GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: Natural Remedies for Sick Speakers?

Post Subject: Pitch, Timbre, and Scale; Transients and PerspectivePosted by Paul S on: 5/29/2011

So little free time, so much to listen to and decide... Today I listened again to a close variant of the previous set-up, using several large-ish drivers basically piled +/- in place, along with a tweeter that will not make the cut. Even though all of the drivers are old, I suppose all of them have also sat around for a long time, and all of them have benefitted from recent use, in terms of tone and timbre, and also in terms of "transient behavior". The last item is something we have already kicked around in general terms at this site, and it's also something that I started to think about differently as I listened mostly for pitch, tone and timbre today. I can already hear how the "event" and the "impact" that calls it to our attention might be improved from how I've long heard it done, and it now appears that there might be some sort of "convergence" for tone, scale and soundfield that will "include" these qualities with a better rendering of "transients", and I am pretty sure it will also include a sort of "re-shaping" of what we call "perspective", a variation on the more usual "3-D" "sound field". I will say more about it when I learn more.

All the methods for testing these drivers have already been discussed elsewhere in this site, so I won't re-hash it all here; suffice it to say that the basics remain the same. Pre-evaluations are visual; early sound tests do not require a signal; and progress with signals is very slow. After all this time, I have one for-sure "keeper" driver, one likely candidate for a major re-working, and one possibility that will need at least moderate re-working before being re-evaluated. As far as my processes, I have also spoken about drivers in general in the "Speakers for a Powerful SET" thread and in the "Lowther" thread, and elsewhere, and all this thinking still comes to bear. "Enclosures" are yet another variable (or, set of variables...) that I have just begun to include in the evaluations.

Another very interesting thing happened today that served as another sort of wake-up call. Since I am finally beginning to listen to things I have only heard about before, I got some cold water in my face when I realized that that the balance of this particular pile of drivers improved steadily as I increased the volume, not in the usual way but in moving closer and closer toward the sort of sound I had hoped for and even expected to hear, perhaps sooner. I have to say, it gave me pause to think that the weight and scale I recognize and really enjoy would only come to fruition at truly live volumes, way off-axis! People, you may think that you listen at live volume, but if you have never been arrested, then perhaps or even probably there is "something missing" in your "version" of "live sound" (just as there is in my own set-up). And the sudden, stark awareness of this possibility "woke me up" to realize, be careful what you ask for!

Paul S

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