I second the comments about recording technique and quality.
Also, to be sure that nothing simple is being overlooked, are you using the 4 ohm taps on the amplifier? If not, that is undoubtedly part of the problem.
Also, given that the impedance of the speakers descends to very low values in the upper treble region (as is typical of electrostatics), if your speaker cables are particularly long and also have highish inductance per unit length that could be a contributing factor as well.
Regards,
-- Al |
Start with the basics:
ESL loudspeakers are not known for their ability to handle forceful transients. |
To be clear; the medium to which you listen(vinyl, CD, master tape) is not as important as the mic technique(as mentioned by Lowrider), Recording Engineer's ears, mastering or pressing. There are more poor recordings out there, than high quality/accurate ones, of drum sets(IMO). |
as I write this, listening to "something else" by cannonball Adderley (with Miles), and the hi-hats sound faint and muted as well. Elegal, great music, but not a good reference to test your system. Back in the day the engineers used a minimal amount of microphones to record a session. There was a mic for the piano, a couple over the drum kit and a room mic; I'm just giving an example of mic techniques back then. Today, each drum and the high-hat would have their own mic plus 2 overhead for the cymbals, each player would have their own mic resulting in a clear, crisp sound; a very different sound. (the trumpet most likely will have a "raspy" sound rather than the more pleasant open sound. That's why you should use a reference CD or as I suggested, a modern studio jazz recording. BTW, I love the open sound from that era. |
To Lowrider and Rodman99999, I was listening to a vinyl recording. I will try several other recordings. These speakers sound good on base, but also seem to be lacking on cymbals as well. I am, as I write this, listening to "something else" by cannonball Adderley (with Miles), and the hi-hats sound faint and muted as well. Thank you all for the insightful comments. |
Ditto on the recording quality being suspect. Snares(and
drums in general) are difficult to record, regarding the
capture of their dynamic potential/impact. The vinyl version
of this album was recorded Direct-to-Disc and is now almost
impossible to obtain: (http://www.elusivedisc.com/THE-SHEFFIELD-LAB-DRUM-TRACK-DISC-DXD-CD/productinfo/LIMDX005/)
The drum tracks, on the ordinary CD, are still better than most
recordings. Especially, for seeing if your system will
reproduce the impact of a drum set. I haven't heard the DXD iteration. |
The recording quality is not the question, but the mic placement. An orchestral recording with minimalist/distant miking may give you the sound of the snare drums that you are reproducing - try a nice Jazz trio |
Are you paying attention to vibration control of the speakers?
Upon what are they resting? I have found this issue to be important on
my Prodigys. Play with this aspect, and it might benefit the whole sound spectrum...
Also... are all of the screws securely tightened? How about toe in of the speakers, their position in the listening room, and your position when you are listening to music? Raising my seating height makes a difference, for me! |
Which recording is it, and how familiar are you with this particular recording? I have multiple copies of various orchestral works, many done with minimal miking. You get a realistic soundstage that way, but you're at the mercy of the venue's acoustics and the engineer's microphone placement when it comes to hearing certain details the way you expect them to be. One, for example, is the Overture to the Nutcracker Suite. In some recordings I can distinctly hear the triangle that accentuates the melody at times, and on other recordings it's so faint I wouldn't know it was there if I didn't specifically listen for it. Do you have other recordings that you know to have well-recorded snare drum? For classical music, one pretty good example would be the crescendo toward the end of Debussy's Nocturne, "Fetes". Here is an extended and detailed Stereophile review of the ML SL3's. Notice the amps the reviewer chose, which include Conrad-Johnson Premiers Eleven and Twelve plus a couple of Krells and a Plinius. Maybe you can gain a little insight from the review about characteristics of the SL3s, setup, placement, and best matching amplification. Toward the end of the review he gave the SL3s high marks for reproduction of orchestral percussion. |
Mapman
"Are you sure it is a good recording?"
CD or Vinyl? Use a recording known to be high SQ; try a modern-era studio jazz recording that produces a crisp snare and tight bass with good dynamic range. Or maybe you have a reference CD? |
It tells that you need larger power for your speakers. Ideally they'll sound great with 4...500Wpc. |
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The stock Mac tubes are OK (better than when the first of the current version 275's first came out in 2004) but you can do way better. Nevertheless, they should still reproduce snare drums well, and unless there is something terribly wrong with the ML's, like loose diaphragm(s) that's not it either. I would try and find other recordings with similar material, unless you can say you've heard this Bolero on other systems and it sounded great (which you didn't say ;~)
I use a 275 w/ my ML's and it sounds fantastic (see my system) |
Consider taking your source recording to a trusted dealer for a test on their flagship rig? You might even be exposed to your next step in this fabulous hobby.
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Is Bolero your reference recording that you know intimately and have heard 100's of times? If not, don't base a system's performance on one sample recording. How does it sound on other recordings? |
The system or the recording might be out of absolute polarity. |
MAPMAN:
I am not sure it is a good recording, but the rest of the instruments sound good. |
REPRINCE:
I am using the tubes that came with the amp. I have the most recent version of the MC275. They are six months old. |
Are you sure it is a good recording? |
What kind of tubes are in the MC275, and how old are they? I found that 6550 type tubes were not that great at reproducing snare drum when I used them in my Jadis amps, though perhaps not to the extent you're describing. I would not suspect the speakers at this point. |
