s) affected can vary drastically.

 

Absolutely correct!, posted on September 1, 2015 at 08:37:54
M3 lover
Audiophile

Posts: 6600
Location: SW Mich
Joined: May 29, 2005
Contributor
  Since: July 4, 2007
 Anyone who believes or expects "hearing loss" to mean the same thing for anyone affected simply knows nothing about the subject.

Also, equalizers seem to frequently be suggested as a "fix". Well, maybe for one seat which is then the only one used, and possibly for those who only listen alone that might help. Otherwise the EQ would need to be readjusted whenever changing seats and imagine the reaction of others in a listening session after the system was EQ'ed to correct for one individuals loss.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho

 

Well, I did not see anyone raise their hand, so your postulate must be incorrect! ;-), posted on September 1, 2015 at 09:07:15
Raiderman
Audiophile

Posts: 2129
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Joined: March 14, 2003
 I think that most of us aging audiophiles just accept the fact that we have lost a bit of our high frequency hearing and move on from there.
I don't go out of my way to buy equipment that is overly bright because of it, and I don't think any of my friends do either.

My two cents worth.

 

Just doesn't work that way, posted on September 1, 2015 at 09:13:29
rickmcinnis@dogwoodfabrics.com
Audiophile

Posts: 3040
Location: Atlanta
Joined: December 15, 2003
 If you have diminished high frequency detection in your ear/brain adding volume to the "missing" spectrum will sound just as bad to the person with hearing loss as it would to the one with normal hearing.

In fact, often the fellow with hearing loss is even more sensitive to high frequency distortions. This was demonstrated to me by a fellow with incredibly analytical ears whose high frequency response had been severely curtailed by proximity to gas turbines.

A good sounding component is a good sounding component. You cannot restore with any tricks what is no longer perceptible.

 

Speak for yourself...(nt), posted on September 1, 2015 at 09:44:59
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
 (nt)

 

Hearing impaired? Or is it LISTENING impaired?, posted on September 1, 2015 at 09:48:31
Feanor
Audiophile

Posts: 9858
Location: London, Ontario
Joined: June 17, 2003
Contributor
  Since: March 12, 2004
 If you prefer a colored, mellowed sound over accurate sound then you are listening impaired, not necessarily hearing impaired.

Since you ask, yes, I have a slight hearing impairment: I'm deaf above 10 kHz, very sadly.


Dmitri Shostakovich

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 1, 2015 at 09:55:39
Inmate51
 Some very good replies so far.

The main reason I asked is because there seems to be a lot of posts about the topic, and so I thought I'd ask the question.

Edit: BTW, I just made up the number 78 percent. Perhaps someone has a real number.

:)

 

Age-related changes in hearing ability, posted on September 1, 2015 at 10:08:29
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 It is certainly well known that there are age related decreases in high frequency hearing ability. I could imagine companies "tuning" their equipment for a particular age-group (either on purpose, or inadvertently).

 

And on the topic of hearing..., posted on September 1, 2015 at 10:12:42
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 The Scientist just came out with a series of articles....

 

Only the reviewers (nt), posted on September 1, 2015 at 10:26:55
4everyoung
 :-)

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:07:43
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
 ...78% of all statistics are made up.

 

DGG Orchestral recordings are poor quality, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:09:21
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 13629
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
 "*Sidebar: Using the sound of live music as a reference is a great idea, but there are pitfalls in reality. I love Anne von Otter's Mahler "Urlicht," but the Deutsche Grammophon CD of it is as spot-miked and close-up as the average Diana Krall or Patricia Barber release. Andris Nelsons' new BSO CD of Tannhauser overture and Sibelius 2 is great, but... the soundstage is from Alice in Wonderland, it seems to me. So, at least as far as orchestral music goes, unless a loudspeaker designer is very very picky about chosing test tracks, he might be fooling himself."

I have long made a practice of avoiding Deutsche Grammophon recordings of orchestral music because of their use of multiple microphones, spot miking, and other practices that produce recordings that can not sound natural. I originally reached this conclusion back in the 1970's, and every few years update myself, with inevitably the same result. DGG solo music recordings and chamber music recordings seem to be OK.



Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

 

RE: Latest research, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:11:40
BigguyinATL
Manufacturer

Posts: 3475
Joined: April 10, 2002
 shows that the nerves and section of the ear that is involved in middle and higher level signals (music & Speech) is not the same part of the nerves and basilar membrane that are tested at quiet levels... as in an audio gram. The whole hearing testing, hearing aid industry is going to have to adjust their focus and designs.

(1) loud levels of sound exposure main not be as important as other influences (Stress, Aging, Genetics) on the hearing loss.

(2) The characterization of the noise (pleasant/undesirable/distracting) will influence the amount and recovery rate and degree hearing loss - both temporary and permanent. this is due to the fact that a good portion of non traumatic hearing loss is a bdy/brain chemistry concern - not a stress issue.

You still do not want to expose yourself to loud noise that can cause trauma - gunshots, explosives and sustained levels above 85dB.


"The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat" - Confucius

 

define hearing imapired, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:15:08
bare
Audiophile

Posts: 1879
Joined: April 14, 2009
 It's important.
Loooong known that Human Males have steadily declining high frequency hearing capabilities.
By age 40 it's likely in the 15khz Range barring Environmental damages..(Few avoid that damage though)
By 60.. 14khz is the hearing limit for a Fortunate few.
Females on the other hand retain their upper limits for decades longer

This NOT news.. and Audio panderer's have traditionally skewed their products to this physiological reality.
Only a V Poor Marketer would not.
Someone mentioned Reviewers" IMO Vermin. Self important fools decreeing what THEY deem as Good.
Just Like Wine magazines dictate /promote Horrid California, Oak flavoured wines accross the Globe.

Gives some insight as to why a Lot of wimmin find their Husband's Audio contraptions as uninteresting and even unpleasant sounding.
WAF explained to a large degree :-)

Hearing losses as opposed to the above 'physiological degredation..is simply adding Injury on top of Insult.
Another discussion altogether

 

I like my EQ in the digital domain, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:25:55
G Squared
Audiophile

Posts: 8478
Location: Washington, DC Metro Area
Joined: November 16, 2004
Contributor
  Since: May 23, 2023
 to maximize flexibility

Most of the EQ I do is subtle on unbalanced recordings. Many tracks are just fine as is.
Gsquared

 

I'm 62, and hear 16kHz just fine (nt), posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:45:37
Brian H P
Audiophile

Posts: 1291
Location: Oregon
Joined: December 18, 2012
 nt

 

The highest frequency on a piano is only 4186.01 Hz, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:46:50
Kloss
 Sopranos range about 250hz-1200hz I do understand that frequencies above these ranges are needed to replicate such. But at the same time if your hearing is reduced in high frequency you will still hear most of what's recorded.

 

Nope., posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:49:02
Bromo33333
Audiophile

Posts: 3502
Location: Ipswich, MA
Joined: May 4, 2004
 I have hearing typical of someone my age (46). My wife, my partner in crime for these sorts of things, has typical hearing for someone of her age (witheld).

But there is no accounting for taste. ;-)

I suspect that if someone could do a digital EQ to "correct" for hearing loss, it would sound unnatural, even if perfectly executed, and certainly not like actual music. I think recording media are troubled enough trying to reproduce lifelike sound than to monkey with it to suit a particular listener (though some recordings, you would figure the producer was deaf).


====
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." ~ R A Wilson

 

They're simply impaired (nt, posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:55:07
genungo
 .

 

Not true., posted on September 1, 2015 at 11:56:30
Kloss
 I have built such. And know other who do same. I also make it easy for owner to return setting to normal for guests. Everyone I set up loudspeakers for was very concerned that others hearing their systems would have to suffer from uneven response. If you have a hearing aid its adjusted just for your hearing loss. A loudspeaker is just another transducer like a hearing aid is and it's not hard to optimised it for someone. Maybe most manufacturers would balk at such but us small guys don't.

 

So if I don't like what someone else likes..., posted on September 1, 2015 at 12:12:54
YRY
Audiophile

Posts: 491
Location: So. California
Joined: April 4, 2002
 ...I'm wrong? I have no idea how "flat" my system is. All I know is that I like it the way I like it. The enjoyment one feels when listening to music goes way beyond simple measured frequency response.

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 1, 2015 at 12:32:36
daleda
Audiophile

Posts: 741
Joined: March 6, 2002
 Whaaaaaaaaaaaat you saaaay?

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 1, 2015 at 13:52:09
ahendler
Audiophile

Posts: 5151
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Joined: January 24, 2003
 What? Speak up, I can't hear you
Alan

 

No, only 33-1/3%, posted on September 1, 2015 at 14:51:33
rlindsa
Audiophile

Posts: 7265
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Joined: October 5, 2004
 or maybe 45%.

rlindsa

 

I like that (nt), posted on September 1, 2015 at 15:18:34
danlaudionut
Audiophile

Posts: 5480
Location: Schenectady
Joined: June 6, 2002
 DanL



 

Sad but true :-) nt, posted on September 1, 2015 at 15:45:55
Rick W
 nt

 

Ha!, posted on September 1, 2015 at 17:38:21
mark111
Audiophile

Posts: 4699
Joined: April 12, 2002
 good one.
enjoy,
mark

 

My brain adjusts , posted on September 1, 2015 at 21:41:14
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 My enjoyment is better today than ever. I have terrible hearing and have to wear hearing aids.

My suggestion to many of you. Buy better gear. That will solve the problem.

 

What do you think the average age is of audiophiles today?, posted on September 1, 2015 at 21:56:44
J.Mac
Audiophile

Posts: 3553
Location: Colorado
Joined: November 6, 2002
 I've often wondered. Just gauging by who you see at audio shows, and figuring that very few of the more elderly attend such events any more, if they ever did, I'd say late 50s to early 60s is the average. And the average goes up a little each year.

I have some tinnitus. If anything, I find that higher pitched sounds can often sound something close to painful. I'd be willing to bet that the aging audiophile population is the main reason for the growing trend toward more "polite" presentations from both components and speakers. Not the opposite.

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 2, 2015 at 00:12:01
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
 I remember Steve Zipser calling me "deaf" roughly 20 years ago..... My hearing certainly hasn't improved since then............

 

Suer as long as everyone has their own audiologist on retainer, posted on September 2, 2015 at 03:38:17
DFaulds
Audiophile

Posts: 616
Location: Northeast Ohio
Joined: October 19, 2000
 With the proper digital EQ and constant testing and adjusting by an audiologist anything is possible. Of course the audiologist would have to be on retainer and would have to make house calls, because peoples ability to hear different frequencies constantly changes, especially once either age or damage related loss is detected. The house call part could be eliminated as long as you can bring your audio setup into the office.

Another issue that would be very hard to address with this concept is hearing loss that that reduces the ability to differentiate specific sounds when there other sounds are present. This is the relatively common type that makes it hard for people to hear speech when there are other sounds present. That might make music listening difficult.

And hearing loss is almost never the same in each ear, and sometimes is only detectable in one ear. I'm not sure how that is handled with the home stereo either, unless you're just using headphones.

 

RE: Some confusion in your assumptions., posted on September 2, 2015 at 09:36:12
Inmate51
 No confusion, nor assumptions. Just thoughts.

Regarding "real life", I hope you realize that the vast majority of recordings are done with multiple mics, spot mics, close mics, multiple tracks, multiple sessions, compression, limiting, EQ, AND are recorded digitally. So, there is very little real life in recorded music.

On the other hand, you make a good point about real life also being heard with hearing impairment. Fair enough. But there are a lot of people, audiophiles, who hardly ever go to hear live unamplified music, so there isn't a good correlation there. I wonder if aging audiophiles like some speakers because they have a bit more output at the upper end, what many people call "detail" or "air", than a nominally "flat" speaker, and if some manufacturers have recognized this.

:)

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 2, 2015 at 14:08:02
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
 ...good old Steve.

 

Same age, and hear 17kHz just fine; 18kHz three years ago (nt), posted on September 2, 2015 at 14:36:09
Alex F.
Audiophile

Posts: 877
Location: Florida
Joined: February 29, 2004
 .

 

RE: The highest frequency on a piano is only 4186.01 Hz, posted on September 2, 2015 at 15:00:24
Inmate51
 I'm not sure what your point is with regard to the highest note on a piano. A sine wave generator can produce a tone of 4186, but it doesn't sound like a piano, because there aren't any overtones. Overtones, along with the attack, are what give musical instruments their characteristic sounds. In the case of the piano, the first overtone is 8,372 Hz, and the second is 12,558 Hz. Cymbals have a large amount of output above 10 KHz, readily measurable all the way up to over 20 KHz.

If a person's hearing is significantly compromised above, say, 8 or 10 KHz, that's going to make a difference in their perception of sound quality, and they MAY prefer a brighter sounding loudspeaker.

:)

 

No!, posted on September 2, 2015 at 16:45:23
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 Maybe 77 or 79 but 78? No way!


ET- clown
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

It's simple, posted on September 2, 2015 at 17:32:38
Ozzie
Audiophile

Posts: 3814
Joined: August 1, 2002
 Other than trust fund millenials, the only people that can afford such luxuries tend to be people that are more established. And that age group is old. All one needs to do is read the responses here. We're a bunch of old geezers that jammed on way too much stadium rock back in the 70s. Got me a rock and roll band, it's a free for all.

 

Speaker Voicing, posted on September 2, 2015 at 18:50:57
Inmate51
 Many of you have heard the term "voicing" with regard to speaker design. You're also aware that, almost unbelievably, not all high-end speakers sound the same. The same goes for mid-end and low-end. "West coast sound", "East coast sound", "British sound", etc., and variations on them also come to mind.

I wonder if there is also an "older buyer sound" which we haven't heard about. It would be great if some reviewers or manufacturers would give us the skinny on the topic.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

:)

 

over fixate on the 20hz-20khz range that most people only hear while under 18, posted on September 3, 2015 at 05:26:23
Kloss
 I know I know but I do feel audiophiles obsess about age related hearing loss a natural thing. And tend to over fixate on the 20hz-20khz range that most people only hear while under 18.

 

"Two of the most respected panel-type loudspeakers...", posted on September 3, 2015 at 06:56:25
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37592
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 As you may already know, Dr. West of Sound Lab has an unusual impairment. While at a Chicago Audio Society meeting years ago, he explained it to me. We usually think of hearing problems in terms of experiencing reduced sensitivity to high frequencies. In his case, it was due to an injury that affected his ability to ignore spurious sounds around him. This is much like the "cocktail party effect" where there are many simultaneous conversations going on and we have the ability to switch off the others while focusing on one.

As a result, he is hypersensitive to comb filtering effects of loudspeakers. As a coherency freak, I find his products offer an uncanny ability to sound like the proverbial single pebble in the pond.

 

It is true there are many "bright sounding" high end speakers, posted on September 3, 2015 at 06:59:11
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37592
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 And I abhor false brightness as much now with my limited-to-12-kHz-response as I did as a teenager when I could hear burglar alarms.

 

The tragedy..., posted on September 3, 2015 at 08:30:01
RGA
Reviewer

Posts: 15177
Location: Hong Kong
Joined: August 8, 2001
 When you're young and your hearing is fantastic and you could actually appreciate quality music reproduction in all its glory - you have no money to buy any of it. When you finally have the money to buy all the wonderful gear - you're deaf.

And you can't out-experience your hearing ability just as you can't out-experience the guy who can run faster, or skate harder or throw the football further. Nolan Ryan ain't going to suit up at 65 and beat Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson with the fastball - no matter how "experienced" he once was at striking people out.

 

Herring loss?, posted on September 3, 2015 at 12:26:53
Stale
Audiophile

Posts: 3263
Location: So. California
Joined: August 3, 2001
 No, I did not loose any herrings.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."

 

RE: Herring loss?, posted on September 3, 2015 at 14:34:41
Alex F.
Audiophile

Posts: 877
Location: Florida
Joined: February 29, 2004
 I am glad you did not let them fend for themselves.

 

+1 n/t, posted on September 3, 2015 at 14:57:50
tweakmenow
Audiophile

Posts: 245
Location: East Coast USA
Joined: March 26, 2012
 .

 

RE: It is true there are many "bright sounding" high end speakers, posted on September 4, 2015 at 02:54:39
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 I'm with you there. False bright is no good. I am somewhere around 16K myself. Too many Brit speakers sounded like that to me. The cheaper Focal (JM Lab) too but the Utopia line was great.


E
T
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

RE: Are 78% of audiophiles hearing-impaired?, posted on September 4, 2015 at 03:59:17
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 99% of people are hearing impaired to a degree. Yes, this includes Audiophiles like me.

 

RE: Some confusion in your assumptions., posted on September 4, 2015 at 18:03:34
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 13629
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
 "Regarding "real life", I hope you realize that the vast majority of recordings are done with multiple mics, spot mics, close mics, multiple tracks, multiple sessions, compression, limiting, EQ, AND are recorded digitally. So, there is very little real life in recorded music."

The very best recordings are made with a purist production process. However a purist production process is risky and it is a gamble whether it will produce a superb recording or a dud. And, unlike the multiple session case, purist recordings require singers who can actually sing, not pretty faces that can be auto-tuned and sold on the basis of sex appeal.

Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

 

I think you're right..., posted on September 5, 2015 at 04:31:30
tketcham
Audiophile

Posts: 6701
Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA
Joined: March 21, 2005
Contributor
  Since: October 1, 2005
 Hi, J.,
You just described me to a T. :-)

Regards,
Tom

 

RE: What do you think the average age is of audiophiles today?, posted on September 5, 2015 at 08:09:10
Inmate51
 Yeah, tinnitus can be a bitch. But my OP was intended with regard to age-related hearing loss, not a condition like tinnitus.

My ears have been ringing ever since I took a hammer to a roll of caps on the sidewalk when I was about eight. (Kidding, but I do have a slight noise or ringing that I've had for as long as I can remember, sort of like the circuitry noise you'd hear if you turned an amp way up (with no signal). It doesn't really bother me though - it's pretty low level.)

:)

 

RE: What do you think the average age is of audiophiles today?, posted on September 5, 2015 at 19:32:10
Garg0yle
Audiophile

Posts: 859
Joined: December 1, 2014
 Maybe it's your fillings.

Lucille Ball once received Morse code broadcast through her teeth.
△This message will self destruct in 10 seconds△

 

Extremely idiosyncratic, posted on September 8, 2015 at 13:59:04
Brian H P
Audiophile

Posts: 1291
Location: Oregon
Joined: December 18, 2012
 Assuming that a competent speaker designer has the knowledge, the software, the measurement equipment, and the available drivers and crossover parts to prototype a clinically flat, neutral response, any subjectively chosen departures from that neutrality must inevitably reflect the designer's personal taste in sonics, which in turn is influenced by his utterly unique hearing curve. Since every one of us has our own unique hearing curve, it follows that every one of us will hear a given "voicing" (including ruler-flat) somewhat differently, and may find it pleasing or not.

 

RE: DGG Orchestral recordings are poor quality . . . Indeed . . ., posted on September 8, 2015 at 15:14:24
goldenthal
Audiophile

Posts: 1001
Location: Ontario
Joined: March 28, 2003
 I recall the DGG recording of Fischer-Dieskau's late Schubert lieder sounding very much harder and thinner than his earlier versions on EMI/Angel. To be sure, his voice was older on the DGG which also featured fewer clicks and pops, but the engineering was worse. That "squandering" of a golden recording opportunity annoys me to this day!


Jeremy

 

RE: DGG Orchestral recordings are poor quality . . . Indeed . . ., posted on September 8, 2015 at 15:24:00
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 13629
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
 If all that bothers you is clicks and pops, you may be able to remove many of them with a vacuum record cleaning machine. You can also digitize them 176/24 and preserve essentially all of the sound quality and edit out the clicks and pops. (It take about 20 seconds for a click and most pops, some pops take longer.)


Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

 

RE: DGG poor quality . . . Indeed . . ., posted on September 8, 2015 at 15:41:36
goldenthal
Audiophile

Posts: 1001
Location: Ontario
Joined: March 28, 2003
 Quite right! And thanks.

Also, I note that my example was not an "orchestral" recording, but I wonder if some of the same techniques might have been used in generating such flat, bright, thin sound -- certainly not the worst I ever heard, but not natural.


Jeremy

 

Page processed in 0.075 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]