Fuzzy Lyrics

Concerning your fuzzy lyrics - Is it the new Sting CD, Brand New Day? It's not a bad CD musically, but the lyrics are really blurred on my system, which I consider to be a rather revealing system. On several of the songs, I simply can't understand what he is saying, a problem that I don't have with the rest of my collection.

There are too many potential causes to discuss here, and recording quality is just one, but the most common cause in my experience of fuzziness on vocals is poor vibration isolation of your components. I suggest you look at this first. Hard to comment further without knowing more about your system and its set-up (or even the disc in question).

Phish (Farmhouse) and a Keller Williams CD. If vibration were the problem, how come I don't hear similar problems on other discs. Vibration could very well be the problem because I haven't done much to control it.

Don't think its vibration. That effect is very small. If he is really aware of the fuzziness then its probably mic'd improperly. Try playing the CD on another system. A car CD player would be just fine since they tend to emphasize the vocal band. If it sound clear then you have a system problem. One other possible problem is a blown midrange speaker.

Have you experience of this Keis or are you speculating? Mic'd improperly? I find that difficult to accept. Improper mic'ing does not usually result in fuzziness. Firstly, vibration effects are not small unless you have low resolution components in the first place. Secondly a common problem of vibration effects is that they get worse at certain frequencies - ever heard of resonance? Very recently I was helping a friend with his system. We were listening to Eric Bibb's latest CD and noticed that on one track in two places - each about 30 seconds long - the vocals became fuzzy, such that the system lost its ability to resolve his voice. At first we wondered if this might be a problem with the recording, but I could recall no such problem with the same disk on my system. We changed the support under the CD - increasing the amount that it was decoupled from the equipment stand - and lo and behold no fuzziness on Eric Bibb's voice. I repeat, vibration effects are not small in a good system, and they are not necessarily ubiquitous - they are set off by resonances when the components start singing along with the music. I have often fallen into the trap of writing off the sound quality of a disk, only to find later when I improved my system, that the issue was that the disk was very difficult to resolve. Often a gem can emerge when you improve the resolving power of your system. I acknowledge (again) that other effects could be at play. For example lots of digital mixing can result in so many bits of resolution lost that the music gets dense, flat and fuzzy. But far from agreeing you should try it in your car - I recommend you try this disk at your local dealers on the best system they have available - and then tell us if it is the recording or your system that is at fault.

Funny you should mention that Redkiwi, but I already performed that same test (seemed like the logical thing to do eh?) and did not hear the fuzziness, although I don't have a superstar car audio system. I just purchased some new cables, DH-Labs Q-10 bi-wired. For several of my disks, the cables are outstanding. However, it seems like the fuzziness is more pronounced on those two disks I mentioned, and perceptible on other disks, 10,000 maniacs unplugged, and even on a Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) CD. Although this specific disk has no lyrics, there seems to be this veil of fuzziness over the mid range. None of the speaker drivers are blown. If anyone has a good solution to try, do Vibrapods work etc., please make a recommendation. My budget does not allow expensive solutions, dark matter platforms, so try to keep that in mind. Most things are easy to fix if you have a fat wallet.

Jklotch, can you describe how your components are arranged? Like, what do they sit on? It still sounds to me as if there is a major resonance in the midband somewhere. Vibrapods do work, but you will get the biggest improvement by getting your first welded steel rack (don't get one that bolts together) if you do not already have one. Preferably, get one that you can spike to the floor and which has upward-pointing spikes to support the shelves. The next step is to experiment with footers between the components and the shelf - which is where Vibrapods come in. There is still a good chance that vibration is not the issue and it could be a faulty component, so don't go ahead and buy anything without trying it first.

Red- I have a an entertainment center, more like a piece of furniture, which has glass shelves. The shelves themselves do not employ a sophisticated anti-vibration design, merely plastic flanges with metal posts that can be positioned at various heights to modulate shelf space. The wood itself is teak. I use a Yamaha Receiver (working on changing that) and an NAD515 CD platter. I've heard this specific NAD in other systems with no other problems. Source is connected with 1 meter DH lab BL-1's (quite happy with this interconnect). I also have a 2-stage monster power line conditioner. For some of my disks, this meager system sounds wonderful (and suits my appartment space). But this new fuzzy problem is really disturbing. Thanks for your input.

This thread makes me feel all fuzzy inside...

I reckon you need that rack I mentioned before - but I hate to be so definite without you trying it first - see what local dealers will let you try out. Good luck.