(23-01-2014, 11:57 PM)ALX Wrote: ...... and placing them in a really nice ambiance. Let me know what you think.
sometimes i feel people get quite obsessed with "nice". it makes me think of mother-in-law type comments when asked what they thought about the piece of chocolate just devoured...."Nice". if nice is your goal, that's fine of course, it's your thing (which immediately conjures up the issue of subjectivity). but from an audience's perspective who are struggling with comprehending the stage where the performance is happening because of entirely false feedback cues, then i'd suggest it's a different matter?
this is unplugged, i want to hear it unplugged.
in mono (hello some radio channels, shopping center PA's, owners of compaq 615 notebooks LOL, iphone monitor etc, it's perhaps not so nice? lead vocal is dry, so too the acoustic geetar. the backing vocals drop right out and sound.....not nice.
but what about in stereo? odd things occur, like the violin only appearing in my left ear. the backing vocals? i've got one in each ear with Doris in my left, and Gertrude in my right. neither are occupying both ears which would normally occur in a realistic space, to mention just a couple of key points which from my listening enjoyment are important. no, they are essential. this is real music, with real people with real instruments, and my expectation of the genre is that they perform in a convincing space - we aren't talking Lady Gaga here. if my expectation isn't met, then the mixing engineer has missed an opportunity and the music won't translate in quite the way the Artist would prefer? that's lost sales and a missed chance to attract attention from A&R.
we have responsibilities which go well beyond EQ and "nice"? for me, nice is superfluous here and a distraction from the main event which should be an emotional response through engagement so it floats my boat enough to make me want to rush out and buy it. "Nice", whatever nice is, with the greatest of respect probably won't cut it?
my OvationII HD560's aren't digging the occasional sibilance here either ".....down my SSSStreet run SSSScores of eager SSSSoles", and occasionally the acoustic spits out a bright transient. ouch, so that makes it a distraction, uncomfortable and an experience i'd rather avoid. i note there's been some discussion here about compression? i haven't heard the original tracking, so perhaps it has an issue that couldn't be resolved without a compromise?
many of the best hits on the planet, had rubbish technical standards. are you a Virgo?
on the subject you touched upon regarding HD and this audiophile thang, you might like to read this thread for your own self amusement:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthre...-it-a-scam
there is a thing in audio which is to do with self-fulfilling prophecies, it's all tied up in psychology. in other words, our eyes (AND EARS!!) can trick our brain into false beliefs and assumptions. we play what we think is a 96kHz sample rate because it says so on the tin, and convince ourselves we can hear the benefits because it says it's 96kHz. just be alive to the potential issues associated with what you think or believe is going on around you, and this includes your perceptions about the brick wall limiter you are slapping on the master buss. the only test of pure honesty and whether you are fooling yourself, involves here someone switching the effect on and off silently, and you having to assess the status. try it. but make sure you are using a transparent one without dither running. but if you don't care that the highest peak is -8dB off 0dBFS, then hey, why bother? when is a clip not a clip? now i'm just being silly. must go.
good hunting meanwhile.
Dave, from over in the Met' Lab