2. digital
  3. 129868-1601

Glare on Choral recordings, classical vocals

Dear all,

I'm hoping for some clarity on an issue of the quality of choral vocals in digital recordings. It's either my system or the recordings. There is a glare and harshness in the crescendos, and I wonder if it's natural room clipping in the studio or cathedrals in which they are recorded (the delay in some of these spaces can lead to a natural harshness and smearing of the sound), or if I have poor setup in terms of the DAC and/ or the preamp. I use a B&K PRO-10MC and a Schiit Bifrost Multibit. This setup has resolved any issues with digital glare except in the domain of choral music. Do I have to suck it up and consider upgrading to the Gungnir or another device? Should I consider a tubed preamp, maybe the Schiit Freya?

The problem is far less noticeable on vinyl, but most of my choral collection is in the digital domain. 

I've always had problems with the Tallis Scholars recordings on the Gimell label, which are almost always recorded in cathedrals. However, I did listen once to a Tallis Scholars CD on a dealer's rig with a Conrad-Johnson tube pre and Totem Model 1 Signatures, and there seemed to be much better resolution, though this was 20 years ago and I think my younger self was just blown away by the sound in general.

I've noticed that audiophiles and reviewers seldom write about choral music. Is it because they don't like choral music, or is it because it is just really difficult to record choirs well, therefore making choral music a poor choice to show off a system?

Any choral music-loving audiophiles care to comment on their experiences and solutions? 
 
Many thanks,


Paul
paulburnett
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Much of Choral Music is religious music of a high level by some of the greatest  composers who ever lived . The amount  of Americans who appreciate music at that level is small .
Here in Minnesota there is a great audience for choral music because it is heavily Lutheran and Lutheran churches here have good choirs and folks
grow up listening to it . Luther said"A prayer sung is a prayer said twice" and Lutherans believe that .
I talked to the director of one of the Great English Boy Choirs from Oxford 
who said they always look forward to singing in St. Paul because it is the only stop on their tours where the audience has a true passion for the music .

rotarius
431 posts
 
Wait, what speakers do you have?  There are plenty of speakers that just sound great with small ensembles but sound horrible with large scale works at any volume.  Time to upgrade speakers?
schubert
7,386 posts
 
That's true rotarius , but today mostly single-driver ones .
Nearly any speaker from a grand on up is up to the job, 9 times out of ten 
its something else in the system .
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Afterthought, if you are really a choral geek MN Public Radio has a feature 
I doubt is found anywhere else in world ,

A VERY high quality 24/7 Choral streaming station .
classicalmpr.org  
paulburnett OP
43 posts
 
Thank you all for these responses. For those who are curious, you can view pics and a description by clicking on my username. My room is small for my speakers, but I have done numerous room treatments. My amp is at least 200W into 8 ohms, and 400 into 4, so there is no power problem. I have Vandersteen 2CE signatures, which are good-quality speakers. 

I guess a more focused question is, have digitally oriented choral music fans noticed a difference in moving to a DAC in a better price/ quality range? Do tube preamps make a difference in softening or further resolving choral vocals? 

It sounds like, for some of you, that these changes make a difference. 

Schubert, thank you for the music link. I grew up in Manitoba, and sang in choirs full of Mennonites, so I know what those Germanic and Scandinavian prairie communities can do for a choral music scene! 

Enjoy the music,

Paul


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