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Pearljam5000
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Can't decide which is nicer 
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ATC speakers / Monitors
- Thread starter Pearljam5000
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On the above basis, could it be correct to conclude that some loudspeakers without (on-axis) magnitude response corrections can sound "better" by virtue of the acoustic properties of their dispersion patterns?
Doesn't applying an on-axis magnitude response correction produce a concomitant change in the off-axis response? This type of effect is surely something that is well-known amongst the international crossover designer fraternity. Rather than being an unintended effect off-axis, is it something that is determined by some designers as being less important to control than the on-axis response?This could be particularly so in low-cost loudspeaker systems, but here the on-axis response is often far from being flat.
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Sokel
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Completely OP but curiosity hits me hard now and I have to sincerely,honestly ask:
What about my 70 yo favorite classical stuff like the ones Lew Layton did for RCA and CSO and to my ears are some of the best recordings ever?
(ok,maybe I'm a little biased because of the people playing there but still)
(there's a video about it)
Edit: @mhardy6647 come to rescue!
(from the video)
1. are these speakers?
2. are these active speakers???
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Just beautiful....
DSJR
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If the 50's are the UK classic Spendor BC1 on steroids visually, the 150's are 100s on steroids. I'd suggest much larger rooms in more free space for the 150s though
DSJR
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Bloody Signals never told me when they had the 100A-SE on loan
They're more into Naim driven Dynaudio passives anyway (much more lucrative despite the harder-edged tones) and were apparently 'surprised' how good the 100A-SE was even in a smaller room, which I could have told them from first hand experience of my earlier version.Actually PJ, these to me are the fancy dress versions of the proper stand mount versions. Still very cheap in 'high end' circles (the built-in amp packs also put them off) and probably ignored by these people because of it...
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I had the chance to AB between PMC 8-2s and older (~2012-13 era, I think?) SCM150s recently; the ATCs are miles better sounding throughout their range above the very low end, where while they do have bass extension, they don't really have particularly excellent sounding bass. The ATCs are fabulously more open and clean sounding, especially in the range that mid driver covers. I'm not sure what black magic happens with that mid dome but it is a phenomenal driver.
The top end was very nice too, but this is before the in-house tweeter - instead it has the very nice Seas one they were using before.
It makes me want to put soft domes in my 420s, which by comparison are a little grating up top.
The top end was very nice too, but this is before the in-house tweeter - instead it has the very nice Seas one they were using before.
It makes me want to put soft domes in my 420s, which by comparison are a little grating up top.
DSJR
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PMC are now selling active amp packs to replace the passive ones in their domestic slim-boxes. I believe they're £1795 or so the pair. Absolutely no idea if they'll stick with the non-neutral balance or if some eq will be used to tame the severe excesses of non-linearity they all seem to have above 2kHz or so...
Doubt they will.
There would've been compression used in that kind of recording to prevent the lathe from bouncing or overheating in the cutting process.
Tape transfers to high-res digital are now available for these records. They could be from from pre-mastering stage without vinyl specific adjustments. I did hear some - tape hiss is there as is high dynamic range only limited by tape S/N ratio. Many more old records show up like that from Qobuz and other sources.
In the old times of recording, there were likely some dynamic reductions happening caused by a limited dynamic range in many steps in the chain of the recording gear which caused compression without the need for an actual compressor. I read somewhere that when audio recording gear was getting better with the dynamic range, it was almost seen as a problem as it was harder to hear the finer details in the sound as they were now drowning in the more dynamic sound, and that was what made them invent the compressor.
I don't know if this is true.
I don't know if this is true.
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Compressors often act much more quickly than a human can - on the order of milliseconds.Ah, yes ... the miracle of manual "gain riding".
Jim
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Yes, I understand. The "miracle" to which I referred came from observing a direct-to-disk production circa '82. Actually, it was a "miracle" that it came out at an acceptably high level of overall quality. That's why I included the emoji.
The studio owner had been doing it for years, though. I'm sure that had a great deal to do with it.
Jim
Sokel
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Sokel
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That's true.
"Red seal" copies like the one I posted some time ago in the bass thread seem to be tape transfers and let's not forget the most famous one has (claimed) copied tapes still around.
I think what makes this recordings "magical" apart from their content is the fact that they present one of the most debated topic in audio,this illusion of clear 3D space,specially depth.
High DR is usual in classical so one who listens to it is impressed (I know I'm not) .
Edit:It could be used as passive too but that's the amps it could be installed with:
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DSJR
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Of course the performance is king here - well, it should be - but as for sonics. UK Decca cuts of the 1950s and 60s were all over the place and most often (according to an ex mastering engineer friend who worked there), the finished vinyls, so treasured by audiophiles, were eq'd to hell and back when cut as well as being cut at half speed I gather, the final 'sound' deviating very audibly from that signed off by the recordings' producers. When said pal came to digitally master their mid 60's Solti Mahler 4, he set the tape eq to that suggested for cutting on the tape box and it sounded awful (dull I thought the original vinyls were), so he set everything 'flat' and that's what was released and to me, a far more natural string tone and sound field.
In 1970 or whenever it was, Decca acquired some Neumann cutting lathes (VMS80?) and were now able to cut without the eq and other 'stuff' they had to do. The audio fraternity apparently hated these re-pressings, much preferring the older more compromised and 'characterful' cuts.
No idea how these recordings were treated in the US if they ever found their way there.
In 1970 or whenever it was, Decca acquired some Neumann cutting lathes (VMS80?) and were now able to cut without the eq and other 'stuff' they had to do. The audio fraternity apparently hated these re-pressings, much preferring the older more compromised and 'characterful' cuts.
No idea how these recordings were treated in the US if they ever found their way there.
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