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Distortion on piano recordings? Advice appreciated

I'm not sure exactly where to put this, but I guess amplification is as good a place as any.

For several months now I've been occasionally noticing distortion (fuzz) in my system, only on some piano recordings. It seems to happen when they get loudest, or when the note attacks seem most intense even if not that loud. It's only at mid-high frequencies (not lows or extreme highs). Seems to be the front channels only-- I plugged my surround speakers into the front channels and heard it then too.

In that time I've changed all my components (amp, processor, CD) except the speakers, and I have tested other pairs of speakers and interconnects with the same result, though it's perhaps less obvious with RCA ICs than with XLRs.

I'm pretty sure I've also swapped out speaker cables too, though not lately. I'll try different speaker cables again this weekend, but assuming it isn't them, could it be a room node? I don't know that much about nodes, but I thought they were usually problems at much lower frequencies. Can this be this severe in the higher ranges too?

Is there anything else I'm forgetting?

System:
Halcro MC-70 Amp
Classe SSP-600 Pro
Hyperion HPS938 speakers
Aurum Cantus Leisure for surrounds
NAD M5/ Parasound players
Audioquest ICs and cables
apspr
apspr OP
3 posts
 
Thanks for all the food for thought, gang.

I should have mentioned I did listen some through headphones with my previous processor (Anthem AVM-20) and got the fuzz clearly then too, so since then I have been assuming that the speakers and their cables are unlikely to be the culprits. As I mentioned, the amp has been changed (and someone noted, the Halcro has lots of power in reserve) so it never seemed like that was the issue.

To (partially) summarize your other suggestions:

1. the recordings themselves. Piano does seem to be the toughest thing to get without distortion, and the increases I've made in fidelity with upgraded gear may bring it out more. If so, then c'est la vie, I guess :)

2. a voltage mismatch/overload between the NAD (maximum output of 4.2 volts balanced) and the processors-- although the Anthem is rated at 5.3 Max input.... This is a new area to me-- Is there anything to be done about something like that, short of getting a new player?

It's not a big enough drag to kill the pleasure I'm taking in this system-- just trying to learn more about the many mysteries of audio...

Thanks again--
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Your "loudest" "most intense attack" and mid-frequency observations suggest that this might be overloaded mikes on a close miked recording. IME, you usually tend to hear this as hardness in the presence region or (possibly) distortion in the bass, but if you really screw it up, I guess you can get distortion even that high up. Recording piano is a bitch.

BTW, if the piano goes "hard" (i.e., a grand begins to sound like an upright or a new upright begins to sound like an old upright) in this range before the distortion sets in, it's fairly likely that the recording is your problem.

Marty
abucktwoeighty's avatar
abucktwoeighty
1,079 posts
 
Ryder, I listened to the Heartfelt Cd today and found no traces of piano distortion. It may be possible you have a faulty one. Though, it may be possible I have faulty ears!
I do have the "Grand Piano Canyon" lp by Bob James that has most of side 2 being defective where only the left channel plays correctly. The right channel plays at a much lower volume, and, if I remember correctly, is very distorted. Haven't played it in a long time.
ryder
1,690 posts
 
Abucktwoeighty, thank you for your response. Your ears are fine. In fact, it was my mistake to make that comment without covering all bases. On that particular night of listening session, the amp was powered up for 1 hour from cold. Apparently the warm-up time on the amp was insufficient. I've listened to the recording again yesterday full-blast with the amp left on for 24 hours and the vibration/distortion on the piano keys starting somewhere in the passage from 2.17 to 3.12 is gone, completely.

Looks like it's not the recording or faulty speakers but the insufficient warm-up time on the power amp. I apologize for the confusion without analyzing on all aspects. I somehow knew Fourplay's recordings are of high quality and something must be amiss for them to exhibit this kind of flaw. At least now I know the amp needs to be on standby mode for a much longer period before it is able to perform on its optimum.
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