Do you know recordings of Classical music that really sound well on the Phantoms?
Most of the recordings i own suddenly sound pretty bad (harsh and empty) on the Phantoms.
Warmth is missing. I'm not sure sure but i blame my recordings
Something even more sticking out is that the low end (below 100hz) is often completely absent, even when a Grand Casse was used in the piece.
I don't understand why a mix engineer would completely remove the low end from a recording.
Geert.
I mainly listen to classical music and have neither of the problems you mention.
(14-Aug-2016, 21:18)f1eng Wrote: [ -> ]I mainly listen to classical music and have neither of the problems you mention.
Good to hear
Can you recommend me some good sounding recordings? Mainly of the larger symphonic repertoire.....
I would think that if you are not satisfied with the quality of music that has previously sounded OK, then the Phantoms or setup must be at fault. You shouldn't have to tailor your music to match the Phantoms.
(15-Aug-2016, 10:54)Axel Wrote: [ -> ]I would think that if you are not satisfied with the quality of music that has previously sounded OK, then the Phantoms or setup must be at fault. You shouldn't have to tailor your music to match the Phantoms.
I agree. I do wonder, with the way the Phantoms are built, does setup have as much of an impact on them as it has on 'normal' speakers? I would think by design the way the sound is spread from the mid range for instance, toe in will have minimal impact.
I'm a composer who uses them in a studio, i know the setup or configuration is fine because if i play my own music on them it sounds amazing.
It's just that a lot of recordings of classical music doesn't sound the way those pieces sound in a concert hall.
If you listen to Verdi - Requiem or certain Wagner pieces in the concert hall you are sometimes shaking in your chair because of all the low frequencies.
That kind of immersion is rarely heard in a recording.
I hoped the Phantoms would emphasize the low end more but if it's not in the recording it's just not there.
And i don't mean the deliberate adding of sub frequencies like is done in the movies, on the Phantoms you can clearly hear those frequencies were added and not part of the orchestra.
(14-Aug-2016, 21:13)ghuinink Wrote: [ -> ]Do you know recordings of Classical music that really sound well on the Phantoms?
Most of the recordings i own suddenly sound pretty bad (harsh and empty) on the Phantoms.
Warmth is missing. I'm not sure sure but i blame my recordings
Something even more sticking out is that the low end (below 100hz) is often completely absent, even when a Grand Casse was used in the piece.
I don't understand why a mix engineer would completely remove the low end from a recording.
Geert.
It almost sounds like there is a bass null in the room as a result of the Phantom placement, or perhaps the room itself (reflective surfaces causing cancellation of certain frequencies).
Can you describe the room placement? Any photos to share?
How about if you move the phantoms to a different room...same issue?
Geert,
I don't have Phantoms, so I'm just an outside opinion. In my experience, my previous Naim-powered system seemed to 'disguise' recording quality more than my D120 does. Many albums that I really like are 'stripped bare, so to speak, with the Devialet. It may be that the Phantom simply shows poor recordings more truthfully than your previous system.
Care to tell us what your previous system was? Or, as Axel suggests, it may be a case of room acoustics and Phantom placement.
By all accounts the Phantoms have mid-bass, bass and low bass to spare, so the warmth in any recording should be there. I'm not much into big symphonic pieces. but I'd suggest the Renaissance Lute music of Jordi Savall. La Folia is my wife's absolute 'go to' recording. Looks like this:
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attachment=1381]
Sometimes its like having the bow pulled across your head. The 'there' is all there.
One final thought; are you expecting to be astounded by the sound? Expectation bias? Not a criticism, just a thought.
You'd benefit most if you tweaked the EQ settings, which the Phantom won't allow you for now. Classical music has a wide dynamic range and, unlike a lot of modern music, is not necessarily heavily compressed during post production. Some frequency bands will therefore suffer from low volume. Maybe your old system had a configurable EQ?
Luckily I use JRiver MC21 which has a built in graphic equaliser.
I have mine set with +5dB @ 12kHz.
I find some music ,especially older CDs can sound a bit dull. Like they need a treble boost of some sort.