You don't need super high-end speakers to hear the atrocities perpetrated by some recording engineers (or insisted upon by ignorant musicians). The piano keyboard as wide as a symphony orchestra, the timpani covering the entire back wall, a single flute overpowering an orchestral tutti - these are all well known phenomena even on good labels, and are readily audible on "mid-fi" equipment. They just sound worse when you upgrade.
Moving from mid-fi to hi-fi -- Imaging questions
Hi. I am in the processing fine tuning the placement of my Magnepan 3.6's. I am new to the kind of detailed imaging these magnificent speakers provide. A few questions arise ...
What does it mean when I have excellent imaging but the instruments are in the wrong place? For example, I can pinpoint the high-hat cymbals and the snare drum but they are like 6 feet apart. I know from playing drums that that is just not possible. Also on drums, the distance when between tom toms is unrealistic -- like on the out edges of all the other instruments.
Sometimes voices are right on top of each other when I feel sure one is actually standing on the left and one on the right. Other times, the voices are clearly side by side.
I have a wide variety of cds, many considered audiophile grade. I am wondering if these are differences in the way the recording and or mixing is done. Overall, the music sounds great and imaging is exquisite but I want to get the most these speakers offer. Do I need to keep working my placement or am I reaching the limit of the source material?
As a side question: Is there any difference in the quality of manufactured CDs? I read once that some cds (BMG for example) were lower quality. I always buy my music used. Is there any difference in brands of cds? And down side to buying used cds?
Thanks all.
What does it mean when I have excellent imaging but the instruments are in the wrong place? For example, I can pinpoint the high-hat cymbals and the snare drum but they are like 6 feet apart. I know from playing drums that that is just not possible. Also on drums, the distance when between tom toms is unrealistic -- like on the out edges of all the other instruments.
Sometimes voices are right on top of each other when I feel sure one is actually standing on the left and one on the right. Other times, the voices are clearly side by side.
I have a wide variety of cds, many considered audiophile grade. I am wondering if these are differences in the way the recording and or mixing is done. Overall, the music sounds great and imaging is exquisite but I want to get the most these speakers offer. Do I need to keep working my placement or am I reaching the limit of the source material?
As a side question: Is there any difference in the quality of manufactured CDs? I read once that some cds (BMG for example) were lower quality. I always buy my music used. Is there any difference in brands of cds? And down side to buying used cds?
Thanks all.
- ...
- 13 posts total
- 13 posts total