big rig vs. the second system

Stuffiness, congestion, lack of clarity or definition, veiled, not transparent. . .

We've all heard it, and too often. Sometimes this may be related to frequency response. Sometimes off-axis response, as Shadorne has noted. Another possibility is related to resonance. Undesirable resonances of the drivers, the cabinet, high Qs, and other sources. It's a very common problem, and a problem very readily exposed with full orchestra. Nothing will reveal this flaw faster or more obviously, especially when the cellos or basses are playing.

You guys may well be right. I don't know enough about psycho-acoustic phenomena to be able to confirm or refute. The problem, as I'm hearing it, may well only actually be over a narrow band, but the mild "veiling" effect that I'm talking about certainly *sounds* as if it extends from top to bottom.

The thing is, I wonder if I would even perceive it as a problem if I didn't have something else to compare it to.

In comparing the two systems, different equipment, different room, different everything, I know that there are so many variables that it's totally apples and oranges (well, more like apples and mangoes).

But what I was trying to get at had to do with how we, generally, make judgments about the musicality and clarity of systems. I have to wonder, as the quality of the components rises, and the synergy between them rises, if there isn't a point, an incremental leap, an elbow in the graph, where things rather suddenly get significantly better. But we need a good auditory memory to perceive it as such, if we don't have something immediately to hand to compare with. It *feels* as if the two systems I'm talking about are on either sides of that elbow, which BTW is fine, as the second system is purely for non-critical duty.

These are only musings, not conclusions. Perhaps I'm just reinventing the wheel. But I know what I heard--even if I have no firm idea why I heard it...

Without more information on what you are comparing - it is impossible to comment further.

You might not have noticed without the A/B comparison, but now that you have, you've learned how to recognize it without the comparison. These kind of broad, general characteristics can be remembered fairly easily, even though finer specifics are poorly recalled.

Different rooms certainly have an effect. Voices sound different in different rooms, sound different on the phone or outside, but once you've learned the sound of someone's voice, you can be recognize anywhere. Speakers may sound better or worse in this room or that, but each speaker will still have its characteristic sound anywhere.

I guess the scientific answer would be to temporalily install the main system where the secondary one is, and listen and compare. But as there are stairs involved, and some very heavy equipment, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.