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music that sounds good and music that sounds bad

Axo1989

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Aiming for something that will be nobody’s taste* I’ll follow @2020’s example: if this doesn’t sound like a distorted metal mess there’s something wrong. You should still be able to pick things out of the mix though (different vocal treatments at different times, for example) and the jazz break around 1:30-1:45 should be relatively clean.

Edit: The idea of this one being that the music is as messy as, and crest factor is in the red zone, but production values are high. So we can try and separate taste from sonics from gear.

*except mine, clearly
 
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RayDunzl

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for me this is all a mess

It's not something to which I would find myself listening.

As for the production values, I can only assume what they produced is what they intended.
 
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escape2

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Why do you say this?
Because it's difficult for us to understand what you mean by saying "it's all a mess." What exactly does it mean? Does it not sound clear to you? If so, we don't know if it's because you just don't digest this type of music or if it's because there is something in your audio stream that's broken.

There are many music pieces that just don't appeal to me personally. I hear them, and it does nothing for me, so I move on to something else. Sometimes it's just the whole genre that's not up my alley. Sometimes it's poor recording.

Lastly, the examples you pointed to are Youtube videos. I'm sure you know that all audio in Youtube videos is heavily compressed - some people find it OK, while others with more sensitive ears can't stand it. That's why we were suggesting you find lossless versions of those tracks to see if it makes things any better.
 
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majingotan

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for me this is all a mess

Mixing and mastering can be better, but definitely an engaging track for me with my head bumping throughout :). Also, non-fatiguing sound due to horrible compression, but some dynamics come through cleanly which made me get into grooving
 
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musica

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Aiming for something that will be nobody’s taste* I’ll follow @2020’s example: if this doesn’t sound like a distorted metal mess there’s something wrong. You should still be able to pick things out of the mix though (different vocal treatments at different times, for example) and the jazz break around 1:30-1:45 should be relatively clean.

Edit: The idea of this one being that the music is as messy as, and crest factor is in the red zone, but production values are high. So we can try and separate taste from sonics from gear.

*except mine, clearly
the jazz part I feel good the rest is confusion and distortion for me
 

Axo1989

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the jazz part I feel good the rest is confusion and distortion for me

Well, that's all objectively true, it is confusion and distortion. Out of interest though, can you hear the different treatment of the voice 0:50-1:10 (compared to the beginning 0:15-0:35) when the added distortion gets extra choppy? If you can, then you are hearing through the mess just fine. If you'd rather not listen again I understand, most wouldn't.

I don't know what you think of the discussion of audio processing disorder. I found it interesting to think about not in the clinical sense but as a model for how the brain learns to interpret sound generally.

For example, my younger sister first started playing me post-hardcore and screamo revival stuff when we were teenagers (late 2000s). At first I couldn't listen to it. F*cking chaos. For some reason I started to like it and now it sounds great. I can even enjoy early BMTH deathcore (the stuff the band themselves have pulled off streaming).

Anyway, listen to what sounds good to you. You may or may not like different stuff later.
 
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Natchie

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Reporting in late as usual, but want to share for the OP to listen to movie/tv series soundtracks. It might be easier to identify the type of music you like. I enjoyed listening to various soundtracks. This is one suggested soundtracks album to listen to:
51pT0ldCo8L._UX358_FMjpg_QL85_.jpg
51pT0ldCo8L._UX358_FMjpg_QL85_.jpg
 

Jimster480

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Reporting in late as usual, but want to share for the OP to listen to movie/tv series soundtracks. It might be easier to identify the type of music you like. I enjoyed listening to various soundtracks. This is one suggested soundtracks album to listen to:
51pT0ldCo8L._UX358_FMjpg_QL85_.jpg
51pT0ldCo8L._UX358_FMjpg_QL85_.jpg
There used to be lots of good show and game based soundtracks! Today I feel like there are not as many.
 

WAMMJ45

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You've got great gear! But how do you really tell if the music you are listening to is better than your old gear? For example, it may be too much to ask of you to get a music or sound engineer to come over to your place. Or maybe your friends will say it sounds great because they don't want to hurt your feelings. Or maybe you can't tell the difference because this is the first time you are listening to hifi music. It may be that you're a little far-sighted, and therefore not an objective judge of the sound. In that case, I suggest you get your eyes examined before you start buying more gear.
 

Jimster480

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You've got great gear! But how do you really tell if the music you are listening to is better than your old gear? For example, it may be too much to ask of you to get a music or sound engineer to come over to your place. Or maybe your friends will say it sounds great because they don't want to hurt your feelings. Or maybe you can't tell the difference because this is the first time you are listening to hifi music. It may be that you're a little far-sighted, and therefore not an objective judge of the sound. In that case, I suggest you get your eyes examined before you start buying more gear.
Well typically I will try to find the best recorded tracks period and see if I can hear something different between the two. I will focus on micro details and then try to see if I can tell the difference between the two. If i surely think I can; then I will setup a blind test to determine if I can or if someone else can as well (usually my wife).
 

kongwee

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For me is enjoying the music. Sometime, a song/music can get me listening for a long time, some don't. The gears are there for you to enjoy. Sound quality is really secondary. I even listen through Youtube.
 

dasdoing

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from 1.42 to 2.05 then from 3.50 to 450 for me it's just noise
I want to know if it feels so bad for you too?




it sounds bad because there is no dynamics left in the vocal. you can confirm this by going all the way down with the volume until you barily hear he. it's the kind of excessive compression that back in the days only a radio station would do, but is pretty comon in pop music now.
what's funny is that DR fetishists will actually like it, cause the DR calculation of the song is probably not that bad. lol
 

antcollinet

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from 1.42 to 2.05 then from 3.50 to 450 for me it's just noise
I want to know if it feels so bad for you too?



Also reporting in late. I think I was away around the time this thread started.

For me those two sections sound uplifting and exciting.

This could just be an issue of musical preference, or it could be that your Cerebral Palsy has impacted how you perceive sound - I've looked up symptoms, and one possible is hearing loss. So much of what we perceive in sound goes on in the brain, I suspect the latter may be having an effect in your music listening. A lot of what you have posted here, suggests when music contains a lot of different instruments and voices coming together - especially loud - you just perceive it as noise.

You've also said you like when individual instruments come in and surprise you. I am layman speculating, but is it possible your ability to distinguish individual instruments/sounds from a combination is reduced?

In any case - as you have been doing here, you need to expose yourself to many different styles of music to find stuff you like. I've been listening a lot over the last year or so to Radio Paradise. They tend to play quite an eclectic mix and I've found it very useful for discovering new (to me) music. They also have four different "flavours" of mix.

Another idea it might be worth considering - if you have a local music appreciation group. Especially if you can find one where the leaders are sympathetic to your particular situation.
 

Natchie

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Thinking about how various layers of instruments and voices contributing to the overall complexity of a song might be an issue. It might be best to start off listening to simpler, less complex arrangement of music, perhaps with folk music from the sixties. Sweet vocal harmony along with strumming guitars, such as Peter Paul & Mary. Or Pete Seeger and the rest of the Newport Folk Music Festival...?
 
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