Getting used to a change of sound

edited September 2013 in Systems
Not a new one this, but here ewe go...

As some will know I have (at least) a couple of pairs of speakers and (at least 2 amps) in my system. The primary combo is the NVA TSS mk3 into NVA Cube 1s. However I recently experimented with sticking in an NVA AP30 into a pair of old Goodmans Goodwoods (with only the 12 inch bass driver connected). I've been a bass nut for some time now, and wanted to have the option of a chest thump for movies and parties. It is a very unsophisticated approach to getting more bass (not for me the refurbed drivers, bespoke cross overs and handmade cabinets of Paul's RFC!), but it certainly adds gravitas for unsophisticated occasions.
However, I felt that when listening "properly" to music in a "sophisticated" sense the AP30/Goodwoods combination changed the overall sound for the worse, if the AP30's volume knob was anywhere beyond 8 o'clock. As I rotated the dial beyond that point my impression was that the sound "thickened" up with perceived upper bass bloating. The immediate impact of this pollution was always enough for me to avoid persevering. Remember that now...

This morning I was fiddling with the system to get it configured for my 40th birthday party in a week or so. The priorities for this occasion will be volume and bass. (I make no apology, etc.,...) I was playing the TSS - Cube 1s as loud as they'll go, with the AP30 - Goodwoods at 12 o'clock. It really was a glorious (and delightfully unsophisticated) sound.  8-}  You know that effect when you stop the music and as the system falls silent the room's reverberations continue for several seconds... @-)

Now, for various reasons that I won't go into I changed some of the settings on the TFS media PC to allow me to control the volume on my JRemote iphone ap. Usually this function is bipassed in my setup, and I control volume levels manually using volume knobs in the old fashioned way. With the system now in party mode I can raise and lower the volume of every amp in the system simultaneously at source by use of the single slider on my iphone's touch screen.

After I felt that the neighbours had had enough I turned the (overall) volume down and got a bit of housework done with the music playing in the background for a couple of hours. ^:)^  It would seem that during that time my brain has been able to carry out some useful recalibrations...
I've just slumped down infront of the system (still playing at moderate levels thanks to the iphone ap), but with the amps' volume knobs at exactly the same levels as for party mode) and I can't perceive a hint of that thickening of the sound or upper bass bloat that I have always been struck by when turning up the big 12 inch Goodmans in the past. And yet the volume knob on the AP30 is still at 12 o'clock, hugely higher than I would normally have it for music listening. There is a definite visceral bass impact from all the air moving off the Goodwoods drivers, but it sounds wholly helpful to the overall sound in a way that I had never previously given myself the chance to appreciate.

It is remarkable how my ears and brain combine to so sensitively perceive a "change" in sound, and more than that, just how overwhelming that perception of "change" can be. The experience has suggested to me that in future when comparing different kit, I should not rely solely on quick A-B comparisons. My brain apparently needs time to forget the change and start appreciating the sound itself. As I say, nothing new here, it's just that I've not experienced it to this extent before.

Comments

  • This is interesting Ben, and I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to the usefulness of a quick A-B demo. It goes to show that time and a relaxed environment is need to assess gear. I often find myself initially liking something, then really falling out of love with it. Then, a few days later I 'get' it properly, either for better or worse. I have had to learn how far I can trust my first impressions, and it's been an interesting process.

    The interesting thing is reversing a change after a decent period of acclimatisation, and seeing if you feel you've lost anything. This is an essential part of any long-term audition IME, but seems to be often neglected (from what I read on forums).



  • The interesting thing is reversing a change after a decent period of acclimatisation, and seeing if you feel you've lost anything. This is an essential part of any long-term audition IME, but seems to be often neglected (from what I read on forums).


    Yes indeed. I've got a few days at home now, so I'm going to leave things exactly as they are for a while, and then kill the volume on the AP30 completely. I suspect things will sound somewhat anemic for a while...
    8-X
  • Really enjoying this. Very used to it now. Very engaging.
  • In fact what the hell was i playing at before today...?!
    Idiot.
  • Rugby?



    Well that would explain a lot.
    I was wondering why i'm sitting here in a jock strap.
  • That's an image I didn't want to wake up to
  • I just have,yuk rugby a cult of football, a cult of gladiator fights, all for funerals and death.
    I take Polo a least is just a head a bit.
  • You're all animals, golf is better! :)
  • Ping Pong, I tell you  [-X
  • You need extended time to settle in to a change, particularly a major change, but saying that, a quick listen is usually all it takes to know whether something sounds inherently "right".  The room could also be playing a major part in that bass response as will the listening position.  If you stand up and place yourself at 2m from the goodmans drivers with music playing, then step back a metre at a time, ou'll soon find the peak and null room responses for bass!
  • That's an image I didn't want to wake up to
    Oh not you too. I get that from my wife every single morning.
  • You need extended time to settle in to a change, particularly a major change, but saying that, a quick listen is usually all it takes to know whether something sounds inherently "right".  The room could also be playing a major part in that bass response as will the listening position.  If you stand up and place yourself at 2m from the goodmans drivers with music playing, then step back a metre at a time, ou'll soon find the peak and null room responses for bass!
    Will do!
  • Don't trip over George!
  • You're all animals, golf is better! :)
    That's just culling the poor Haggis, by bashing it's egg's to death , so wicked Alan.
  • :P

    Colin's golf buggy:

    image
  • For me thank Alan, when can I collect it?

    8-}
  • edited September 2013
    Colin, I'll give you that .jpg file with pleasure - let me just email it to you. ;)
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