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Are my ears just fooling me?

I have been in this hoppy for a couple of years. I have been through alot of equipment, trying to find the sound for me (dont we all!) I have really enjoyed it but something is starting to bother me. I for some reason feel that every system I have ever heard cannot reproduce a saxophone with the body and emotion like when I hear it live. I am young but I have listened to and owned equipment all over the board. Most hifi gear I find is just really thin sounding to my ears, even with owning many tube amps. Is this normal? Does my ear just want to hear distortion with playback that really isnt there on the recording? I have never heard SET amps before and think they maybe down my alley...but is it just some more "ear candy"??
macd
tan43
128 posts
 
I think you are on the right track with the Cornwalls.
Saxophones sound wonderful on my K'horns, and do so with little power.
In fact I am driving them with a 10wpc t'amp.
This is my wife's living room system and she does not want to worry about tubes.
The mid range horn with the 15" woofers seems to imitate saxophones and brass the best.
macd OP
103 posts
 
To answer the question of what saxs sound like IMO, whenever im at a restaurant with live jazz, I am always dumbfounded of how the sax fills the room with this amazingly warm and low "buzz" if you will. It is so engulfing and sends shivers up my spine. I do hear differences between saxs and players, but all in all, when the saxs dip low in real life I find them to have the presence that no speaker I have owned is able to reproduce IMO.
racamuti's avatar
racamuti
362 posts
 
Hi Macd, I think Mechans is on to something when he recommends an octal tube preamp. I have an all tube single ended system and when I switched out my pre that was using small "peanut tubes" to one that uses "octal" 6sn7's the tone was much richer and fuller. I have used three preamps that used small signal tubes in my system and they all sounded great but lacked a rich full tone, also I have owned two preamps that use octal tubes and both of them sounded much richer with a big tone. Just my observation with my system but something you should try, I think?
Good Luck, Tish
6550c
393 posts
 
The live sax you hear at the jazz club is probably way louder than you play on your system. Take a spl meter along next time to check it out.
fas42
58 posts
 
As Shadorne pointed out earlier, number one requirement is big headroom for your system. This means highly efficient speakers, say better than 95dB sensitivity, Klipsch are a good bet; and powerful amplifier. Yes, just what a pro or PA gear setup is about, but such equipment set up properly has a way ahead better chance of getting there.

Normal audio systems struggle to put out the necessary dB's cleanly, and generate very audible amounts of nasty type distortion doing it. If the system has no trouble putting out realistic sound levels, then you can just concentrate on eliminating the distortion which intrudes from more subtle areas, and you should be very close ...

Frank
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