High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

Exaggerated micro-detail

204.131.179.1

4season

In Reply to: RE: What causes some speakers to be fatiguing? posted by Christopher Witmer on August 27, 2007 at 16:34:39

I once viewed a Sony high definition video demo, and it was very impressive at first glance, as every single hair on people's heads just seemed to "pop" with impressive clarity. Then I found I was getting a headache, and partly it was due to the fact that I *was* fixating on such small details, and partly because I didn't like the way the equipment was set up: Blacks too black, video too contrasty, with too much added sharpening. I think some high end sound is like that too: Striving not to be "natural" so much as hyper-real, and it gets old after awhile.

Follow Ups:

Does that mean that too much efficiency can be a bad thing? - Christopher Witmer 04:23:37 08/29/07 (4)
I was definitely hearing details in this music that I hadn't heard before, such as extraneous noises in the recording venues as well as breathing and musicians' finger sounds that I had not heard before, due to the unprecedented (for me) efficiency of these speakers. But it sounds to me like you are saying something that strikes me as counter-intuitive: that too much efficiency in a speaker can be a bad thing. Have I misconstrued your post? (If so, sorry.)
- Equipment warm up and running in... - BTW 08:45:06 08/29/07 (1)
  Hi Chris,
  
  Speakers that have very high resolution are somewhat of a "double-edge sword". If the other equipment like preamp/power hasn't been fully warmed up yet... these speakers could very well be showing up the warming up problems.
  
  Another possibility... Has the spks been properly run in ?
  - Warmed up, yes, but not sure about run-in . . . - Christopher Witmer 13:57:39 08/29/07 (0)
    I'll ask about the run-in -- I can see how that could make a difference. Thanks to the various replies I've gotten here, I now have a bunch of possibilities and questions that I can run past the developer to try to get to the bottom of things . . .
- RE: Does that mean that too much efficiency can be a bad thing? - Tom Brennan 05:56:15 08/29/07 (1)
  What you seem to be thinking is that extreme clarity may be bad, I don't hold with that notion. Nor do I see how efficiency is a cause of clarity. I think the things that make a speaker efficient often also make it clear but fail to see that efficiency itself causes clarity.
  
  Note that with many efficient speakers the midband is so clear because the bass is so lacking; with poor bass the midrange stands out with more detail.
  
  I think what makes a speaker tiring to listen to is bad (to me) tonal balance and "burrs" in the frequency response. Some people will be set off by one set of burrs and some people by another.
  - bass-light - hollowboy 07:33:27 08/29/07 (0)
    "the midband is so clear because the bass is so lacking"
    
    That's my guess here. System claimed to be 104dB / watt with a 15" driver covering from 30Hz(or whatever)--> 1600Hz.

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Crux Audio