2. speakers
  3. 1338945277

What makes music so congested?

I just have been playing Yes Fragile. So good, haven't heard it for year being a jazz guy these days.

But man there is so much going on and it's so congested, just a mushy mix. After hearing Stanley Clark's Jazz in the Garden, Dave Holland Points of View, on which everything is so crystal clear even when lots is going on, the Yes is just almost unlistenably irritating.

Is it speakers? the CD? Amp?

How do you decongest music?
river251
bondmanp
1,833 posts
 
One way to figure this out is to lower the volume and see if you get less congestion. Or, use decent headphones with your system, and see how it sounds. If either of these reduces or eliminates the congestion, the issue is probably in your amp and/or speakers. If the congestion remains roughly the same, it may be your source components and/or preamp and/or AC power.

I am not enough of a Yes fan to test it for you, but a recent speaker upgrade determined that, in my system, the speakers were absolutely responsible for congestion at higher levels.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
the original vinyl always sounded bad to me

constrained highs and mids (or congested as you suggest)
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,105 posts
 
Philjolet, did you hear the British or American press? I never found the US press to my liking but the UK is great.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
Atmasphere,

I presume I have the american version

I always bought the cheapest records I could when they were available and I doubt it is not a first pressing either

finding it could be a chore though ;)

I will keep the UK version in mind - thanks!
river251 OP
154 posts
 
Thanks all for your replies and Bombaywalla thanks for the technical and links, very educational.

Though I listen to mostly jazz now, it is a shame that some of the rock I still love sounds so bad now that I have nice gear.

Playing in a smallish room, 11x11, Marantz 8B, CJ PV5, Vienna Acoustics Haydns (which are able to keep symphony crescendos very clear). Speakers are pretty much near the middle of the room. Yes, things like Charlie Haden (sp?) and new Stanley Clark are ultra clear but they are not pounding a bunch of electronic instruments frenetically at the same time then getting processed. I guess I just need to try to find the British pressing (and buy a record player). If anybody knows a specific CD version that is better, I could keep an eye out on ebay. Same for early Zeppelin.

Still having recently gotten back into hifi, I find that my two big goals are a good sounding tuning, which ProAc does for me. And clarity/non-congestion. I'm in Phoenix trying speakers again. The Wilson-Benesche (sp?) are truly amazing in terms of clarity, in a way the ProAcs don't approach. But the ProAcs move me more. Arizona Hifi in Phoenix is really a great place.

Thanks for your thouoghts.
More to discover