Getting used to a change of sound
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.
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
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).
8-X
Idiot.
Well that would explain a lot.
I was wondering why i'm sitting here in a jock strap.
Colin's golf buggy: