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Downside to "revealing" system?

Greetings, hope all are well. Since upgrading my rig over the years( ML 11a, REL s812s, VPI Prime Sig. Soundsmith The Voice cart, Pass xp25 phono, and Luxman L509X with Cardas cables and various powercords, plus S/R room treatments which have been unbelievable) many beloved older pressings have revealed themselves to be just about unlistenable. I'm speaking of, for example, 70s Reprise Neil Young, Randy Newman, Joni etc. Pressings are immaculate and cleaned on an Audio Desk cleaner and table is definitely set up properly. Newer " audiophile" pressings sound great. End result is I am listening to more cds since acquiring an Esoteric X01 D-2 which make even old cds sound great. I've always been a vinyl person and have over 4,000 records acquired over 30 years. I am thinking of getting a new cart next year and have heard great things about the Dyna XV-1s. ( input appreciated) Anyway, forgive the long post, I am actually grateful for a diversion from current events, stay well friends!
joeyfed55
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,139 posts
 
Exactly what sonic attribute makes some of your recordings unlistenable?  But even without knowing your reply, you might want to rethink the Luxman driving the electrostatic.
newbee
4,751 posts
 
Erik, Sorry about your response to my two posts.  Did I step on your toes by merely explaining to your audience something they might want to consider in making a choice of what kind of tone controls might be important to them - not just limit it to bass and treble controls as you have done (for yourself anyway).  Anyway, life is too short.  I've better things to do with my time.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
One of the more impressive results of my system improvement is the way all my records sound much better than ever before. Many that were blah are exciting, and many more that seemed mediocre now sound exceptional. If any are becoming unlistenable, its not because your system is more revealing. Its because its more colored. In other words you're not doing something right. Find it, fix it, and you will see.
erik_squires
15,703 posts
 
Did I step on your toes by merely explaining to your audience something they might want to consider in making a choice of what kind of tone controls might be important to them


No, but the 509x has great tone controls for the OP to try before having to buy anything more.
terry9
2,223 posts
 
Having owned many esls, I would suggest looking at the crossover network and any other signal processing. You may find that there are very low quality capacitors in the signal path (yes, I do mean in speakers costing many thousands), and changing those can take away the unlistenable glare.

I have done this with great success. Any good tech should be able to help you here - don't try it yourself though, because esls can KILL YOU in several ways.

I suggest film and foil caps with polypropylene or styrene dielectric - stay away from teflon, as it too can sound analytical. Or, an active crossover and four channels of amplification. Good luck!
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