Chess,
OK, I actually plopped my but down in front of my speakers and listened for some ‘more popular’ metal/alt rock CD’s that I think will show you what I have been trying to get at. IE: CD’s mastered well that seam to demonstrate sibilant characteristics of my set up. If you don’t have them, I’m sure it wouldn’t take long for you to find someone who does. All four have / had tracks on top 10 charts recently.
Breaking Benjamin – Saturate. Pretty much the whole darn CD. My ears are pretty fatigued if I listen to this around 90 db’s for very long. (90 db’s is about my norm). I really like this group and am pretty disappointed that I can’t crank it up and enjoy it through my home system. In my truck, it sounds great, and that’s running everything flat.
Seether – Disclaimer II. This CD has some mellow songs with laid back vocals and six string guitar that sounds awesome, and then it has some pretty hard tracks with lots of cymbal, electric guitar, the typical screaming and heavy drum. One song, that is still on the radio (Broken), is a collaboration with Amy Lee (Evanescence lead singer) so I’m certain that it will be easy to get your hands on. Again, similar sibilant traits on some tracks, while some of the slower tracks sound terrific.
Three Days Grace – no CD title. I don’t what the deal is with one but the friggin cymbals drive me nuts. The third track, I Hate Everything About You is a popular track. These guys are pretty new but they’re gunna be main liners before long.
Revis – Places for Breathing. Same as Seether, both hard and mellow tracks. If you can only find one of these four CD’s, this would be it. It has several tracks that will start out slow with guitar solos that I can hear the pick striking the strings and hear finger tips squeaking on the strings, then the track will speed up to heavy guitar and start to sound, well, not so hot. This CD is really popular right now. The first track, Caught in the Rain is up on the charts. Actually, if anyone thinks that alt rock / metal is nothing but noise, I’d highly recommend you get this CD. It might just change your prejudices toward this type of music.
I’d be really interested in your opinion on these, and what it is about the troublesome tracks that make them sound like crap on my system. Maybe they are all simply, recorded badly. Or, I’m even open to the idea that when mastered, the engineer intentionally does manipulate things to make them sound different for a target audience. At this point, I’m open to anything.
On another note, it was mentioned earlier in this string that boom boxes and vehicle systems are not in the same league as High Fidelity home systems. This is not entirely true with regards to vehicle systems (no argument with boom boxes). There are just as many folks who put just as much time, money, research and effort into Hi-FI systems for their vehicles as you all do with your home systems. I went to great pains piecing together a system that was geared toward SQ, and not just SPL. About six months of research and asking hundreds of questions, about 5 grand and a week of work later, I can honestly say it sounds very impressive. I’ve probably got fifty pounds of sound proofing alone, just to get the acoustics right in the vehicle.
