Why Do Some Recordings Sound Great and Others Dead?

I believe the only way I can control the volume is through the SMSL DAC.  I use the SMSL remote.  I bypass the NODE DAC and use a USB cable to send the signal to the SMSL.  Under ‘Audio Settings’ and ‘Select Output’, once I have connected the NODE to the SMSL it reads ‘Default’ ‘SMSL USB AUDIO.’  The Beolabs have no volume control.  For my subs, they have their own volume settings for their volume in the system.

@ghdprentice Thx for your comments, as it’s good to know that you have consistent excellent sound quality. My system is basic, but I’m tinkering to see if I can fix a week spot. I just ordered parts to create a fiber optic link to my NODE.

@tomcy6 I noticed that older recordings from around the 60’s often don’t sound that well. I’m surprised at the Norah Jones recording, as it’s more recent and I am familiar with it. I don’t think that it’s the recording - it’s just not coming to me well from Radio Paradise. I just added a thick rug to my room, but it’s mostly glass, so it’s never going to have good acoustics.

@zlone Yes, I’m on ‘Audio Level Fixed.’ I tried the SMSL filters and really don’t hear any difference. I’ll try the FLAC stream.

@mastering92 Thx for singing! Norah sounds good on the iPod. But why would one vocal recording sound good on my system, but not another that I know is a good recording from another source?

I will probably leave out from my Favorites list any recordings that don’t sound good, like Nora’s. I have found many others that sound excellent, so I’ll still have plenty to enjoy.

@mastering92  ‘Light As a Feather’.  I have it on CD and my iPod, where I’ve listened to it every other day or so for the last 10? years.  On Radio Paradise her voice does not sound very ‘present’, but is lost and muffled, as are the instruments.  On this one, I’m not getting what I expect from past listening.

In ’I Put a Spell On You’ Samantha Fish’s voice shines for the most part, but there are a few portions of the song where the volume recedes so much it sounds like the system is going out.

On the other hand ‘Lullaby’ by Pieta Brown sounds like a very good overall recording, her voice stands out from the instruments, and both her voice and the instruments sound great.

 I tend to listen to music as lower levels.

I agree it’s a great song, so it’s either Radio Paradise or my system that is the weak point.

’’When I Was Older’ by Billie Eilish is a delicate female vocal that sounds great on what I have.  I’ll keep exploring solutions and/or skip songs that don’t sound well.

@erik_squires  Thanks for your suggestion!  I’m not surprised that my room has difficult ’issues’. I would have thought that they would manifest themselves with all recordings rather than select ones.  I’m not very experienced in audio, and not very good at A:B comparisons.  I have 2 sealed subs, a 15in Hsu and a 12in Paradigm.  Generally I think my sub-bass is excellent.  I have them turned down so I don’t have too much of it.  I looked a a minidsp ddrc24, and was put off by what appears to be a very complex process to implement it.  Maybe I’ll look into that or something with Dirac.

@erik_squires  Thx for your explanation.  I reread it, and I can appreciate the considerable time and expertise in your analysis.  I don’t currently have enough knowledge to follow up on it with any confidence. My room is a mess, but I  can’t do much to improve it.  I tried following various suggestions and acoustic placement principles, but with 2 Beolab8000 speakers, 2 subs and an unwieldy room, I’m just guessing.  I’ve worked on speaker microadjustments,  Next I’ll try the subs.  Since my speakers and subs are all powered, I’m not using a preamp with the SMSL M400.  I wonder if that could be a problem? Maybe some day I’ll have more confidence to try minidsp or Dirac.

@emrofsemanon  Thx for your comments!  I just listened to May Erlewine’s ‘Days Gone By’ and her voice was very forward, loud and clear.  I believe the same is true of the Nora Jones recording mentioned above - but it just does not come through on my stereo system.  Until I get it ‘fixed’ I’ll just listen to what sounds best for me. 

With my current setup I don’t have any tone controls.  The NODE has some when using the internal DAC.  I’m bypassing that into the SMSL DAC, which has no tone controls.  I don’t have a preamp, and my speakers are powered.  I’d have to put something into the system like a Lokius, minidsp or minidsp ddrc24.  There are some crossover frequency and q controls on my subs.

Based on the responses, i don’t think recording quality is the reason for the differences I hear.  My system and room just don’t go well with some recordings.  Cupping my ears towards the speakers seems to improve almost all of them, but while some show just a slight improvement, others have a night and day difference, with a very significant, holographic improvement.