I should add something that occured on all these discs. It's as if the instruments and voices are stepping on each other. The focus is not as sharp. It's hard to pick out and concentrate on exactly what a musician is doing or playing because the others subjectively drown them out. This is difficult to describe and I'm not sure I understand it. I hope you understand the point I'm trying to make. There is a "confusion" enveloping the sound. The opposite of "musical" for sure.
The sound of my new electrical service: Day 1
And I mean a completely new service. New pole!, new pole transformer!, new underground line to the house (was above ground), new meter, and new breaker box with all new breakers. House wireing remains the same. Talk about an upgrade! Or, will it be a sonic downgrade? I wouldn't be surprised. House was built in 1964, so that stuff was 50 years old.
I don't do much desk work, so typing all these subjective impressions will be quite a bit of work for me. I hope we all can find it interesting at the least. I doubt too many others will have to go through this with their systems, so maybe it's pointless, but might still be interesting. Beforehand, my system was sounding so good that I was afraid to change anything. You know what I mean don't you? If not, I'm sure you will get there eventually.
System: completely restored, vintage tube. Been through the modern stuff, this is the real thing. I will stick to digital VIA CD for the first few days to keep things simple for us.
Day 1: Eric Clapton "Unplugged", Buddy Guy and Jr. Wells "Alone and Acoustic", Ani Defranco "Living in Clip"
Right away I noticed the urge to turn the volume down. I'm usually inclined to turn it up because this system can sound so deliciously juicy with real life timbre and tone. Not sure if it now plays louder at the same volume setting, or if it is just more irritating. On Unplugged the instruments have lost that deliciously right timbre and tone. Total lack of analog like sweetness and the system could even be mistaken for solid state. It has aquired a solid state like impression of power though. Foot stomp/tapping is more audible with a bass like presence. Sibilants, S's are pronounced like they linger too long. Capton's voice is both murky and harsh at the same time. Overall, a great loss of transparency that makes this obviously a recording and not the musicians in my room.
On Buddy Guy, a lack of clarity on the voices. Also irritation when things get peaky. Jr's harmonica is dark and lacking the usual bouncy excitement. Guitar tone seems lacking in higher frequencies. Again though, I hear more intense feet to the floor sounds. Need to play something with bass to see what happens there.
On to Defranco's live disc. If you have any interest at all in this artist, just buy this one. You might not love all of it, but the good stuff is just great. On this disc, the energy is all there, but on the irritating side when things get loud. Voice comes off better than the other two discs, but not at all what I am used to. Bass? Well, it seems tighter, but not better or stronger. Her guitar rings out as usual with plenty of power, but, again the timbre is off making everything less interesting. When the music quiets down, a perception of transparency sets in that approaches what I am used to here.
Thats it for now, stay tuned for day 2, etc. to come.
I don't do much desk work, so typing all these subjective impressions will be quite a bit of work for me. I hope we all can find it interesting at the least. I doubt too many others will have to go through this with their systems, so maybe it's pointless, but might still be interesting. Beforehand, my system was sounding so good that I was afraid to change anything. You know what I mean don't you? If not, I'm sure you will get there eventually.
System: completely restored, vintage tube. Been through the modern stuff, this is the real thing. I will stick to digital VIA CD for the first few days to keep things simple for us.
Day 1: Eric Clapton "Unplugged", Buddy Guy and Jr. Wells "Alone and Acoustic", Ani Defranco "Living in Clip"
Right away I noticed the urge to turn the volume down. I'm usually inclined to turn it up because this system can sound so deliciously juicy with real life timbre and tone. Not sure if it now plays louder at the same volume setting, or if it is just more irritating. On Unplugged the instruments have lost that deliciously right timbre and tone. Total lack of analog like sweetness and the system could even be mistaken for solid state. It has aquired a solid state like impression of power though. Foot stomp/tapping is more audible with a bass like presence. Sibilants, S's are pronounced like they linger too long. Capton's voice is both murky and harsh at the same time. Overall, a great loss of transparency that makes this obviously a recording and not the musicians in my room.
On Buddy Guy, a lack of clarity on the voices. Also irritation when things get peaky. Jr's harmonica is dark and lacking the usual bouncy excitement. Guitar tone seems lacking in higher frequencies. Again though, I hear more intense feet to the floor sounds. Need to play something with bass to see what happens there.
On to Defranco's live disc. If you have any interest at all in this artist, just buy this one. You might not love all of it, but the good stuff is just great. On this disc, the energy is all there, but on the irritating side when things get loud. Voice comes off better than the other two discs, but not at all what I am used to. Bass? Well, it seems tighter, but not better or stronger. Her guitar rings out as usual with plenty of power, but, again the timbre is off making everything less interesting. When the music quiets down, a perception of transparency sets in that approaches what I am used to here.
Thats it for now, stay tuned for day 2, etc. to come.