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Treble/bass+classical/rock

PaulMB

PaulMB

pfm Member
Hello All,
I've been painstakingly tweaking the crossovers of my 2-way speakers (the crossover beautifully designed by Lord of the Ergos) to get the ideal (for me) balance between low and high frequencies.
Everything is fine, except that I've found that the Low-High balance which sounds best for classical music is too bass-heavy with most rock recordings, while the ideal balance with rock recordings sounds bass-light with classical music.
We're in hair-splitting territory, with the changes involving 0.5 or even 0.25 Ohms more or less in the resistors in series with the tweeters, and between 1 and 2 Ohms difference in the resistor in parallel with the tweeter. Probably it is just a fact of life and I'll have to accept a compromise.
But I'm just wondering if any other PFMs have found themselves in this quandry, and if anyone has noticed a difference in the tonal balance between classical and rock.
 
You could put a good quality rotary switch to the tweeter with 2 sets of leads to it with different attenuation, or 2 sets of speaker inputs to the tweeter again with different attenuation

Alan
 
I think the range of production styles for both is so wide that I would hate to generalise.

Something like MC5 "Back in the USA" is very bright, and certainly does not want extra high frequencies, while say one of the Albert King recordings from the 1960s sounds like a blanket has been thrown over it (great playing though).

On the classical side, some early digital mastered recordings are ear-splitting; classic analogue, or more recent digital both sound fine in their respective ways. I have a few chamber recordings (Beethoven quartets for example) done with a fairly dry acoustic, and relatively close miking, and that can easily sound harsh and in your face, but these are exceptions.

So no, I don't think I have noticed a persistent trend of wanting more bass on classical.
 
Thanks Alan,
Yes, I had thought of that. Something that by connecting or disconnecting a resistor in parallel with a fixed resistor would change the overall value of the fixed resistor. e.g. a 33 Ohms in parllel with 3.3 Ohms brings it down to 3.0 Ohms.
But what I was really wondering is if anyone else had noticed a difference in bass-treble balance between classical and rock recordings.
 
Thanks PigletsDad,
Yes, well maybe you're right and I'm seeing a problem where none really exists. Or rather where no overall trend exists.
 
PigletsDad said:
I think the range of production styles for both is so wide that I would hate to generalise.

Something like MC5 "Back in the USA" is very bright, and certainly does not want extra high frequencies, while say one of the Albert King recordings from the 1960s sounds like a blanket has been thrown over it (great playing though).

On the classical side, some early digital mastered recordings are ear-splitting; classic analogue, or more recent digital both sound fine in their respective ways. I have a few chamber recordings (Beethoven quartets for example) done with a fairly dry acoustic, and relatively close miking, and that can easily sound harsh and in your face, but these are exceptions.

So no, I don't think I have noticed a persistent trend of wanting more bass on classical.
Click to expand...
I'd agree with PD. I have some rock/pop/C&W albums that are extremely bright and some that are positively ponderous. I find no difference with my small collection of classical music. Tone controls could be helpful in some situations, but I'm too much of a purist.

James
 
Thanks, James,
I'm talking about CDs rather than LPs. But I suppose the same applies. Your crossover design is sounding fantastic. The only modification I've made, after many weeks of listening, is to increase the value of the second cap in parallel with the woofer, the one next to a 6.8Ohm resistor, from 14 to 15. 2 uF (in both cases combinations of caps). This has now now got rid of all of the "screechiness" of the violins, which were getting distorted by the woofer. Your calculations called for 6.5 Ohms plus 14 uF, so perhaps increasing to 15.2 compensates, in a haphazard way, the fact that the actual resistor is 6.8 Ohms.
Thanks again for all your help.

Paul
 
If your bi-amping couldn't you use a good quality stepped attenuator on the inputs of your tweeter and bass/mid amps?
 
Thanks Mike,
Yes, that might be an option if I were bi-amping, but its just a NAC72 and NAP180. Also, I think I'll just go for a compromise and forget about it. But thanks for the suggestion.

Paul
 
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