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Hihat Question

Thanks in advance for your opinion-

My system is:

Anthem Integrated 225

Musical Fidelity Cd as Transport

Schiit Modi Multibit

Technics Sl 1200 mk2

Usher Cp6311

Morrow Cables

I like the system overall, plenty of bass, voices sound realistic, highs are not strident, etc.

As a drummer, I love to hear hihats, cymbals, etc. On some systems in the past I’ve heard more of this than through my setup. Most of these setups have been in the past on equipment I perceive is a lower grade than mine.

My question is: 

Should I be hearing most every hihat strike, close? Is hearing these sounds consistently the sound of a revealing system or a ‘tipped up’ presentation that I would likely tire of?

Live music varies to me in this respect, and the music on my my system varies as well. Unfortunately, I’m not able to demo where I live, so I’m interested in your opinion. Fwiw- I hear all a lot more treble in my automobile, but could be due to the euphoric goal of the manufacturer. I’m in my late 50’s, so that may play a part-

On many jazz albums, it’s all there, others not so much.

Sorry for the one post.

Thanks
uncledemp
erik_squires
16,004 posts
 
I can hear it ‘all’ when I am close to the speaker. My room may very well be the issue. It’s a very open floor plan. Kitchen, foyer, and dining room adjoin my listening area.

I strongly recommend you talk to GIK if you can improve the room acoustics.

If you cannot, then you need to find speakers with more controlled dispersion. Horns, ESLs, line arrays and wide baffle speakers may work much better for you given your room characteristics.

Best,
E

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,691 posts
 

@uncledemp, is it what's on the recording you want to hear, or is it "hearing every hihat stroke, close", even if that is not what is contained in the recording? Hihat cymbals are recorded in a few different ways, or even not at all. John Bonham's drums and cymbals were recorded with no close mics; do you want his cymbals to sound "close"? Boost the highs.

I've had hihats recorded mostly via close-micing with a small diaphram condenser mic; sometimes the same mic as the two overheads, sometimes different. And with no mic at all, the bleed from the snare mic capturing enough of the hihat sound.

And then there is the mix. Different engineers and producers prefer different drumset/cymbal/hihat balances, so why would you expect all recordings to have the same hihat sound on your hi-fi? They not only don't, they shouldn't. If they do, something is very wrong.

Search out recordings known for their lifelike drum sound. I recommend any of the early Sheffield Labs direct-to-disc LP's. Jim Keltner and Ron Tutt have great sounding A. Zildjian cymbals, and a speaker with good high end will make them sound as they do in person. Go to a drum shop and listen to some, to get a reference.

michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

Hi Uncledemp

The answer is Tunable Speakers, Tunable Room and Tunable System.

http://tuneland.forumotion.com/

http://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/

What I do is tune my systems (per recording if wanted) to bring out any particulars on the recording.

Michael Green

uncledemp OP
774 posts
 
Bdp24,

I’m fine hearing the music as it was recorded/mastered. My integrated has tone controls, but I utilize the bypass mode.

I was given some music suggestions earlier in the thread to use as a guide. Hopefully, I’ll listen to some of them today. 

Many recordings sound great, and overall I’m happy. I was just curious to ask other’s opinions. Much of the feedback mirrored yours regarding what I should hear.

When positioning my speakers initially, I remember the speakers having a little too much bite in one area of the room - hopefully I can adjust position and maximize my speakers balance.

Thanks for the reply-

gary
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