Ah sibilance, one of the most difficult things to get just right in HiFi, and one of the easiest things to make a sound fatiguing.
Ah sibilance, one of the most difficult things to get just right in HiFi, and one of the easiest things to make a sound fatiguing.
Mana Acoustics Racks / Bright Star IsoNodes Decoupling >> Allo DigiOne Player >> Pedja Rogic's Audial Model S DAC + Pioneer PL-71 turntable / Vista Audio phono-1 mk II / Denon PCL-5 headshell / Reson Reca >> LFD DLS >> LFD PA2M (SE) >> Royd RR3s.
Location: Deleted
Posts: 6,585
I'm Deleted.
As others have said, often perceived sibilance is not actually a fault of the system but is actually on the recording.
However, if it is system related it can be down to a whole bunch of issues. If it is the speakers it can be symptomatic of a rising top end or of issues where the crossover blends the tweeter with the mid (low order crossovers do little to suppress out of band anomalies for example). If it is the turntable then it may be down to marginal matching between the arms effective mass and the cartridge compliance. It could also be down to the stylus profile or a rising top end in the cartridge. It could even be down to the phonostage.
Account Deleted
As originator 'magiccarpetride' pointed out it's on some "older" records in some parts that that SssshFthSssshFth horrible thing manifest itself. All the previous are true (recording engineer mastering) and of course a phono set-up that is right and well set.
But as a collector of vintage 45's mainly, so out of the lower fidelity end (thank the Lord most are MONO !), I'm often tangle as to understand if it's about my phono setting, the recording mastering and/or the "poor" template mastering job and cheap vinyl, styrene used to press the record...
I'm about sure about my phono stage by now. Did trial with many different records (countries, pressing plants, materials and decades) when a record condition is an issue I can tell. When it's a recording factor the same and of course when the "plastic" material comes to be faulty. I use to collect old Jamaican records and that is a good "introduction" to all of this and that !
Harder to understand, but I know strongly pay attention to, is the template mastering job at the pressing plant. Well or not so well done, for some records you just can't escape the poor result if messed up at the pressing plant. Other records who were issued simultaneously in different pressing plant offer you the chance to compare how that factor alone comes in your listening experience...
- Cart Denon DL-102 in bakelite Ortofon SPU 'G' type headshell
- TA SME 3009 'Improved' converted in heavy mass with detachable headshell
- TT Thorens TD160 'E' totally tweaked driven by an 'Eagle & RoadRunner' PSU & tachometer combo
- Matts top to bottom: leather, cork, felt & 12" vinyl
- Pre-amp 'Modulis' Isem
- Amp 'Exampli' Etalon 2x40W
- Speakers 12" Leak 'Sandwich' first generation creatively recapped
If sibilance is noticed more on older records, perhaps that could be due to wear and (or) dirt deep in the grooves.
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!
OK, but I'd say the old records will give their best if read with the required equipment. And for that I can attest. Then music genres also can benefit from different phono set-ups or not... Vintage NOS record perfectly preserved can sound only "acceptable" on a top end phono set up and "alive and kicking" on a tweaked vintage single speaker pick-up.
Sibilance induced by wear YES, by dirt NO and by static YES. Dirt brings noise and deep groove residues of all species brings the odd "blow" or "woosh" noise/sound. One can learn many efficient specific ways to clean, fix and "unscratch" a record depending on the diagnostic to save a record from "undesirability" or "disregard" with an educated eye and experience.
- Cart Denon DL-102 in bakelite Ortofon SPU 'G' type headshell
- TA SME 3009 'Improved' converted in heavy mass with detachable headshell
- TT Thorens TD160 'E' totally tweaked driven by an 'Eagle & RoadRunner' PSU & tachometer combo
- Matts top to bottom: leather, cork, felt & 12" vinyl
- Pre-amp 'Modulis' Isem
- Amp 'Exampli' Etalon 2x40W
- Speakers 12" Leak 'Sandwich' first generation creatively recapped
I've always found that the usual cause of sibilance is loose fitting false teeth.
Rob.
Powered by crossed fingers and clenched buttocks
'Wear' usually means a loss of the high frequencies. So would not cause sibilance, the opposite should happen.
Groove damage adds a sound additional to the music, it does not sound like sibilance. Likewise dirt or grime.
The quality of the recording is also highly unlikely to be the culprit. A poor press could be the problem but I'm not convinced. Sibilance is miss-tracking, so either the setting up is not optimal, or the present equipment is simply not good enough to accurately track some of the more demanding cuts. I suspect the latter in this case. Time to get your wallet out.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
Can be a lot of things or a mix of things, but azimuth is more often than not the biggest culprit
Regards,
Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse
I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work.... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -
Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?
“Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".
“You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”
"You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”
“There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”
***SMILE, BE HAPPY***
Seems a little detective work is in order. Can you duplicate the problem? Next time you are surprised by sibilance, back the needle up and see if it happens again. Can you make it happen? Does it happen in the same spot every time? Or even most often?
So let's say you have located a spot on a record that always causes sibilance, do you know someone else with a record player so you can try it at their house? Do they have the same problem? If so, then there you have it! Bad spot in the record, for whatever reason. But, if it plays on their system without issue, then we must conclude that something is amiss with your setup. If you can't adjust it out of existence, then perhaps it's time for a new cartridge?
Of course, if you cannot make it happen, if it seems to be a random happening, then perhaps it's static? A large truck passing by? Or Gremlins?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk