Propeller Head Plaza

Yeah, and designers don't always do things the same way.

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In Reply to: RE: Well, that was a quote from SM posted by E-Stat on May 06, 2008 at 18:22:43

E-Stat:

I find the same thing too. Some speakers just sound too bright to me. Sure, I love detail - but not when it's fatiguing and unnatural. Even REAL cymbals and chimes only have so much shimmer and sizzle. I think some guys like to 'pronunciate' or even exaggerate the high-end. Then, they hear other systems and immediately say they are dull, lacking in inner or micro-detail, lacking shimmer/sizzle/sparkle...etc. But I wonder how much this is actually founded in sonics and detail rendering and just how much of it is basic LEVEL differences in high-end region?

Other times you get metal tweeters with break-up modes hardly higher than 20K... you wonder if these break-ups don't add to that "sizzle factor" down in the lower part of the HF spectrum.

I must say, I like some metal tweeters, but not fussy ones which have nasty break-up modes. I like the Vifa D25AG-35-06 metal dome with "phase diffusers" removed, and the LPG 1" metal domes. I used to like Focal 120TDX2 but they have a highish resonant frequency and tend to sound very shrill with anything but the absolute best in equipment. (They seemed to magnify problems in the recording - I have no trouble with detail rendering but not to the extent it's ADDING problems!)

Another thing is when folks toe-in speaker for optimal imaging, this can cause a lift in high-end response at the listening position because you're listening more "on-axis" than if the speakers were perpendicular to room lines.

You're right it is subjective, but I bet our "preferences" are centered around a typical HF roll-off pattern. We get the pattern, we like the sound. Anything other than the "pattern" and we cry "DULL" or "BRIGHT".

The danger is getting used to dull or bright! ;) That does not mean that "measured flat" is correct and you must get used to the "brightness of flat" though. I did DRC room correction and got my HF response flat and found it too bright and needed to compensate for power response by tayloring the target response (reference sweep file) before creating the correction impulse. Failing to do so was a nice measuring but unlistenable result. I know that such a flat response AT the listening position would SURELY be a rising response on-axis of each speaker.

I don't know of any designers that go rising on-axis to get ruler flat ON axis. I don't even know how many MEASURE on axis!! This is why DRC equalization is not the "plug and play" panacea some folks make it out to be (or that I thought it would be...) In fact, DRC has about as many "subjective add to taste" variables as anything else in audio!

Cheers,
Presto

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