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In the Thread: 'Fundamental rich' listening, or is RTA even close to accurate?
Post Subject: 'Fundamental rich' listening, or is RTA even close to accurate?Posted by stuck.wilson on: 8/18/2007
hey romy and all-
i recently came across a strange phenomenon (to me.. maybe not to everyone else!).
I just started using RTA as a method of evaluating my results with my own 2 way speaker system, and I'm finding that I'm ending up liking the sound of my system a GREAT DEAL MORE without the absurd notion that 20-20k is what we 'need to hear'.. but it seems even more extreme than this.
primarily-- the frequency response of my system, as measured when I really appreciate it's sound, is relatively flat within the parameters of the altec 414 i'm using as the fundamental driver for below 1k. so until approximately 2k, the system is flat-- but with a small bump in the midbass: not perfect-- but appreciable listening considering my budget and absolutely minimal space.
where it gets strange is-- after 2k-- if i'm still pleased with the sound-- rolls off DRAMATICALLY-- where i'm at LEAST 10db down by 10k, and further from there-- to where it looks as if it's rolling off a total of almost 20db from 2k- 20k! when i lessen the reins on the horn-- the sound is SO agressive and unlistenable (on a BMS 4552nd -- the opinion of which you've shared) that i can't stand it. upper midrange HELL. period. so it's all fundamentals, essentially, that i seem to appreciate most! audibly-- i don't feel as if i'm missing ANYTHING with this configuration, and i grew up playing in orchestras and listening to the same! not that that makes me in ANY way an expert.. that's for sure!
the BMS driver, you've described as blanched and horrible.. and if measured 'flat'.. i've got your back on that. but with a crossover made of vitamin q 100v'ers running first order with well over an octave from the lower end of the exponential horn i've got it on.. it can be, for it's modest upbringing, pretty pleasant on the whole. if attenuated 'properly' (to my ear)-- it's devoid of the metallic shrieking and nastiness.. but of course.. it's missing TONS of information, if the measurements are worth a damn.
the only thing i DO appreciate about the absurd overblown 'flat' sound is the addition of time cues.. but they're not worth it at the expense of.. well.. my ears. granted.. i'm pushing the driver over 6 octaves, which isn't optimal by ANY stretch, and it's lending to the 'TV speaker' effect..
so i wonder if it's the 'chicken' of 20-20k being a myth, or the 'egg' of my misuse of a 2 way horn/direct radiator... a BUNK driver, or in fact, just all three. OR.. it's a matter that the RTA and/or my microphones are just THAT inaccurate. or i'm a caveman.. which is also possible (!) 
.
any light to shed on this phenomenon? i realize that there could be an incredibly complex bevy of factors at work here.. but i wonder if anyone else has had a civilized experience with listening this way.
thanks for your input-
danRerurn to Romy the Cat's Site