For a while, until I got things tuned in, "Fear Of A Blank Planet" by Porcupine Tree fell flat in the dynamics department on my new OHM Walsh F5 speakers compared to my 35 year old custom modded OHm L bookshelf speakers (on stands), which were filling in prior to the arrival of the new speakers. Turns out the amp (and pre-amp) I had at the time was up to snuff for the smaller Ls but not the big F5s. An amp upgrade to my current BEl Canto Ref1000m monoblocks after an earlier pre-amp upgrade to my current ARC tube pre-amp solved the problem.
Fav. recordings that fell flat in a hi-end system
When I "got into" high-end audio years ago, I dove into it head-first: Maggie 3.6R's, ARC VS 110 bi-wiring, Blue Circle 2.1 pre; Accuphase cd player - shit that would satisfy the tone/color synesthete in me and put me "there" inside the recording.
I eagerly went through my cd collection favorites, usually enjoying each one -- until I got to Tears for Fears' sonic masterpiece "Seeds of Love". This recording had always been pure sonic bliss from start to finish; layers upon layers of instrumentation and harmonies; subtle flourishes and myriad nuances that my system brought out in amazing detail.
"Woman in Chains" was beautiful between the Maggies; Oleta Adams' crystal voice surrounding me; Phil Collins' drumwork floating in three dimensions. However, when the more produced and electric "Seeds of Love" track started, everything fell flat. It's as if the engineer had turned up the compression factor and sapped the track (and the succeeding ones) of all their energy and life. I ended up saving that cd for the car only as it was too painful to listen to on the good system.
What favorite recordings have fallen flat for you all? Why do you think they did so? What was your reaction when you realized it?
I eagerly went through my cd collection favorites, usually enjoying each one -- until I got to Tears for Fears' sonic masterpiece "Seeds of Love". This recording had always been pure sonic bliss from start to finish; layers upon layers of instrumentation and harmonies; subtle flourishes and myriad nuances that my system brought out in amazing detail.
"Woman in Chains" was beautiful between the Maggies; Oleta Adams' crystal voice surrounding me; Phil Collins' drumwork floating in three dimensions. However, when the more produced and electric "Seeds of Love" track started, everything fell flat. It's as if the engineer had turned up the compression factor and sapped the track (and the succeeding ones) of all their energy and life. I ended up saving that cd for the car only as it was too painful to listen to on the good system.
What favorite recordings have fallen flat for you all? Why do you think they did so? What was your reaction when you realized it?
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