2. digital
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Mixed Results from My Hifi

Hi all, I'm looking to get a more consistent sound from my system. Some CD's sound great. No complaints, others pretty mediocre. Most Jazz and smaller production CD’s sound wonderful, detailed, airy, all that audiophile stuff. But mass produced pop and rock are almost unlistenable. I call it the “wall of sound” syndrome, compressed, digital, bleah. The latest releases from Sheryl Crow, U2 and Coldplay sound awful (not withstanding anyone’s taste in music).

What can I do to improve the overall sound in my system so I can listen to all of my music? Add tubes, a new DAC?

I’m listening.
hammergjh

Showing 3 responses by onhwy61

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,132 posts
 
Nothing you can really do. Your system is simply telling you how the inidividual CDs sound. Some sound wonerful and some don't. That's the way life is.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,132 posts
 
In the original post 3 specific albums were mentioned and the sound was described as compressed and digital. I own 2 of the 3 albums and no amount of switching equipment or room acoustics will make them sound good. The recordings are not high quality (by audiophile standards). The problem with over compressed CDs cannot be corrected by EQ or even signal expanders. There are things that could be done to his system that might help a little, but only a little. If his happy with other recordings, then why change anything for the few bad ones?
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,132 posts
 
Could one of the numerous people recommending adding tubes to Hammergjh's system please explain how a tube circuit corrects for, lessens or otherwise modifies the effects of compression on the audio signal? Hammergjh specifically mentions compression and the wall of sound effect as things he has issues with.
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