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So Much "Harshness"

In perusing the various boards, both here and elsewhere ("we toured the world and elsewhere")one theme that seems to be prevalent is "my system sounds harsh" or "this cd player seems harsh", etc.

Why are complaints of "harshness" so common? Are people selecting the wrong components based on dealer demos where the "brighter" components sound better due to additional detail? Is it caused by a taste for music which is intentionally mixed bright to be heard better on transistor radios? (The radios are gone, but the mixing tradition lives on, doesn't it?) Are they simply listening louder than their systems will tolerate without deteriorating? I think this is pretty common. It costs a lot of money for a system that will deliver audiophile sound at high volume.

What do you think?
chayro
jea48
4,545 posts
 
As for digital, in many cases, harshness is caused by EMI/RFI from the power supply of the digital equipment itself.

In most causes the use of a good shielded power cord will solve the problem.

Ics can play a roll as well. Airborne RFI can also enter through ics and cause harshness.

And then sometimes the problem may simply be the source material, the CD.....

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mikelavigne
2,200 posts
 
in it's simplest form; harshness is when our ears tell us a sound is not natural. typically it is an aspect of the sound that is like finger nails on a chalk board; we kinda tense up until it stops. sometimes it jumps out; somnetimes it is subtle and we may not be conscious of it.

the source of harshness can be as simple as the room; imagine music played in a bathroom; all those hard surfaces may cause un-natural ringing and reflections. noise in the power grid can create a background 'hash' that can cause harshness. bad connections can cause noise. digital conversion from analog causes a degree of harshness since it has jagged edges to the smooth analog waveform. depending on the perfection of the D to A conversion you hear that to some degree. cables and speakers can have non-linerarities which are percieved as harshness.

many times until we hear that same music without the hashness we don't realize how significant it is. many people who have digital music as their reference do not understand what is meant by digital harshness. so harshness is a relative thing.

anyway; our ears are very sensitive to un-natural sounds, it's part of eveolution and how we survived.
mrderrick
292 posts
 
Along with power and EMI/RFI issues, speaker room interactions can be the culprit. Personally, I find music to be harsh or fatiguing if the bass isn't right.
wavetrader
260 posts
 
I agree....harshness...is mostly a power problem. Troublesome as it takes some experimentation to rid.

I suggest the foundation should always start with dedicated 20amp circuits....and then some good shielded power cords.

One caveat....your equipment especially the front end...cannot be midfi although there are exceptions. There's are plenty of dacs and players for 1K that sound very good.
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