Does Every Track Sound Great on Your System?


How do you know if it is the recording or your system?

By way of example with a focus on bass, for some songs I like the amount of bass, then another song I feel like it needs more bass to hit harder, and then another song I feel like there is too much bass and it is boomy. Does that ever happen to you? I feel like I am getting the treble sorted out, but going back and forth on the bass.

Can anyone listen to the first 20 second of the song Temptation by Diana Krall from the Girl In The Other Room album and let me know if there is a bass component that is a bit much? The vocals sound good so no issue there.

Thanks.

12many

Showing 2 responses by benanders


12many

By way of example with a focus on bass, for some songs I like the amount of bass, then another song I feel like it needs more bass to hit harder, and then another song I feel like there is too much bass and it is boomy. Does that ever happen to you? I feel like I am getting the treble sorted out, but going back and forth on the bass.

 

@12many might be a stab in the dark not knowing what your setup is, but I’ll venture bass can be a most unstable variable among different albums, or even among different tracks on the same album.

One reason being, how variable mastering setups and masterer’s impressions can be. It’s a mess. I adjust my stereo subs manually among albums / masters because of this. For someone surfing across albums while streaming, it would not be a reasonable strategy. I prefer it to running the sub plate amps near max and using DSP to equilibrate the low end among albums. For anyone who doesn’t mind really working out their sub’s amps and/or who has a more sophisticated digital path for bass management, there can be less strenuous options, but intervention will be needed nonetheless. The only real way around (i.e. no DSP nor frequent level adjustments) is if you’re willing to oscillate between hearing weak bass and really weak bass, depending on the album / master. Reading the linked paper should help.

 

12many OP

221 posts

 

Thanks all.  Good info.  My issue is not so much about a poor quality recording, just that some good recordings are coming across with a bit too much bass energy, while other sound good, even when they have bass content.  It may be the room or speaker positions or me - maybe I am not accepting enough of the artists/mixers choice to have more bass in some parts of the song.  I don't have subs in my system, but did have this issue before when using subs.


@12many did you read that article? It is exactly about your query, as I’d mentioned. @yoyoyaya also gave you a sound (pun!) explanation.

All the EQ stuff / kit discussion would be useful, maybe, if you opt to use more power and software.

Laptop in the listening chair as a remote got a chuckle from me 😉