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Taming edge from remastered CDs?

It seems a common trait in my system that re-mastered CDs have better resolution and spatial information (e.g., 2003 Rhino "Fragile" by Yes) but seem sort of edgy and a little hard sounding. No such problem w/regular CDs or vinyl. I've been thinking about an equalizer to use for listening to only such recordings. Just tame the upper frequencies a little. Any suggestions? System is Cyber 800SE monoblocks, Consonance Ref 50 Preamp, David Schulte mod'd. Denon 2910, KAB mod'd Technics w/Heed Quasar Phono-pre. Acoustic treatments in use. Again, issue is with a minor segment of the listening I do.
128x128ghosthouse
jdoris
972 posts
 
With all respect, Ivan, I find it remarkable that *none* of your CDs are tizzy. What is the composition of your collection? I'd be very surprised to learn that you have a lot of "classic rock," for example. On the other hand, if your collection were all 50s-60s Jazz, I'd be somewhat less surprised.

John
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse OP
4,316 posts
 
Onhwy61 -
Thanks for your careful read and spot-on reiteration of the "issue". You are right of course, simply not listening to edgy re-masters is certainly one option. I was hoping there might be a relatively simple, low-cost "fix" since various of these recordings do have certain positive aspects over the "original". Some good suggestions have been provided. AC power "clean up" got me looking. While I am not likely to invest $1K+ into a conditioner, I did come across very positive comments about affordable devices from Blue Circle. Am thinking to pursue that avenue as well. Worth doing even if it doesn't tame the edge on the CDs in question - or so I think. Thanks once again to all. Certainly hope the discussion has been as helpful to others as it has been to me.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,241 posts
 
Cleaning up your AC can never hurt. Just don't expect miracles.

As an experiment rip an offending CD to your computer and run it through a program that can analyze its level and harmonic content. I wonder if there are consistent digital overs? The harmonic analysis can help you zero in on where you might use a parametric EQ to filter out the offending frequencies. I know that the playback software PureVinyl allows for use of high quality EQ plug-ins.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Nicotico - remastering from the master tape or disk is usually an improvement, but what we are talking about here is re-writing the disk to reduce jitter. Even remastered disks are made from glass-masters that have high-jitter in the pits. Rewriting them helps a lot. Jitter is the #1 problem in digital. This is the reason why I dont use or sell any modded CD transports anymore, only computer audio. Lower jitter.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Ivan - you are totally wrong in this one. Jitter is what makes 99% of digital systems edgy, harsh and fatigueing. You have just never heard a low jitter system, and if you did, there was probabl an active preamp in the way creating so much distortion and compression that you did not hear the benefits of low jitter.

Most DAC designers agree on this one. The ones that dont agree dont know what they are doing anyway.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
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