Polk R700 Polarity & other issues
Comments
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I have used some EQ's back in the day, in the 80's and early 90's me and my buddies always used them. @pitdogg2 named a few of the usual suspects..but back then probably every piece of gear I had added its own touch of distortion, plus clarity and detail was something I was completely unaware of. I just wanted it loud and to go boom boom. Then yes, at some point using EQ and tone controls became blasphemy. But mostly because I found standalone EQ's to be more harm then good. I'm sure I wasn't using them properly but I also feel they did something negative to the signal. Just introducing an EQ into the line changed the tone and clarity, but they were probably cheapish junk too.
I definitely look at room correction a little differently, it is a great improvement. With that said I didn't always like how Dirac made the mids and highs sound. It does something that just doesn't sound right to me. Maybe I was doing something wrong, but it could take a little liveliness or presence away, slightly veiled. I felt Dirac was best when only
adjusting around like 500hz. That RME dac I have is frickin awesome when it comes to EQ. I've had it almost 2 years but didn't realize the full power of it until the last 12 months or so. I just wish it had a few more bands. I've wanted to try better or more boutique type dacs lately, like these newer R2R's, but I don't want to give up my little PEQ
settings. Always compromises in this "hobby".
@msg is spot on as far as my past experiences with tone controls..Too broad a spectrum, or never the frequency I needed adjusted, and then ultimately just **** everything up. Other than maybe taking some harshness off some tracks or adding a little bass with vinyl they were not very precise. That RME dac has 2 tone controls, but you can choose which frequency you want to be able to adjust, and you can slightly adjust the Q or width of that frequency. Still not perfect due to the limited Q on the tone controls but definitely a step up from
what I experienced back in the day. -
"changing what the sound engineer/artist intends"
I shake my head when I see that comment. Like the people saying it have a freaking clue what was intended.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
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You forgot to list the mastering specs:
Treble = 11
Bass = 11
Alternatively, with advanced 3-band graphic equalizer: max/zero/max smiley.
I disabled signatures. -
That made me laugh 🤣😂
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"changing what the sound engineer/artist intends"
I shake my head when I see that comment. Like the people saying it have a freaking clue what was intended.
Ironically it's not like artists have headphones with these 100% flat tunes, so even if you did strive to get the 'way the artist intended' a perfectly neutral response wouldn't be it most of the time.
Enjoy music how you like it, unless you like it from a Walmart Bluetooth speaker, then we have a problem. -
Enjoy music how you like it, unless you like it from a Walmart Bluetooth speaker, then we have a problem.
Or if your B O S E catches fire...____________________________________________________________
polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050 -
You forgot to list the mastering specs:
Treble = 11
Bass = 11
Alternatively, with advanced 3-band graphic equalizer: max/zero/max smiley.
I remember when I used to get rental cars for work and half the time the bass and treble adjustments would be turned all the way up by someone who drove the car before me. I was always compelled to put those tone controls back to neutral. As the manufacturer intended.
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I certainly don't know what the artists intend for us to hear, and it seems like recording engineers aren't all on the same page when it comes to mastering tracks or what frequency's they like to emphasize. I do honestly prefer a neutral or balanced sound, which "experts" have concluded that to achieve this involves a downward sloping response, a 10 to 12db difference between 20hz to 20khz. Which for speakers can be extremely hard to accomplish in real world-real room environments. Then add in the differences of how all recordings are a little different and I don't think we could ever reproduce exactly what ever it was that the artists or recording studio intended us to experience. I'm just speaking my opinions here, I have no idea what recording artists go thru or what their goal is when making a recording. Like are they doing it with high end 2 ch stereo's in mind?
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I certainly don't know what the artists intend for us to hear, and it seems like recording engineers aren't all on the same page when it comes to mastering tracks or what frequency's they like to emphasize. I do honestly prefer a neutral or balanced sound, which "experts" have concluded that to achieve this involves a downward sloping response, a 10 to 12db difference between 20hz to 20khz. Which for speakers can be extremely hard to accomplish in real world-real room environments. Then add in the differences of how all recordings are a little different and I don't think we could ever reproduce exactly what ever it was that the artists or recording studio intended us to experience. I'm just speaking my opinions here, I have no idea what recording artists go thru or what their goal is when making a recording. Like are they doing it with high end 2 ch stereo's in mind?
All I'll say is this, what you prefer is what should be your most important goal to audio. If you like a crap load of bass, go ahead, more power too you.
What the artist intends for you to hear is nearly impossible to know. You have to take into account the gear they're using, their hearing (this is different person to person), and what they have in mind. For instance Muse's Kill or be Killed might only sound as 'intended' to Matt Belamy (lead singer) but no one else simply because his hearing is different.
The ONLY way to experience what audiophiles like to consider is the 'way the artist intendes' is by accounting for their audio processing and amplification sound signature, their headphone/monitor sound signature, and hearing abilities. You'd literally have to change this from song to song.
Its, in my opinion, one of the dumbest things to say when you go "I want to hear it how the artist intended" because it's impossible when speaking if it from the traditional audiophile sense.
I will finally add that, having met some professional musicians who publish music, I've asked them this question because it always was interesting to me. The few rappers I met essentially said however people like it, but they like lots of bass in the songs, and the other musicians mentioned to me that they mix it to their preferences and that others should listen to it however they'd like. Mind you these are local artists, not big time ones.
