How do you keep yourself from flinging your system in a ditch?

[Norm Mowry]

I mean, how do you keep yourself sane when listening to CD's (or whatever format you listen to) and the mixing is so different between each recording?

Newer CDs (e.g., Raphael Saadiq's "That's the Way I See It") have bass levels that are so pronounced that it actually knocked the kitchen clock off my wall (and the stereo is in the living room). Then I'll listen to say Earth, Wind & Fire's remastered "That's the Way of the World" and it sounds thin. Next, I'll put on Fleetwood Mac's remastered "Hits" album and everything sounds perfect.

I've had my Onkyo TX-SR706 for two months and I am still re-configuring it with nearly each CD. I'm going from setting the mains at 4-ohms to 6-ohms and back again repeatedly. I am setting the crossover on the mains to "full range" then changing it to 80, then to 60 then to 40 then back to full range. I'm turning the treble down then back to 0, then turning double bass on and off. Finally I get fed up and shut the God damned thing off.

I'm making myself nuts. You would think "Pure Audio" would fix all this and all it does is sound so thin I feel like I'm listening to a transistor radio.

How'd you guys find a setup that works satisfactorily through the differing sound outputs of varying recordings? Is it even possible?

I am trying to keep myself sane. For the love of God, help me.

[colterphoto1]

set and forget all the controls except the sub volume and bass/treble (overall tone controls). By selectively using/not using the sub or varying the output, everything else should remain the same. Use the tone controls if you have them to compensate for different recordings.

When in doubt, bypass all the electronics (Yamaha calls this Pure Direct), Onkyo should have something similar- which takes out all the eq, xover, sub, everything but basic two channls to your main speakers. That should be best for most music listening of CD"s.

When in doubt, fling the CD in the ditch, never the system.

Michael

[russ69]

Ahhhhhh, that's the secret of a good balanced system. The idea is to get all your CD's to sound good not just a few. That's the trick.

If I can suggest something. Take your 3 or 4 favorite CD's and get those sounding good, then it's just a minor tweak to get the sytem as close as it's going to get without major surgery. I just have simple 2 channel systems without any controls except for volume, so I have to use cables and interconnects to get the sound right. The final tweaks are important.

Thanx, Russ

[Dmannnnn]

Yep, this really blows. More often than not, the "new and improved" remastered CD's sound worse than the original. It seems like the recording industy is focused on boomboxes and car audio. Maybe they let the recording engineering students remix the old releases. Kind of like getting your haircut at the beauty college for free. When I have this problem I give away the CD and try to find an LP. Doesn't matter which side of the analog vs. digital thing you're on, a bad mix is a bad mix.

D

[greg928gts]

"How do you keep yourself from flinging your system in a ditch?" Buy really heavy equipment.

Greg

[Zen Traveler]

I mean, how do you keep yourself sane when listening to CD's (or whatever format you listen to) and the mixing is so different between each recording?

I stopped listening to CDs.

[SWL]

I stopped listening to CDs

What do you listen to?

[sunburnwilly]

"How do you keep yourself from flinging your system in a ditch?" Buy really heavy equipment.

Greg

Yep , and the ditch is 200 feet away .

[jamesV]

Does the receiver have any preset eq settings that might sound good and then you can tweak from there? Or can you make and save your own settings, maybe more then one that you can fix and just change to when you are listening to that type of music.

James

[Norm Mowry]

Does the receiver have any preset eq settings that might sound good and then you can tweak from there? Or can you make and save your own settings, maybe more then one that you can fix and just change to when you are listening to that type of music.

James

Nope. You have the Audyssey equalizer setting, and one equalizer setting which you must configure yourself. You also have an equalizer "Off" setting.

The Onkyo TX-SR706 has a lot of technology, but not much horse sense. [^o)]

[mikebse2a3]

I mean, how do you keep yourself sane when listening to CD's (or whatever format you listen to) and the mixing is so different between each recording?

Newer CDs (e.g., Raphael Saadiq's "That's the Way I See It") have bass levels that are so pronounced that it actually knocked the kitchen clock off my wall (and the stereo is in the living room). Then I'll listen to say Earth, Wind & Fire's remastered "That's the Way of the World" and it sounds thin. Next, I'll put on Fleetwood Mac's remastered "Hits" album and everything sounds perfect.

I'm making myself nuts. You would think "Pure Audio" would fix all this and all it does is sound so thin I feel like I'm listening to a transistor radio.

How'd you guys find a setup that works satisfactorily through the differing sound outputs of varying recordings? Is it even possible?

Your problem unfortunately is nothing new. This is working out really good for myself when it comes to tonal balance issues but of course if a recording is really bad nothing can fix it.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/112125/1127557.aspx#1127557

mike tn

[Norm Mowry]

I stopped listening to CDs

What do you listen to?

My guess is vinyl. A great format IF you have a great turntable and dial in the weight of your needle arm just right.

The problem with vinyl is that the mids and bass are carved in the outer walls of the groove, with the highs at the bottom. Too much weight (and were talking milligrams) on your needle and you lop off the peaks at the bottom of the groove which make up the highs.

It was well known when vinyl was king that nothing sounded as good as a new Lp, but then the highs would gradually wear away. What was considered then as the pinnacle of great sound from a stereo was clear, crisp highs.

I am inclined to think TKD has an impeccable system and knows what he is doing, whereas I am a frustrated old man who wanted a simple stereo that kicked *** and got something that more closely resembles the cockpit of a 747.

[soundbound]

It's part of listening to music that recordings vary greatly in quality. I listen to the better ones the most and the worst ones hardly ever. It's a shame that some of my favorite music was recorded so badly. They've known how to make great recordings for many of years now, but it seems a lot of recording engineers, studios and labels are completely clueless.

[DrWho]

I treat music like art. If I don't like a painting, then I don't
hang it on my wall.

Sometimes there is beauty in the limitations
imposed upon an artist, but if the artwork is presented on a shabby
canvas with a gaudy frame, then I can't help but think the art wasn't
too important to the artist...so why would I want to look at it? I
don't think mediocracy is something to be admired, but that's not to
say that excellence within limitations shouldn't be.

Just to rant for a second, there is way too much music out there
from "me too" artists that are trying to draw off the impact that real
musicians had on society. I'm nowhere near an oldfart yet and have already grown
very tired of all the wannabes saying "I wanna sound like ____". Then
combine that with cheap gear and a "it's gotta be loud" attitude and
you just end up with the nastiest crap....doesn't matter if it's CD,
LP, tape, whatever. It's rare to come across bands that are actually
trying to express some kind of emotion or instill some kind of response
in their listener. Most of it seems more concerned with cheap
entertainment (sadly including the majority of the customers too).

Nevertheless, there is still a lot of good music out
there just happens to be captured very poorly. This can be blaimed on
all sorts of forces in the industry, but in the end I gotta make that
judgment call between mediocracy and excellence within limitation. If the latter, then I usually find that I'm able to accept the warts on
the recording and enjoy the music for what it is. If it's mediocracy, then why am I even bothering in the first place?

[Zen Traveler]

I stopped listening to CDs

What do you listen to?

I listen to DVD-As and SACDs and watch DVD concert Videos along with Movies. When I first started playing my favorite CDs they didn't sound as good as the multichannel material I was experiencing and there was something visceral about watching concerts on the Big Screen in the privacy of my own home. [8] [~]

[Zen Traveler]

...I've had my Onkyo TX-SR706 for two months and I am still re-configuring it with nearly each CD. I'm going from setting the mains at 4-ohms to 6-ohms and back again repeatedly. I am setting the crossover on the mains to "full range" then changing it to 80, then to 60 then to 40 then back to full range. I'm turning the treble down then back to 0, then turning double bass on and off. Finally I get fed up and shut the God damned thing off.

I would first set the system up for 8 Ohms and turn off "double bass." I would NOT run your mains (or any of your speakers) as Full Range and set the crossover to 80 Hz and possibly higher for your Center and surrounds. I then would consider the placement of your sub...If you can get it near a corner this will help output. I wouldn't touch the treble settings unless after some time you thought your system sounded bright and then you may wish to play with it.

Fwiw, I understand your frustration and have been there myself....The Synergy HT you have is a good Home Theater system but if the settings above don't help, you may need to look at either room treatment or a different Speaker package, imo. Good Luck.

[Norm Mowry]

...I've had my Onkyo TX-SR706 for two months and I am still re-configuring it with nearly each CD. I'm going from setting the mains at 4-ohms to 6-ohms and back again repeatedly. I am setting the crossover on the mains to "full range" then changing it to 80, then to 60 then to 40 then back to full range. I'm turning the treble down then back to 0, then turning double bass on and off. Finally I get fed up and shut the God damned thing off.

I would first set the system up for 8 Ohms and turn off "double bass." I would NOT run your mains (or any of your speakers) as Full Range and set the crossover to 80 Hz and possibly higher for your Center and surrounds. I then would consider the placement of your sub...If you can get it near a corner this will help output. I wouldn't touch the treble settings unless after some time you thought your system sounded bright and then you may wish to play with it.

Fwiw, I understand your frustration and have been there myself....The Synergy HT you have is a good Home Theater system but if the settings above don't help, you may need to look at either room treatment or a different Speaker package, imo. Good Luck.

I set the crossover to 80Hz which seems to yield the best overall results, and I keep coming back to it.

I know the Synergy speakers aren't Klipsch's best, but they're the best speakers I've ever had and they are going to have to stay. I live in a democratic household, and getting my wife to agree to these was a great undertaking.

I think you are right in that the room itself is the problem. Our great room has a vaulted ceiling (i.e., it's angled upwards to a peak from both ends) and complicating matters is that the room, which is rectangular, has the walls at the far ends full with doors, a fireplace, floor to ceiling windows and such. This leaves me having to set up the system sideways so that the speakers are firing at the walls that are closest, instead of firing down the length of the room. I believe I am hearing a lot of reverberation and scattered sound.

Though I've listened to music very loud all my life, my hearing is still sensitive in that anything less than perfectly clear annoys me. Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" (and its imitators) is absolutely hell for me to listen to.

I have a couple recommendations for SACD discs for you, though. Ever listen to The Rolling Stones "Let It Bleed" and Eric Clapton's "461 Ocean Boulevard?" Both are masterpieces and I've lived for nearly 40 years with each and have still not tired of either of them.

[Deang]

I don't really listen to CDs any more either. They have the potential to sound good, but unfortunately, most are recorded so poorly its not worth spending money on them anymore. Vinyl is the best, but depending on the genre of music, can also sound really bad -- and a quality table, cartridge and phono preamp can empty the checking account. I'm for the most part only listening to the tuner and DVD's now. DVD's deliver consistant high quality sound, and Blu-ray is nothing short of amazing. I made a move from a very high quality 2-channel system, and I'm now enjoying a HD multichannel system with gear that would probably make most 2-channel aficionados gag -- but I'm not missing the other rig much.

[Coytee]

I'm nowhere near an oldfart yet

You are aware that sometimes young farts can be more offensive than old farts that have since dissapated? [:|]

[Ricci]

Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that a recording is bad sounding or otherwise poor. We don't always like the way that the sound engineer and musician's decided to present their work, so we try to change it to make it sound more like we would like it to. This is not the way that I choose to do things but there is nothing wrong with it. It can be an excercise in frustration though and I don't think it's possible to get a magic overall setting for a system that will make every, or even most recordings sound great (IE consistent). I have plenty of tunes that I love that technically have pretty wretched SQ and recording. There are plenty of instances when I actually prefer a really lo-fi demo recording with obvious warts, to one that was made later on after the group was recorded with much better equipment and techniques, that is technically "better", because the latter recording is missing a certain something. I like the music for the music not how well it was recorded. Music with stellar SQ, but without any real heart or emotiveness is very boring to me. I can still enjoy listening to music on the cheapest clock radio without thinking about how bad it sounds or all of the information that is missing.