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smoothing those sibilants...

I appreciate the feedback on the interconnect post I made a few days ago, and here is my next question: If I am attempting to smooth out the sound of a "low-end-of-the-high-end" system, reducing grain while retaining detail (and looking for a warmer more "classic tube sound"), where is my energy/$$$ best spent? Would it be the digital source itself, the interconnects, the input tubes, the speaker cables, or the speakers? Or something else? (System info can be seen under the post entitled "need interconnect advice", and there are some new interconnects on the way.)
aldenruss
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bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Interesting commentary Elizabeth: not extreme IMO. Couldn't agree more regarding how a nice system can sound so god-awfully horrible with an economy digital front end. Loved your cracks about earplugs & the cassette-deck filter. How about some pillows over your tweeters? Isn't running the signal thru some budget IC's just another form of filtering? I subscribe to the G.I.G.O. theory myself. Want a nice hi-res. CD player that's also really smooth? An EAD Ultradisk 2000 made it happen at my house. A 20 bit HDCD GEM; & avail. used (you can't buy a new one anymore) around $1K+. Meridian 508.24, Electrocompaniet EMC-1, YBA Integre are other contenders.
leafs
414 posts
 
Elizabeth you are so bang on.people dont realize how critical the source is.one should spend the same $ on the source as they spend on a speakers.I sold my Anthem CD-1 and used the Money to buy a Turntable,I love my analog front end.I replaced the cd player with a mid fi Nak unit.My wife who listens to CD is not as keen to listing to the cd player as she used to be.I get tired in a matter of minutes.I will be getting a hi end player soon.Smooth the sibilants with a good digital front end.
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onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,150 posts
 
It's possible that the sibilance you're hearing is an accurate portrayal of what's on your CDs. Sibilance can result from bad miking, poor microphone choice, the vocalist and/or over processing of the music signal. Most of the above post only address the upper midrange hardness that may be part of your system and they will do nothing to eliminate the sibilance if it's in the source material. If you're truly serious, you need a de-esser (a frequency dependent compressor). Consider the TC Electronics Finalizer line or Drawmer Masterflow Processor. Both are pro audio signal processers that will eliminate sibilance. Most likely you don't need to get this serious, but if you do, these are the components you should look at.
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