Posted by Bill Epstein [ 65.189.211.118 ] on March 18, 2006 at 06:34:26:
Been completing my to-do list; finished the small 1.45 cu ft speakers with the P.E. horn tweeter yesterday and was relaxing listening to the main system.
Put on the Copland Appalachian Spring Bernstein and the NYPO SACD and was reminded that the treble was "too hot". That according to Speakerman and Steve Brown. And I knew it too but other things took precedence. The violins, however, on this really fine recording were "fingernails-on-a-blackboard" shrill. So much so that, tired as I was, I couldn't listen another minute.
I took the crossovers up to the bench and proceeded to up the attenuation of the 902B's from 14 to 16 dB going from 30 to 40 Ohms R1. I left R2 at 15 Ohms as I didn't have a 12 ohm resistor.
Back at the sofa, I now found the violins just right: not quite that 'shimmery' ideal you sometimes hear but much better balanced with the rest of the orchestra. And this recording is just superb. Acres of depth, gorgeous polyphonic woodwinds with all the members of the family clearly represented. And those drums! No blurring of the Bass and Tympani.
This recording goes right to my short list of "perfect" performances.
But the news is not all good.
ANYBODY STILL AWAKE?
I had to hear what effect there might be on voice so I played the "Gaia" cut of James Taylor's Hourglass SACD. His voice was less smooth than I'm used to; more saccharin than sweet (I love a well-turned cliche'). This was not a subtle diffeence.
Something in the mid-range changed quite drastically. The cap: .33uF KImber remained the same. Perhaps the lessened upper treble UN-masked this existing mid-range issue? Could a mere 2 dB cause this?
I'm especially concerned that I'm hearing the character of the Vifa tweeter more instead of the blend of the Vifa and Altec as before. If so, I'll have to look elsewhere (read: spend more $$$) for my super-tweeter.
But how great is it that sound-conditioning my room now allows me to hear subtle differences such as these like never before? If you don't have panels and bass traps you're missing so much!
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