cables or recording flaw..

dannylightning

so with one set of my interconnects i am hearing more distortion than normal. its like a grainy distortion that i hear on cymbols and the guitar for rock music. rock guitar already has distortion so its like a second layer of distortion added and it can sound unnatural on some songs..

i would say the majority of my recordings i can hear this distortion.. on most high quality recordings i do not really hear this sound but most of those are clean (no distortion on the guitar). this cable is much more detailed and its got this big wide sound stage which makes vocals and allot of things sound very rich.. but this extra distortion bothers me.

i have 3 more interconnects and i do not hear this distortion, there lower end interconnects tho... so in a way they sound better cus they sound cleaner but after switching i want that big wide sound stage back.

do you think the cable is just more revealing and i am hearing flaws in the recordings or is it the interconnect causing the distortion.. there is a alison krauss song playing and it sounds awesome.. than a gas light anthem song comes on and i hear really hear this distortion this recording

maybe someoen with a really revealing sett up can listen to this song and see if they hear the distoriton.. it sounds very clean on my other interconnects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oST77VRHXt0

Upstatemax

From what you're saying, I'm going with a more revealing interconnect. If it was present on all recordings, I would start looking at a defective interconnect.

But as you said, a GOOD recording does not have it. Sadly the art of recording and mixing is becoming a lost art...

I have 60 year old recordings that sound WAY better than a 2 year old recording.

I feel like a lot of the artist and record companies count on people listening to stuff on "low-fi" equipment and know MOST people will never notice it.

It could be something else causing it, but I tend to find if it's only present on certain recordings, it just the recording.

Upstatemax

Follow up, what's the cable and what are your sources?

dannylightning

its a sonos connect playing flac files.. audioquest king cobra interconnects, AQ type4 speaker cable. on some better recordings i can still hear it a little but on some good recordings i dont think i hear it at all

on my AQ evergreens, my blue jeans, or these other low end AQ interconnects i do not hear the extra distortion.

i just cleaned the inputs on the back of my amp with alcohol since they looked a little dirty, in a few min ill see if that did anything. if i had another higher end set of cables i could probably figure out if it was the recording or the cables.

motorhead43026

Synergy, some cables work better than others, no matter the quality.

lightman1

The cobras are a revealing cable on digital sources.
I have run two sets from DAC to pre and pre to amp. As stated....wider stage but have an "edge" to them in the mids when used with an Adcom SS pre. Flopped in a Rouge 66 tuber pre ( Sketchy Craig) and it still had that warm fuzzy "good" distotion but with more heft using the same Cobras.
We all have to deal with bad recordings daily. But I'm not one to lose his composure when it happens. Good times, good music, great friends and worty cables.


This has been my once a month speak of audio post.

dannylightning

when i get out my multi meter the cables read 0 ohms so i don't think there is a issue with the cables. i have been thinking its probably there just a bit too revealing for allot of my rock and roll recordings.

maybe cables that are a little less revealing but still have the wide sound stage may be a better option.. not sure which cables would do that, preferably i think i would like to stick with AQ. in general i have enjoyed the AQ cables more than other cable brands i have owned..

after cleaning the contacts the stereo sounds different, the distortion is still noticeable but not as bad and these cables can get a little bright sounding on some recordings where my evergreen a bit warmer and a little less edge on the trebel, with the king cobras need to put the treble knob down to around 10 o clock and put the bass knob around 1 o clock, there brighter than my other cables and i kind of like a warm to dark-ish mids. with the evergreens i till turn up the bass a little but i can leave the treble knob centered, i just wish i got that wider sound stage with the evergreens cus the overall tone is pretty good with those.

deronb1

I am super happy with the Golden Gates i just got. Took out the dry, ghosty, digitally (if thats a word) sound i was hearing from the SM6 when using older monster interlink 250s. Still plenty and detail and open soundstage. I think the 703s are pretty revealing of bad recordings as well.

dannylightning

deronb1 wrote: »

I am super happy with the Golden Gates i just got. Took out the dry, ghosty, digitally (if thats a word) sound i was hearing from the SM6 when using older monster interlink 250s. Still plenty and detail and open soundstage. I think the 703s are pretty revealing of bad recordings as well.

glad to hear you like those cables.. i did have the golden gates at one time and did not care for them.. i did not like the speakers i had at that time which may have been why i did not like the golden gates... i really do like the evergreens they just don't have that wider sound stage or the stronger bass

maybe some golden gates or the big sur would do the trick.. i don't know.

lightman1

Trial and error.....
My apologies for not paying attention....what equipment are you using?

Edit: spellung erur

deronb1

I need to get another pair

dannylightning

lightman1 wrote: »

Trial and error.....
My apollogies for not paying attention....what equipment are you using?

polk LSi M703, cambridge azur 651a intergrated amp, sonos connect playing flack files, AQ type4 speaker cable

treitz3

Do you have any tubes along the signal path Danny?

Oh, my manners. I don't believe we have ever spoken before. First off welcome to the forum! Secondly, we can help you to figure out what's going on.

Another two part question for you. Do you increase the volume when you swap out interconnects and/or does the equipment you swap the IC's in and out of sit on a change of isolation? (In other words, when you swap them out, is the gear going back into the same exact location with the same isolation footing when you are done swapping out the cables?)

Happy 4th!!!

Tom

treitz3

Another one for you......does this distortion follow the individual sounds as the volume increases?

Tom

lightman1

Looks like all SS and DAC chips, Tom. I see where you're heading to on in/out volts.
Sonos going into near clip output before the Cambrige is cozy with the input.....
Which out/in from the Sonos to Cambridge? Coax? Toslink? Balanced?

dannylightning

its just a set of interconnects going from the sonos to the amp. no tubes

the sound does not change with volume,

nothing is changing position.. i do not need to move any thing to swap cables.

when i hooked up my CD player with the king cobras it was the same deal, i would say its the cables or the recordings and not the source.

my music collection goes from poor to really good as far as recording quality goes but i only hear the extra distortion with the king cobras and not the other cables.

treitz3

Okay, thanks for answering. The KC's do have a bit of resolution to them so it may not be the cable itself, it may be that the cable is exposing an underlying issue that lay elsewhere in your system.

Do you have some Deoxit? Also,

Sonos going into near clip output before the Cambrige is cozy with the input.....
Which out/in from the Sonos to Cambridge? Coax? Toslink? Balanced?

I think this man is honing in to your issue, based upon what you are describing. Answer his question as well so you can help us to help you.

Thanks,

Tom

dannylightning

treitz3 wrote: »

Okay, thanks for answering. The KC's do have a bit of resolution to them so it may not be the cable itself, it may be that the cable is exposing an underlying issue that lay elsewhere in your system.

Do you have some Deoxit? Also,

Sonos going into near clip output before the Cambrige is cozy with the input.....
Which out/in from the Sonos to Cambridge? Coax? Toslink? Balanced?

I think this man is honing in to your issue, based upon what you are describing. Answer his question as well so you can help us to help you.

Thanks,

Tom

no i do not have any of that. the amp and sonos is only a couple years old so im not srue it needs cleaned.. it just needed a few years of dust cleaned off lol

maybe i do not understand the question..but i think i answered that question. just a set of interconnects from the sonos to the amp.. so analog outs

deronb1

Sounds like its just a matter of finding the "right" cable.

dannylightning

deronb1 wrote: »

Sounds like its just a matter of finding the "right" cable.

that is what i am thinking but other ides are worth hearing out.

someone else i talk to on here described their king cobras and bright and edgy with some harshness so i am thinking they were hearing the same thing as i am and they also have the same speakers.

but its possible something else is going on.

deronb1

Its, possible, sure. Sounds like you are close with the evergreens.

mikeyb128

This is interesting^^^ I had king cobras and I wouldn't describe them as bright and edgy at all. Audioquest in general I have never found bright or edgy. If anything I call them "polite" due to having rolled off highs, and generally I find them easy to listen to on most material. I even have some of their PSS cables, and never found them bright either.

treitz3

dannylightning wrote: »

do you think the cable is just more revealing and i am hearing flaws in the recordings or is it the interconnect causing the distortion.. there is a alison krauss song playing and it sounds awesome.. than a gas light anthem song comes on and i hear really hear this distortion this recording

maybe someoen with a really revealing sett up can listen to this song and see if they hear the distoriton.. it sounds very clean on my other interconnects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oST77VRHXt0

Hello again Danny.

Here's what I'm thinking. First off, a You-Tube video will have distortion when it is highly compressed. Secondly, the AQKC is more revealing than your other cables. Thirdly, you are streaming off of Wi-Fi, so if the signal is low, added distortion may become even more present. Add all 3 in together and whalla. You have audible distortion.

To correct this as best you can with what you have (without breaking the bank) is to add in an Ethernet cable if possible. For now, run with the lower end cables so that the AQ KC does not reveal any issues. Then choose recordings that are of the best quality that you can find. Perhaps look into subscribing to Tidal or another HQ streaming provider.

Once you get good recordings and are not streaming You-Tube bad recordings, then reintroduce the AQ KC. Getting hooked up to an Ethernet cable to the Sonos should help your signal as well.

FYI, it's not your KC causing the distortion, it's just revealing it. Improve upon the things you can, then go back to it.

If you have a CDP handy, go ahead and connect it. Do you still hear the distortion? Chances are looking very good that you will not.

Keep us in the loop and again, Happy 4th!

Tom

dannylightning

mikeyb128 wrote: »

This is interesting^^^ I had king cobras and I wouldn't describe them as bright and edgy at all. Audioquest in general I have never found bright or edgy. If anything I call them "polite" due to having rolled off highs, and generally I find them easy to listen to on most material. I even have some of their PSS cables, and never found them bright either.

i have heard allot of people say audio quest cables are generally bright.. and i have heard allot of others say the opposite. i seem to prefer a warm to dark sound and some recordings are on the warmer or darker side.. some recordings are on the brighter side. most alison krauss albums the instruments sound kind of dark, joshua radin albums sounds pretty balanced. but if i put on something like green days album warning, the highs can be a bit bright and harsh sounding

mikeyb128

Great advice! Somehow missed the you tube part. Definitely ditch the you tube and try a free month of tidal. It has almost everything you need to listen to and more.

dannylightning

i don't actually listen to videos on youtube on my stereo. i steam flack files from a hard drive hooked to the wireless router.

i rent a room and the only Ethernet connection is in the back bedroom of the house and my room is on the other end.. its not possible for me to run a wired connection unfortunately.

i remember my CD's sounding exactly the same as the sonos, i can try it again but i think my CD's are burried in the basement.. i got a chest down there i keep for storage and someone stacked all kind of crap on top of it. i do have one CD in my car that would probably be a good test..

treitz3

PM sent DL.

Tom

dannylightning

ok. i have the cd player and the sonos going at the same time. i cant really hear a difference. takes me about 2 seconds to pull the RCA's out of one source and plug in the other

they sound the same.. i am having a hard time hearing any difference at all same amount of distortion..

deronb1

I still think its a cable/speaker match issue. I have new 703s and have tweaked this and that. I switched from B&Ws that i have grown used to the past 5 years. Different speakers. I can say that vocals on the whole with the Polks sound a bit more compressed or restricted, or whatever, but i love the overall presentstion of the speaker. Lively, yet seductive. They don't have the bloom of the B&Ws, but that phenomenon happens intermittently. I wish i could mate the two and make the perfect baby.

Not sure if this rant has helped (as im on my third Hop Stupid) but i think we have similar issues.

dannylightning

i think i have a problem.. i nit pick everything when i listen to music.. maybe i am being crazy. so i have tried 4 different CD's now to see if can hear any difference between the sonos and the CD and i cant seem to hear one.

i am now listening to one of my favorite CD's and i cant hear a difference. i figured this would be a good time to A B the evergreen vs the king cobra since both sources sound exact the same to me.. this is a album that does not suffer from the distortion problem this is not a super high quality recording.. just a rock and roll record that sounds good.

so input 1, am not sure which callable this is or if its the sonos or the cd player. the guitar sounds a little warmer and slightly bigger the vocals are slightly receded (not quite as loud) but they sound slightly fuller and deeper, there seems to be more distortion with this cable. the cymbals and the bass sound about the same as the other cable.

input 2 the guitar is not quite as warm but sounds slightly smoother with slightly less distortion., snare drum sounds slightly more natural the vocals sound slightly more natural but not quite as good. but over all this cable sounds a little cleaners and smoother.

the difference are actually quite subtle between the 2 cables but they are there. so looking at the cables now.. the king cobra sounds warmer in the mids but seems to have more distortion and its not quite as smooth sounding over all..

now i will switch which source has what cable. and test again, this time the king cobra will be on the opposite source but same input on the receiver..

im not going to state all the difference again.. but i hear about the same thing.. the king cobra is warmer and a little fuller sounding with a little wider sound stage but has more distortion..

the ever green is not quite as warm in the mids but sounds cleaner

lightman1

dannylightning wrote: »

but if i put on something like green days album warning, the highs can be a bit bright and harsh sounding

Thus the recording......
DernyL.....(this is your name from here on out) it's harsh. Great music. Bad recording.