Playground for practical listening exercises

[markiteight]

E30 is my preference. E32 sounds sour and I don't want to listen to it for very long.

[lejonklou]

I found this one hard to choose.

I find the timing is better in 32 when the band gets going, but it's also a little sour in the notes compared to 30.

Leaning towards 30, but would prefer a 31 if there was one. 😄

[Errol]

I could only listen to the first two clips from 9/19.

Sorry for that! Had to free space for new clips (free account).

No hardware changes and only coincident for Bimmer models... even I used to have one E30 long ago.
The change is about Spotifyd versions - E30 = version 0.3.0, E32 = version 0.3.2
Latest version is not so good IMO and v0.3.1 says it's yanked..
I think I'll stay now with current setup with E30 and Bookworm (v12).

-e-

[Errol]

<removed> not valid comparison

[springwood64]

well... couldn't resist as I had one clip still. So, one more once...
E30 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/aast3b0f ... 21lwf&dl=0
E33 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sb7rvzvz ... a9sph&dl=0

-e-

I found E30 more enjoyable, but I notice that the video quality is different for the two recordings. E30 is HD/720p and E33 is 480p

[Errol]

<removed> not valid comparison

[tpetsch]

I don't get you guys, if the most fundamental musical timing/band interplay is whacked then that current setup is literally broken and will prove fatiguing over any length of time, it's an instant disqualification in an A/B for the clip where it's more difficult to follow the basic tune.

My focus is to first get the timing/band interplay correct and only then proceed to tweak the overall sound/frequency response to taste but if I loose some timing/interplay in the process I revert back and try something else.

[Charlie1]

I find the timing is better in 32 when the band gets going, but it's also a little sour in the notes compared to 30.

Same here.

Not sure which I'd pick - probably depend on the music - Classical and Jazz would be 30 - Rock, R&B and funk would be 32 :)

But maybe you're right and there is a sweet spot to suit everyone and all genres.

[Spannko]

I must admit, I didn’t get past the intro’s of E30 & E32. I only listened to just enough to determine that E32 had the more tuneful intro of the two. However, this is a relative judgement which is not particularly well correlated with E32’s absolute level of musicality. This is perhaps why most people are in two minds and why I suggested that Errol tried replacing the Roland cables.

[springwood64]

From https://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtop ... 528#p74528

Which do you prefer?

A: https://photos.app.goo.gl/whSXh6y9CygKSBdd9
B: https://photos.app.goo.gl/b7ro7jkgrTadmqgn7

[Kalle05]

I prefer A

[beck]

I love the change you have made going from an “over exited” sound to “normal” music. The musical timing is effortless like it should be.

Congratulation! : )

[Charlie1]

Nice improvement!

[Whatsmynaim]

I prefer A.
B is too polite for my taste.
Edit: Never mind. After listening a few more times I do prefer B.

[markiteight]

'B' is easier to follow and process. 'A' takes more effort to understand the music. I prefer 'B'.

[Hermann]

B for me, I find it easier to follow.

[tokenbrit]

A/Before has an (over?) excited brio that I could imagine would be bright (& tiring) in-room...
B/After is just a little relaxed initially, in comparison, but the ears quickly adjust to the more natural, musical, enjoyable performance

Maybe just a slightly smaller port plug might add a bit of extra engagement, but I'd likely be too busy enjoying the music to experiment...

[Tendaberry]

B has a natural lightness/easyness to it, that A lacks.

[lejonklou]

What a fascinating set of clips!

I find A better in the interplay between instruments. Also more serious, building up tension and releasing it.

My very first impression of B is that there’s something tonally odd about it. Ten seconds later I’ve gotten used to it and it no longer feels odd. The song is presented faster and more carefree. In some ways it feels better, but it’s also lacking the depth and focus of A. Less intimate interplay, less buildup, less care.

I choose A.

[tokenbrit]

Which do you prefer?

Apologies if you already said: what recording are you using for these clips, please? I'm struggling to find on Spotify to listen to the 'original' here - can only find with vocals; the instrumental versions I found are 'covers'

[springwood64]

Apologies if you already said: what recording are you using for these clips, please? I'm struggling to find on Spotify to listen to the 'original' here - can only find with vocals; the instrumental versions I found are 'covers'

Ah, there's a question! It's vinyl, from the Bravo Brasso album on the Stereo 2 Stereo label. I've never found it on a streaming service.

https://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtop ... 940#p73940

[Spannko]

On first listening to A: I didn’t particularly like it. It sounded very hifi like.
On first listening to B: Even worse. Musically, it was quite boring.
On second listening to A: This confirmed my thought that B was struggling musically and A was relatively more musical.

Sorry to be so harsh, Pete, but I’m sure your system used to be so much more enjoyable. Have you got any recordings of your system when you first got your Källa?

[tpetsch]

A is more in tune.

[beck]

I think Pete should believe in his humming family!

[springwood64]

Thanks everyone for your time and contributions, I really appreciate it! I know it takes quite a bit of time to judge clips.

The difference between A and B is just speaker positioning and the port bungs (B has the bungs).

This is a fascinating journey and the experience you all bring is very helpful to me, as well as thoroughly interesting.

I've had enough false steps in my past evolution(s) of my system to know it's easy to follow a sequence of changes that are ultimately unrewarding, requiring rewinding to some earlier inflection point.

Having said that, I find it hard to believe that the current configuration is one I'm going to regret or tire of, but your thoughts will no doubt spur me to experiment again at some time in the future.

Based solely on how I react to the music, this is the best I've managed so far, by a big margin.

As Beck says, I believe in the hummers! I want the music to move me, and the system moves me big time, even making sense of tracks that before I'd thought very unengaging, a bit crap. Yesterday, for the first time I found myself appreciating the sparse but compelling bass line of Police's Tea In The Sahara. I've owned this album (Synchronicity) for 40 years, and yesterday was the first time I enjoyed that track.

Spannko, I've recently cleaned out a lot of my recordings to avoid storage costs, but I probably have some old recordings still on the phone. I'll see if I can find them. It will be interesting to compare...

It would be funny if recordings on the Axis fare better than the LP12!