What makes an audio system revealing?

[@jcfelice88keys]

Forty years ago, I had owned Magneplanar Tympani 1-D's. For the past 20 years or so, I owned Ohm F's and Ohm Walsh 4's for their more palatable "Wife Acceptance Factor" in my living room. Little did I know that I had swapped my previous system's resolution capability for individual sets of speakers that only fit better into the living room, but did not help with the sound. It wasn't until 2 years ago that I had acquired a mint pair of used B&W Matrix 801 Series II speakers and mated them with Krell electronics that my wife and I caught on to what a highly resolving system really means. What became immediately apparent was that even my wife would remark, "I NEVER heard that in the 30 years of owning/playing this recording!" What became more apparent to me was I could hear singers take a breath before singing , the same thing with brass players in orchestral music, and there was far more detail in the instruments' placement and surroundings than ever before. Moreover, individual musical phrases became apparent I had never previously heard in the same recordings. The best part of this is that I did NOT have to crank up the system to ear-bleed levels to hear these nuances! Cheers, Joe

[@Funkbus5]

Some of the nicest people in audio. You can feel the spirit of this company in the people and their line of world class products. I think that energy transfers to your listening experience. Spending a moment in listening room 1 you can feel the passion and history, not to mention life changing imaging. Check out PS audio in your hifi adventure.

[@elmusico9183]

Well said.

[@averyroman4504]

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[@mohamedkyson440]

@Avery Roman instablaster =)

[@averyroman4504]

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[@averyroman4504]

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[@mcsniper77]

I do not know where I read this but it truly resonated within. "Some people use audio gear to listen to music, others use music to listen to audio gear".

[@catified2081]

A highly resolving system will instantly reveal the difference between a good recording and a poor one. You will quickly understand that 80% of your favorite music was recorded poorly. Highly resolving systems punish bad recordings and greatly reward good recordings. It's that simple. And for the people that want everything to sound good on their system, stay with a budget system where everything kinda sounds the same and save your money. You have been warned!

[@briansimmons5363]

So right.

[@harpalchauhan428]

👏👏👏

[@davidcolver2502]

This is not my experience. The better my system has got, the better recordings have sounded on it, including ones that previously sounded badly recorded.

[@X197ToPlay]

Same scenerio here :D got some old Hecos and heard alot of Rock, bought some KEF-Q900 nearly 90% of my old music are rubbisch :D But i have to say well mayd recordings sound spectacular. And i recogniced 80s Music Sounds great! 80s Music Remastered mostly sound unbelivably worse than the original.

[@charlesludwig9173]

Absolutely, I have a collection of DOO WOP in my iTunes Library. Recently, I connected my computer's usb output to my OPPO UDP-205's usb DAC input and now I hear how poorly this music was recorded, or perhaps precluded to technology of the period. Still, that music is quite pleasurable.

[@russmaleartist]

It is always interesting to hear what you have to say. There may be disagreements, but that is not the point; but rather, it is to compare point of views, investigate theories, and see what we derive as feasible and usable for our needs.

[@scotts7017]

As Paul states he doesn’t want to get off on a rant after the said rant is finished, I find myself doing it all the time. Thanks Paul. Good discussion.

[@charlesludwig9173]

An OPPO UDP-205 enabled me to get the inner details and audible cues, even from iTunes delivering AAC material. In fact, I'm so deep into recordings now that I can actually get the recording artist's autograph while I wait for the next set.

[@lwdp74]

If you’re looking for a song you crave the resolution is second to the memories or experiences. I have a few MP3s😊 of vintage songs that I love. I’d like better copies but I’m just glad they aren’t unlistenable. Still enjoyable.

[@lwdp74]

Sometimes it feels like it’s almost impossibly, there in somebody’s ’s room, Ella, Louis, Bing, Oscar or Frank almost coming alive in front of you. Or Diana. That’s revealing. That’s the hobby.

[@RadioHamGuy]

You are right on there Paul when you say most or a lot of us listen to music in the background most of the time but then turn some things up and really listen to the full sound at times. I am one of those. I listen to music a good part of the day just in the background on many different set ups while working or doing other things, but then when I come in to my main room at night and hear something I like I will turn it up and really get into it and feel the music.

[@manleys69]

These videos are really good, sharing knowledge & enthusiasm for all things audio. Helping people make choices to get the best from there equipment.

[@dubment]

Very well said, plus mentioning the subwoofer that always needs to be added, its like the pwm feature on synths :)

[@birgerolofsson2347]

Very high resolution systems is like a double edged sword. Often you (I) hear things that you shouldn't hear, that shouldn't bee in the recording and that makes you loose your focus on the music and you start thinking (to much) on what you just heard.

[@nncoco]

Happens all the time. Plus I have to limit my listening to good recordings only.

[@carolineleonard8214]

When listening like this my family says that I'm "Away with the faeries".

[@m.9243]

All other components being of an acceptable quality, a pair of great tweeters would go a long way to give the listener a highly resolving and detailed sound. Most of what we identify as "high resolution " is in the higher registers of the frequency spectrum. Even small stand mount speakers with no full range capability, will give high resolution sound if their tweeters are up to it.

[@connorduke4619]

Agreed and the same might additionally said for a good quality Dac.

[@kencohagen4967]

I think it takes some time training ones ear to start with. Once you understand what you're listening for, you'll know it when you hear it. My stereo is very revealing. My wife's is more for background music, when she cleaning the house or baking etc... She doesn't listen for the detail I do. But she know the lyrics to everything. I know every riff, tap of the high hat, solo, and melody of everything I own. It took years of hanging out with guys that knew more than me to learn what they were listening for. The main thing, is if your not enjoying yourself, why are you doing it!

[@Justwantahover]

3:05 I have a fairly run-of-the-mill stereo system ($330 amp and $200 CD player and home built speakers) and I compared the CD to the phone (on Spotify) plugged into the same system (playing exactly the same song) and the CD was MILES in front for resolution (way more). And imagine the difference with a hi-end system (the difference you are hearing). If you don't a-b compare them (I suppose) what you don't know won't hurt you.

[@tcngr]

from background listening (have sound) to casual and conscious listening (musical sound) and hifi (musical + accurate sound).... where do you want to stand?

[@tacticalAV]

I have had the KEF LS 50 and KEF Q 100 speakers, dramatically different prices, but similar sonic signature. The Monitor Audio gold series actually sounded just a tad bit more revealing than the KEF LS 50 speakers. Revealing can be thought of as detail to some people as opposed to sensitivity. Not to be confused with how loud the speakers play... that is a common misconception a lot of people share, thinking that the power of the speaker determines how loud it will play.

[@X197ToPlay]

i got some KEF-Q900 whit Vincent-996 Monoamps and Dynafox cabls. And mostly play them preatty quite :D

[@russredfern167]

I own a luxman D404 cd player , it outlasted all the others. I had a R 406 also had a very warm sound. Lux still has some very end equipment though very expensive.

[@moukiebengal9753]

Man i wish i would live near colorado just to eat lunch with you Paul and go in music room aftewards !!!

[@ericelliott227]

Wow, that bit about the person being embarrassed to admit that they use Spotify and having feel like a horrific moment just because they are in a room full of audiophiles. THAT is what I am talking about! THAT should not have happened! Do you know what I mean Paul? That is awful! That is the kind of thing that makes listening to music an undesirable activity for many folks. That feeling that what they have is whoa-fully inadequate while the truth lies in the opposite direction in most cases. What is adequate or terrific or what have is up to the individual, not what audiophile A or B says it is. I don't like listening to streaming music myself, I don't like Tidal, Spotify or any of them for listening. I use Spotify (I do not like the structure of Tidal and never did). I use it for research or sometimes background while doing something else. For active listening I personally go to vinyl records or CD. Streaming just doesn't sound good (for active listening) on any system to me and I have heard it on 6 figure systems as well. That's me though. As for revealing systems, it does start with the speakers as you always say. It is also the synergy of the electronics. However, I think we can leave cables out of that equation for the moment. If you are lucky you might get a 1% gain from cables and even that would be perception and not an audible measurement to the human ear. Please don't get people hung up on cables, it is not fair. If someone is building a five figure system then maybe they also have the scratch to play with $800 interconnects and such, but otherwise it is not fair to hang folks out to dry who are not building such a system. My concern when I was doing the journalism thing for 4 years and is still my concern is that folks don't listen to music anymore. Really listening to music also does not require one to sit up stiff as a board in a chair in an uncomfortable position with their nose in the air looking like they are smelling something bad. Audiophiles would have everyone believe that is the proper way to listen to music. The proper way to listen is to be comfortable and allow yourself to (as you mentioned) take the ride. Let the music wash you, carry you, just let go and focus your thoughts on the music. That is what music does, it takes you on a journey and usually it is a fantastic one, but only if you allow it. That is the power of music, the gear doesn't even matter at that point. If you are feeling the music, then your system is the best because it is doing what it was designed to do.

[@ericelliott227]

Exactly, that is my point. I use Spotify for research and background. For critical listening I go to vinyl and CD. The main point was my disgust with the incident Paul described. I have seen it many times with my own eyes. It was part of the reason I got into audio journalism for 4 years, to try to combat that and make folks feel good and ok about their choices for music and such. As long as you are listening to music, that is what matters. The industry and audiophiles and such are also the reason I bailed out (sans parachute) of journalism a few months ago. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but......after 4 years of battle, no good.

[@PrezidentHughes]

Spotify is low res? I thought it was just my car system. I was thinking it didn't sound much higher than a 192 kbits/s MP3.

[@toast9318]

What is the advantage and disadvantage of an unshielded speaker, specifically in production settings, such as the Yamaha HS8 studio monitor?

[@thomprd]

I think so much of it has to do with system setup. My old Arcam 2-channel integrated (worth $75 on eBay?) and my B&W CDM2SE speakers that were like $350 on eBay are really remarkably detailed and revealing IF I put them in my very treated listening room and position everything properly. When I throw them on my dresser in my bedroom next to a flat screen TV.. nah. The CDM2SE's are even better with the Stellar Gain Cell DAC and Levinson 333 amp, but they sound similar and are really detailed with the old Arcam from my bedroom. So, I really think at least 50% of the revealing part is system setup.

[@johnhpalmer6098]

My definition of revealing is a system that can reveal things like poor amplification, bad recordings, hum, other noises and makes many mediocre recordings sound painful to listen to. But by the same token if you don't choose things carefully, can be fatiguing to listen to if too bright. That all said, I like to listen to a wide variety of stuff and that often includes 60's pop recordings like the Beach Boys and the Beatles among them and a system that allows them to still be listenable even if it shows they are not the best sounding is where I'm at as that simply means I can hear the differences, but not be limited to only audiophile pressings or the absolute cleanest recordings etc so to me a balance is needed. My system may not be the most resolving but it's quite so in many ways as I heard a not so great sounding Steely Dan album, Pretzel Logic over their debut, Can't Buy a Thrill, both later gradient ABC Record pressings, not the original black label versions. Pretzel Logic comes off a tad dull and lacking some dynamics where as Can't Buy a Thrill was lively, punchy and dynamic. Then again I can play Gary US Bonds music, yes, it's overdubbed way too much, some tracks muddier than others, but it's the spirit of the music that comes through, that raw energy overcomes the poor recordings and that is what it's all about in my mind, and yet a GOOD recording is stunning on the same system, and yet I don't get listener fatigue either so that's how I like it and to me, it strikes a balance I think.

[@bonzainews]

i generally enjoy a +10 db overlap from my subwoofer below 60hz. Bass you can feel when the mids and highs are hitting 105-110 db A weighted the bass is just nothing less than impressive.

[@martinvaldez8745]

Spotify is aimed at the masses. For a lot of people who enjoy music, listening to this music server is enough when you consider what you’re playing it back on and how it’s reaching the loudspeakers/headphones during playback, theres a ton of music quality degradation before it gets to the listener but still there’s millions of people who use it and like you say it’s catalogue is huge .There’s also the other way to look at it is if you have too revealing a system you’re heading into the same territory, exposing its musical flaws as any audiophile would be quick to point them out on this type of system. It’s all about the convenience but hopefully it’ll come full circle whereby you can have both a revealing system and a great server packaged and aimed at the masses...

[@royferntorp3575]

Seeing a lot of power-conditioners in the last few videos. gets me all excited!

[@ThinkingBetter]

Often what people say is a "revealing system" really is just a system that tend to expose certain frequencies more through an un-linear frequency response. Especially, I've seen people telling me some speakers being revealing and after some measurements, they simply had too much treble and subsequent to getting the response corrected, the same people would tell me these speakers are no longer revealing as before LOL. Indeed too much treble can reveal more details that show up in the treble. Thus, beware how you judge this parameter. It's not really a well defined metric. Personally, I've found my Stax headphones to be the truly most revealing of everything I've listened to. Definitely the very low-weight of the diaphragms help keep the sound waves true to the original. But even they tend to shift towards a brighter frequency response where same argument can be made. Large speakers with lots of transducers in a large room with lots of room reflections definitely do not create what I consider "revealing". I lean more towards simplicity and precision e.g. a couple of KEF LS50 can do better than much more expensive and complex speakers, when it comes to being genuinely revealing.

[@n4jg6]

Michael, its a very slippery slope! 🤪

[@jeffhunter4395]

I was under the impression that a highly resolving system had to cost in the low end of $15000.00 and up.A very good system was the $3500.00- $14000.00 range.This is for the complete system.

[@X197ToPlay]

I have a Reviling system costs round about 3500€. just buy some Speakers (at least 1000€ a pice) and add new amps and cabels untill you stopp sensing a difference .

[@TheRockerxx69]

I ve found revelation after 45 years of passion. A diy system. 3 way. Elec x overed. 4 amps. Mass. De coupling. Treated room . Good front end. Makes hi definition. I look for silence.....no hum. No rfi . No noizez.

[@troybateson5908]

Spotify has hi-res audio if you have premium, just make sure it’s turned on in your settings.

[@brunorivademar5356]

You troll hahah

[@X197ToPlay]

@@brunorivademar5356 no he dont troll go premium go settings turn on high res and turn of Loudness and you have near Flac quallety!

[@X197ToPlay]

Ahhh i forgot of cors you need a dicent Soundcard like you not using a 10€ cd-player for your 1million system.. Asus STX is woth the money!

[@TheRockerxx69]

If you hear Nikki Lamborn s ear rings shaking at the beginning of 'Going to california' on Led Zeppelin Tribute 'Encomium', CD- LP then you have a revealing system, hi res.

[@manardh7387]

I think you need tubes in the chain, perhaps not all tubes though. I do not hear what I know to be accuracy (revealing of the original thing) without tubes. I wish it wasn't so, since I have to deal with finding good tubes periodically to replace the old warn out ones. I assume you are questioning the requirements to obtain a system that you can listen to in the dark and then turn the lights on and be mentally startled you are in your listening room and not sitting in front of the band or orchestra.

[@moonlight-kh6uz]

I don't know about that. I had a Pioneer VSX-1325K AVR and Fatman Carbon valve amplifier, each around $600. The speakers were PSB B4s. The AVR was used as pre-amp for Fatman amp and speaker cables cheap Audioquest. Then I replaced speakers with Focal Scala v2 and the results are spectacular, especially if I play CD on a cheap blu-ray Panasonic player as transport connected via HDMI to AVR. It seems that 95% of all distortion is in the speakers (that's why distortion numbers are never reported for speakers as people would not plunge the buck seeing something like 5% or 10% distortion in the specifications). The results are also very good when streaming CD quality files from Plex server on iMac to Roku 3 connected to AVR via HDMI. I've heard the same speakers in another room with $20000+ of electronics, Aurender N10, ARC Ref. 5se preamp, Mark Levinson amp, Transparent cables, Tidal streaming, and it did not sound this good.

[@terrywho22]

Michael in Singapore: No, that would not be a revealing system. If you want high quality vintage Luxman, you need to buy their tube gear. The L116A was made around the time Luxman became part of Alpine electronics and started marketing budget gear that could be sold at big box stores. As for the speakers you mention, the KEF 304 was interesting in the early 80's, but those speakers are likely in need of some serious work to be brought back to performing well. Good luck!

[@terrywho22]

@Csab You are talking about the L and M series amps, right? Only in pics/reviews. Looks pretty fantastic! And, yeah, expensive!!! Looks like they are paying homage their 500 and M- series amps of the 60's and 70's with their new SS designs. I guess re-reading my first comment, I meant to say that anything Luxman with tubes (old or new) is going to be a great amp and worth owning. However, vintage Luxman solid-state amps are going to be a step down from modern audiophile amps, with their black boxed Alpine-year amplifiers being primarily consumer grade (non-audiophile). I should amend that. Thanks for the reply.

[@birgerolofsson2347]

I would say the speakers. My Elac FS 507 are insanely revealing so many albums becomes bad because you hear things you shouldn't hear. Right, a warning is in its place to all who hunts for maximum resolution, it's not universally good. It kind bad also from time to time. Another thing, why do you say Elac and KEF? I mean they both make speakers cheap enough for most us to have money enough for but also some VERY expensive speakers we can only dream about. To just say Elac and KEF without telling which model you refer to is just lame imo.

[@y.k.9705]

I don't know, the first Sprout ,,, I'm a little disappointed.

[@lunatrics]

Music is emotion. Got great feelings with 150dollar speakers. With 5000euro speakers. And with good headphones. Dont chase the dragon. When you feel good its good!!

[@briansimmons5363]

Really a sane comment. Chasing the dragon or thinking about a great sexual experience and trying to recreate it not a good place to be. Good lord, spent so much cash on incremental improvements it's crazy. But in the end it is a passion and a hobby. But so hard not to be sucked in thinking the next best emotional experience is just $1,000 away or $500 away. My total system cost is now around $2K and I have to keep telling myself, a $300 DAC is not really going to make it that much better. I keep telling myself i have the best value based system there is is and far better than what 90% of others have.

[@linandy1]

Its also like drugs, looking for a better high once you get used to what you have.

[@turnersparadise8368]

Hi, my name is Tenspeed and I listen to MP3s. I OWN AN IPOD!....

[@DavidSVega-cu1dv]

Love you Paul. ❤️

[@marsman2009]

www.luxman.com/product/ Luxman is better than ever. I have a L509f integrated & it's awesome even better I paid a quarter of the new price. From looking on the net the Luxman L116a I think you would need to recap it considering they are pretty old.

[@simonlai]

Well and truly said Paul!

[@carpetcleaningprofessor]

Let's face it even audio files love to throw on Pandora while they're doing dishes 😂 but only when no one's looking. If someone is home we sneak into are sanctuary of sound get into it.

[@MrDac0964]

I would never get it why anyone would be embarrassed to admit listening to Pandora or other lossy files if the intent is just for background music? I listen to Pandora not only for that but also it’s a great way to discover songs and artists that i could then purchase an album, cd, or hi-res file.

[@briansimmons5363]

Agree somewhat. Pandora, spotify and expanding one musical explorlation is awesome! Serious critical listening is something completely different. Neither are to be ashamed of, don't we do this all the time on the go and at home?

[@briansimmons5363]

You are spot on.

[@lextr3110]

a revealing system is a good electrostatic system...

[@BogdanSerban]

First, an active crossover and then we can start talking about revealing systems.

[@briansimmons5363]

Oh boy do't get me started. I have thinking Minidsp for over a year.

[@CT-vl3iu]

...if the quality of the recording is poor,...non of these hardware matter...

[@davidtomsett]

Truth

[@justinparkman1516]

the greatest most expensive system in the world will never make a poor recording sound great so keep your cash in your pocket .

[@johnsweda2999]

You and your subs!!!!! Why don't you just get a proper speaker like the linkwitz lx521.4 what goes down to 16 Hz no subwoofer needed

[@jcfelice88keys]

I still concur with Paul. My most current speakers have a -3dB point @19Hz, but they benefited greatly from adding powered subs. (I wouldn't have tried the subs except that our next door neighbor died, and his widow gave me his two powered subs. ) What a pleasant difference these subs made, even though my existing speakers' frequency response is claimed to be flat down to 19Hz @-3dB. I cross the subs over at 50Hz and let my B&W Matrix 801's run without a high pass filter. I don't "hear" the subs ... until I leave them out of my system, and the sound just isn't the same without them.

[@briansimmons5363]

What a dumb reply. There are hundred reasons why this would be a bad choice for 90% of people. WAF not withstanding.

[@johnsweda2999]

jcfelice88keys yeah in your circumstances and majority you're probably right, but running an individual amps through active DSP or ASP will be the same as having a sub plus being open full dipole has a better base resonance then a dedicated bass bins with ports, I dislike them immensely sounds unnatural. I hear what you're saying it's very low down and unnoticeable just a filler and yes it does help in most circumstances. What type of subwoofers do you have?

[@jcfelice88keys]

@John sweda: To answer your question about what type of subwoofers are involved ... Two powered 12" REL sealed enclosures, non-ported. Incidentally, I gave away the mid-fi Klipsch speakers and Rotel electronics my deceased neighbor's wife gave to me for free -- otherwise his widow would have thrown everything into the trash bin.

[@bbrian7]

You know you have a resolving system when 95 percent of your cd collection basically becomes unlistenable but they all sounded great on the old system

[@briansimmons5363]

You know that is a very interesting perspective. I don't disagree but the question is what to do then? Go back to the old? Invest much more money on new equipment? move to vinyl and to build some kind of a broad music collection cost more than the electronics. No easy answer for sure.

[@Enemji]

Brian Simmons - I, unfortunately, stopped listening to those favorites :(

[@ranarana4471]

brian burlette 😁💜💜💜

[@MoxieCom]

This guy must take 45 mins to order a sandwich...

[@luomoalto]

Funny. Paul just isn’t capable of staying on topic for more than 30 seconds. 🤣

[@Taffy84]

cables don't make a difference

[@grandrapids57]

Cables and wires do make a difference in audio quality, and its quite easy to determine that, even on one's own. A very simple demonstration: buy a spool of 100' of cooper clad 18 gauge speaker wire and for each channel run that, still coiled, for each speaker, listen to familiar songs, then change to something recommended like 12 gauge pure copper wire of a normal length, and report back.

[@bobnixon4015]

Showing off one's system sound should not exceed the love of the music, itself. Paul's silly notion that he can pick and choose particular tracks whether on not he or anyone actually likes the sound of that particular track, outside some dynamic hooha. As always, the weakness of Paul's greed for your high end business is DESPICABLE.

[@tothemax324]

Bloody hell man take it easy, wtf is wrong with you

[@harpalchauhan428]

Hater lol go bk to ur budget 💩😂😂😂