[chadbang]

Okay, I know that resisting the tempation to push in that audiophile rash raiser known as the "loudness" button is an absolute no, no. But today, it worked!

And worked beautifully!

My preamp is Harmon Kardon Citation circa 1985 and it has a "phase correct" loudness button. I remember it being touted in the preamp's literature (although I forget how it was 'phase correct'. Didn't muck up other frequencies? Yeah right). Frankly it always seemed to basically suck.

When I had JBL 100s I'd hit that button and get BOOM BOOM BOOM. When I had Paradigms BOOM BOOM WOOF. With the KEF Cresta 2s (BOOM MUFFLE BOOM). And with a few other: BOOM BOOM BURP! BURP!

Today I just parted with my B&W 602s (BOOOOM BOOOM!) and traded them for a pair of Proac Tablette 2000s. Well, first impression once I got home and wired them in was. Oops.

Gee those B&Ws sounded spacious and larger. Oh man, they had dramatic dynamics (they sure did). These Tablettes sound pretty damn lean (a helluva lot leaner than on the dealers $5000 demo system...naturally).

So I was pissed, I was frustrated. I fussed with placement (in from the wall, out from the wall, in from the...). Still pretty unsatisfying. (Nagging thought: "Did I screw up dumping those B&Ws?!"

).

Then as a last resort I hit the dreaded loudness button. Viola! Wait a minute, that sounds pretty good. Throw on another disc. Yeah, that sounds really good. This loudness button always sucked before, what gives?! The midrange in the vocals just picked up the right weight. That lower treble has lost it glare (upper frequencies are beautiful on these babies. Cymbals on the B&Ws 602 S2 with my system were tttzzzzzzz -- almost white noise. Suddenly I hear cymbals.) And sudden, very unexplicably, there seems to be more "air" - perhaps because the lower frequencies are better delineated now being give a bit of heft? I have no idea, but the sound is now very Sennheiser sweet, yet detailed. A Very pleasant sound. Buyer's remorse forgotten (for now).

(BTW the test cds wer, of course, Patrica Barber "Cafe Blue"

, "Sinatra at the Sands", and, oh yeah, this cd kicked ass today! (did I just say "kicked ass", er, I meant was 'superb") Supertramp's "Crime of the Century". Some people hate the material, but man, if you want a good audition cd get this disc. And today was the best that disc has sounded since my old AR9s!)

Well, I'm rambling, but whatever strange synergy took place today, I can finally say after 18 years I've found the perfect match for my loudness button! (One very weak cheer and a cough from the back of the stadium).

Okay, I know that's nothing to be proud of, but I'm just very surprised. That's why I'm writing this. Maybe some people strike magic with a cable, or a new cd spinner or even an amp, but for some reason, that damn loudness button which was always there as a useless decoration really makes my Citation preamp, Adcom GFA-535 and these Tablettes jell. Very weird! Very weird indeed!

 

[elipsis]

I bet you hooked em up out of phase

 

[chadbang]

Uh, oh....

No wait, a minute. I've done the phase thing. Never was THAT dramatic of a difference.


Hey, don't make me nervous. It's AUDIO PURCHASE DAY! Have some compassion!

 

[elipsis]

My sub is intentionally out of phase with my speakers. I have no idea if this is common practice or not, but it sounds much, much better.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hmm, I'd wait for things to settle down a bit before saying that your new system with the loudness button sounds better than the old system... newtoy-itis...

 

[chadbang]

Well, maybe, Joe. But I came home from work early (hehe, a certain amount of new toy-itis. ) and just went through a two hour listening session with that button "in". I turned to the Project Debut II and my test pressing of "Casino Royale" (yes, test pressing) and several other records and.... frankly, if I could put a new faceplate on this amp, leaving only the selector switches, balance and volume control exposed and paired with the Proacs I could "wine and cheese" customers at a high end salon into unloosing a couple grand. It sounds that musical and balanced. It's just a perfect match, yes, with the loudness on!

Let's consider this scenario (and I'm not directing this at you, Joe. I was just trying to figure out how everything could sound so good today): An okay amp (Adcom GFA-535 - the original), a probably mediocre preamp with a special loudness control, coupled with either a cheap turntable (the Debut II) or my cd player (Marantz 6000 OSE) and dirt cheap cables off the rack and some fairly expensive speakers with a propensity to be "lean" (see all the reviews on the Proac Tablettes on the web. I read EVERY damn one.) My point: Who is to say that equation doesn't balance out sonically to the equivalent of some higher end system? What's the old saying "opposites attract"? How about "strange bedfellows"? How about it all comes down to THE SOUND which is always the result of some electricity passing through all these wires and little electrical thingees (sorry I studied English and Art, no EE curriculum here. I may not know tolerances and resistance, but I know my ears, and these ole ears have done a lot of listening.)

Okay, I've NEVER brought his up here, because the screaming might bring down the internet. I've always had a suspicion that "high end" products might possibly fudge with the sound in ways that go unspoken. Who is to say the Puchanella Triathlode Jade Sonic Silver Reference MK II (Special Edition) "purist" amp with no knobs save a two-position volume control and an "off" button ("on" causes intermodular distortion) doesn't internally house a variation of Sony's three dollar "Hall" or "Jazz Club" effect? " Oh, fie, fie on thee, Chadbang, for even the suggestion!!

THE SCENERIO:
(Milan, Italy. Puchanella Laboratories, 2000) "Chao, Luigi. What's say we try that new HTS-5 resistor from Lithuania? What's that, you say? They test as delaying .004 millisecond? That's notta good. Well, we got fifty of em. Whatta you say we give it a try, anyway?

TWO HOURS LATER:
"Bella, Luigi! Bella, no?! It soundsa niiiceee. Let's try replace them all with those HTS-5! What do you say!?"

And a handcrafted "purist" amp with great "airiness" is born.

(Author's note: The cheap, Italian stereotyped diction in this story was employed strictly for humor's sake and is in no way a reflection on the great Italian people or their finest audio manufacturer - Ferrari.)

So, perhaps I finally reached my goal of finding a SPEAKER to MATCH my SYSTEM (Hm, is that six, seven pairs?). If I had gone to an audio forum I would have been told to a) consider upgrading my source b) switch cables c) consider a tube amp or d) consult my local yogi. My goal has alway been to find new speakers (which I consider the true cornerstone of a system) without upgrading the electronics that I think are good enough and without worrying about melting "Rubber Soul" on top of a tube amp or investing in "budget" US$140 cables and a set of hand-matched, water-cooled Shaki stones.

Maybe, maybe not.
Let you know tomorrow

(but it's like butter, I'll tell you....

)


Any, hey, I'm not knocking being an audiophile. That's my great pleasure in life. I'm just saying: "Who do that voodo? You do."

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Well, sounds like this is an EQ at its best...

Well, if you've got a real multiband EQ perhaps you could have made your other speakers sound good too.

 

[chadbang]

Hey, I'm a purist!

No actually EQs scare me. I've gotten some badly recorded cds and thought "I can tranfer the files to my Mac. Run a few of my expensive mastering programs, and put the sound the way it should be."

Inevitably, when I A/B the original to my "remaster" I figure out I totally I wasted 8 hours and ****ed up the track. Believe me, mastering is an art form that I have great respect for. I don't play around THAT much.


BTW regarding my former tirad, sorry folks, I guess I should have noted that the loudness button is only used at MY listening level which most people would probably consider "low". (although I think its the level at which my favourite audio salon also plays their music for people to enjoy when their not doing an all out demonstration. You know, a comfortable level.) In deference to my ears, my days of blasting are past. I like the level brought up just to the point that all the detail is retriveable, and then that's that. So, obstensibly, I may be functioning strictly at the "loudness button" threshold.

Today I did a little crank (well, you've got to try it with new speakers

, and yes, too much bass with the loudness button on.

But at the perfect listening level for me. That loudness button stays.

 

[eric343]

You know the purpose of the loudness button is to make things sound better when you're listening at low volumes?

 

[chadbang]

yes. But through seven pairs of speakers it's always been serious, muddy overkill. For this pair, it worked giving the music just the right touch of body. I was really surprised - and damn pleased

I think I said I achieve the stereo system equivalent of my beloved HD600s, matching their smoothness, detail and impact. Funny today I was bored and went to Hi-Fi World's headphone review page. They called HD600s "a valve like headphone"!

Maybe I've approximated the sound of a tube amp with a SS set up? Who knows?