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In Reply to: RE: Why do my Vandersteen's sound... posted by Lagav on December 19, 2024 at 17:49:57
How could one recording sound great and another recording sound bad? The answer is in the question: it's the recording. Ever think of all the ways recordings can sound bad? I have heard studio albums sound awesome, and some studio albums sound very bad. Funny thing is they were recorded in the same studio in the same year on the exact same equipment. So how can one album sound so good and another sound so bad?
The sound engineer that's how most are just average, and some are masters at their craft. Like Phil Spector, Les Paul, Alan Parsons, Eddie Krammer to name a few. But like I said, unfortunately most sound engineers are just average with average results. So, there can be huge differences in studio recordings, and studio recordings are the easiest to get right.
Live recordings are more difficult you're no longer in a controlled studio environment with sound deadening treatment and no room noise. So now let's say you're recording a live jazz quartet in a small venue you only have four instruments to capture with four microphones you can strategically place those microphones to accurately capture the sounds of the instruments perfectly and many live jazz recordings sound really really good.
Now imagine having 100 musicians playing 15 different instruments in a ginormous concert hall and you have to record them live!!! I would pass out faced with this incredibly difficult task. And you specifically said string instruments sound bad. Out of all the instruments in an orchestra the string section plays the lowest in volume/dB level brass and woodwinds are way louder than strings. Maybe that has something to do with the way they sound especially if those other instruments are drowning them out in the recording/Mix I would search maybe in some forums and try to find a well recorded orchestra recording if one even exists.
As far as your Vandersteen go don't sell them it's not their fault. Did you know the Vandersteen 2 is the most successful American high-end speaker ever made they sold over 200,000 pairs of these speakers. That is crazy and true. And since there are so many pairs in use today there is a lot of information on them and your Vandersteen 2Ce Sig II's as good as they are will not make bad recordings sound good no speaker on earth could do that.
I see a lot of people have an opinion on the amp you're using, and I must agree you need a different amp for those speakers. Did you know there is a Vandersteen speaker forum? Go on that forum and see what amps the actual owners of the speakers say are best. I know one amp will pop up and that is a Bryston 4b SST2 the Bryston has been around as long as Vandersteen speakers and has a huge following.
Follow Ups:
I appreciate this line of thought and agree 100% that good and bad recordings make a huge difference. However, I have listened to a plethora of both in high-res formats and even the good ones get choked out to a degree with which I am uncomfortable.
And yes, they are popular and the due excel at many things. I just don't believe orchestral music is one. I am very particular about string sounds because I have experience playing in orchestras and feel the need to recreate that as closely as possible. I absolutely know what "real" sounds like and even after borrowing and trying a number of different amps they never get there. They get closer, but don't get there. I think it is just time for a change.
Thanks again for your kind and helpful response!
I have the Magnepan 3.7i and can tell you that they will make _very_ clear any recordings with poor string sound.
Have been fighting this problem for years. As you have played in an orchestra, some of my ideas might make sense.
I've been told by the concertmaster of a medium sized orchestra that a lot of the problem originates with the use of ever more powerful and brighter steel E strings. He would like everyone to go back to all gut, but that is not going to happen.
Many orchestral recordings were done with the mics _above_ the violin sections. This is not the way the audience hears them and it accentuates, I think, the edginess. Telarc mics from the front of the stage and I have found their orchestral recordings less problematic.
I think it also might have to do with the intonation of the whole vln section. I find the Cleveland under Szell sounds much better than most other recordings, and it sounds like the strings are simply playing more in tune. Some of the Philadelphia recordings also have very in-tune fiddles, and this makes a big difference.
I simply use digital EQ to tame the harshness on those recordings which need it, generally a dip between 4 and 5 kHz.
Also have an analogue Schitt EQ, the least expensive and smallest one, and it can be very useful. It is connected with fairly long cables so I can have it at my listening chair and adjust on the fly. Once I find the best setting for a given recording, I make a note of it on the sleeve or box.
Purists will decry, but so what.
only trivia but he Dynaco A25 was probably the most successful speaker which takes absolutely nothing away from the Vandersteen 2 which was also both wonderful and successful and it did have a significantly longer life span
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