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jordanf1_5

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Let's say you're at a club, and there's a rock band playing. It's turned up too loud, but they sound pretty good. The drummer has a "thing" about the cymbals, and is riding them throughout almost every song. The drumkit is not miked, so you're hearing the sound un-amplified. The metallic ringing and splashing they make penetrates the sound most of the other band members are producing. He's good, though, and you're enjoying the performance. Also, the lead vocalist tends to get a bit close to the mic, and she's got a high pitched voice, but she can really belt out a tune. On the way out the door, you buy a CD the band just released and is pushing at the club.

The next day, you put the CD on and turn up the volume. The cymbals are very forward in the mix, and every time the drummer wacks one, you crindge. Hurts your ears. The metallic splash you heard at the club now sounds a lot nastier. You've got to back the sound way down to listen to it. Even then, it doesn't sound right. Sound more like a bad synthesizer trying to be a cymbal than it does like a real cymbal. Also, that vocalist's voice really grates on you. Sounds more like screeching than singing. All in all, you don't enjoy the disc much. The high frequencies sound, well, bad.

That's harshness. Mostly caused by high frequency harmonic distortions and irregular frequency response (narrow peaks at some frequencies that boost particular sounds way above the correct level.) In this case, could be caused by cheap mixing equipment used to record / master the CD, by cheap mics used in the recording, or by a stereo system that sounds harsh.

Ray

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Harshness? Metallica's Kill'em All C.D. Although I love the C.D. it has the hard, brittle sound that while you turn up the volume to extremely loud levels your well aware that when you end your listening session your ears will be most definitely ringing for quite some time. Even a slight headache may persist, or so I've been told.

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