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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?
128x128simao
5 responses Add your response
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
Mcondo,

Judging by http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/ the vinyl is less compressed than the CD. Not superb, but seems a clear improvement.
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse
4,306 posts
 
Wasn't "Seeds of Love" the "single" from that recording? Don't know nuthin' but seems like compression (as in squeeze the life out it) is part and parcel for the "lucky" HIT SINGLE.
mcondo
202 posts
 
I really enjoy Arcade Fire - seen them a few times on DVD/Cable TV, etc but never live (i'm probably too old). Remind me a lot of the Talking Heads in their hey day. Their CD's, however, are totally unlistenable on my system - way too much compression. Such a shame.
jcharvet
46 posts
 
I listen to TFF quite a bit. The Seeds of Love Song has so many layers. I am guessing that your system will need to drop to lower ohms to play the song accurately.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,198 posts
 
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.
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