dblue Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 I posted an inquiry a while back about cracking on DVD sountracks in specific sections with a lot of high-mid frequencies. Someone pointed me to a thread concerning imperfections in DVD soundtracks. Well, I have noticed that I am getting the same crackling sound on some videogames as well (PS2 and XBOX). It is not very frequent, but it is consistent with times when lots of high-mid frequencies are coming through (such as in Gran Turismo 3, a car racing game, when all the cars are revving their engines at the starting line.) Both gaming systems are connected with optical cables. My JVC DVD player is connected with a digital coaxial cable. All cables are of good quality (monster or acoustic research). I tried different settings (stereo, PLII, etc.), and the problem persists no matter what speaker is handling the sound. Which either rules out the fact that I have defective speakers, or suggests the fact that the RF-3 II series has a defficiency in a certain Frequency range. I guess I'm asking what could be causing such a crackle. Source material from games is usually pretty clean. Also, It would seem to me that new DVD's wouldn't have imperfections in their sound (especially Lord of the Rings, which has a few scenes that caused this). I'm using a Denon 2802 receiver, Klipsch RF3 II's, an RC3 II and RS3 II's. I don't think it matters, but I'm also using an SVS 25-31 pci. All mains are set to small, with 80Hz as a crossover. All speaker cable is Monster. I'm not sure of the DVD player model, but it is a gold JVC progressive scan player. Payed about $220 for it. Any info would be appreciated. ------------------ "May your mind be like water and mold to many things." -Bruce Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickey Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Do you have a headphone jack on your DVD player? If so, shut everything off and listen to the suspect passages through your headphones. If the crackling is still there, disconnect your DVD player from your system and try again. Still there? In my case, this trial and error approach lead me to the conclusion that the problem was more likely the mastering of the DVD than my player. When others reported the same problem at the same time intervals on the suspect DVDs, I was convinced that was the source. Colin ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Do you hear the same when playing audio only CD via the analog out on the receiver? Just wondering if you are not hearing some noise due to the receivers digital switching/processing. ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted August 8, 2002 Author Share Posted August 8, 2002 I have never experienced this with audio CD's. That is the only source that hasn't carried it. And I am listening to CD's over a coaxial connection from my DVD player. But audio CD's usually never have the same amount of midrange chaos as a DVD. And yes, it could be due to compression artifacts on the DVD sound. And on the game console SFX. I'm just trying to rule this out completely. I never noticed this crackling on my old system. Then again, I never noticed a lot of subtleties before I purchased the klipsch speakers. They really do reveal everything. I'll try to list some DVD's and exact times where the crackling occours. I'll also list some games. Thanks for the input guys, keep in comin'! ------------------ "May your mind be like water and mold to many things." -Bruce Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 i've never experienced it on any music disks be it pcm cd or dvd 5.1 dts or dolby. only w/ mostly movie dialogue that changes rapidly in output like shout or screams. & like chickey says certain parts of movies others have confirmed. i think its mic distortion at the source especially outdoors &/or failure of the mixers to equalize the dynamics such as they do w/ dolby in dialogue normalization. they record much better when doing music i've found. anyway, don't know the exact tech explanations. but i think its in the source, & of course our klipsch reproduce it brillantly. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted August 8, 2002 Author Share Posted August 8, 2002 That's it exactly boa, but since I've been hearing the same thing in games, I've come to doubt the clipping mike factor. That is, unless, the compression used on the sound effects in the games are producing the same effect. Do you own a Denon as well? ------------------ "May your mind be like water and mold to many things." -Bruce Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 db, i've had it w/ sony, marantz receivers, the current b&k prepro & acurus, current b&k amp. as well as rp, rf, & the current legends. the only thing that has stayed the same has been the tv & dvdp. & i get it w/ both dolby movies from digital cable & the dvdp. seems to be almost entirely w/ dolby movies, which leads me to believe its something between the recording & the dynamic range or compression they use. i've also tried all different power connections, grounding & ground loop isolators. remember that colin? sometimes its rough having a finicky ear. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Assuning that this problem does not occur on every DVD-Audio disc: I think the problem is with the duplication process. FWIW when I first got a CD burner I attempted to record a couple of CD's at a relatively fast rate and got that same effect on some high energy - high frequency parts in the music. The manual for the software predicted the problem and sure enough when I went to 1:1 the copies sounded identical to the originals. If the recording engineer elects to cut his/her production time by duping at a higher speed when creating the pressing master then the same errors are not reproduced once but thousands of times. ------------------ It is meet to recall that the Great Green Heron rarely flies upside down in the moonlight - (Foo Ling ca.1900) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted August 9, 2002 Author Share Posted August 9, 2002 Hmmm... Come to think of it, I don't ever remember hearing it in a DTS movie... Some newer movies I have heard it in: 1. Almost Famous, when the kid first gets backstage with stillwater and someone yells from the background 2. Blood: The last vampire, scene where giant plane is taking off (this one's bad) 3. Lord of the Rings, a few times when a lot of yelling is going on and Gandalf is yelling 4. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, near the end, the dead queen is rising, a choir is singing really high, and the crackling is unbearable. A very good example. I'll go with the DD explanation, thanks boa!! It's just a little unnerving knowing I spent this amout of money on a system, and then hearing these imperfections. I guess it's klipsch's fault for being so true to the source material. OK, thanks for all your suggestions. If anyone suddenly has a revelation, or has a comment on the above movie's sound, feel free to post. ------------------ "May your mind be like water and mold to many things." -Bruce Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Roger Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I use to have a mild problem with crackle. I also have a Denon. I may be wrong but it seems like when I set my speakers to large it cut most of it out. I still hear source crackle and that may have been what I was hearing all along but it does seem like by-passing the internal cross-over of the denon helped. I still have my center set to small and I hear more crackle out of it than my other speakers, but its not often and usually during movies. I would find a spot in a dvd or game that I know has bad crackle and experiment. Good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoocow Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 I also have noticed crackling coming from my center channel during some movies. I have a Reference 3 system and an Outlaw 1050. Kinda was upset when I first heard it while watching Rat Race. Played the scene when it occurs many times at different volume levels. The crackling occurred exactly the same all the time. I am convinced it is a source probelm. Rented alot of horror VHS tapes this weekend to watch(lots of screaming on them). I want to see if I hear anything on them. If its a digital thing, I shouldn't hear the crackling.....right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted August 10, 2002 Author Share Posted August 10, 2002 Yeah, if you hear crackling on any of those tapes, let me know. Hmmmm... ------------------ "May your mind be like water and mold to many things." -Bruce Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoocow Posted August 11, 2002 Share Posted August 11, 2002 Watched two movies on VHS last night. Didn't hear any crackling. These movies had ALOT of screaming, yelling and explosions. This leads me to believe it is a source problem. Next experiment will be with DTS movies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoocow Posted August 11, 2002 Share Posted August 11, 2002 Ohh yeah, forgot to say something.... I heard the same crackling on my Paradigm's when I watch movies too..haven't had the chance to verify if it occurs on the same movies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoocow Posted August 11, 2002 Share Posted August 11, 2002 ok, justed checked the part of Rat Race where John Cleese laughs on Chapter 3, on my basement HT (Paradigm titans and cc-70, Technics receiver). The crackling occurs in the exact same spot and occurs the exact same way. Ok, I'm convinced, its a DVD thing...one last experiment to do.... DTS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted August 12, 2002 Author Share Posted August 12, 2002 Thanks for your diligent research and input, zoocow. You have set my mind at ease. Now the question, why does DD sport these ugly sound artifacts?? Why hasn't the issue been complained about more? ------------------ "May your mind be like water and mold to many things." -Bruce Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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