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

Follow up on comments so far

Interesting comments.
I would like to add that my sonic expectations going to any live concerts are typically quite low, just want to hear the essence of a song and see a good light show. Boomy bass or hot top end dont bother me.

What I am describing is a sound that appears clear but is somewhat hollow and conveys zero musical vibe to the point that it is hard to connect with a know material and impossible to get into any new material.
Disconnected sound.

I understand that in every case there is a human factor (artist or audio tech or personal mood) involved. My feeling however is that there is a technical culprit behind it.

As few pointed out it could be:
1. Soundboards - often fully digital with full spectrum EQ on every channel. AD and DA conversion has improved no doubt but digital EQ has a potential to do a lot of damage in time domain.

2. Switching amps in active speaker arrays - arrays have shrunk in size significantly in the last 10-15 yrs, it used to be 5-6 vertical arrays per side, now it usually is just 1-2 array per side. My guess is there is a 1-2KW switching amp in each enclosure. How good those amps are is anybodys guess. But yes, they can play loud and clear (read: lots of low bass and clear top end). However, harmonics of a switching amp are quite different from a typical AB class deign.
PWM modulation requires precise timing much like digital audio signal. Can this be really controlled well in a highly vibrating enclosure?

Perhaps as Todd pointed out, some of us are more sensitive to this than others.



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