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Revealing Chorus IIs, eye opening actually.

Schmidlapper

Schmidlapper

Super Member
I have owned these since new. They were rebuilt about six years ago, Crites crossover boards, Ti tweeter diaphragms, and phenolic mid diaphragms. I also added some cross bracing, and plumbers putty rope dampening to the outside of all the horns. They now sit in a well treated listening room.

I was listening to Pretty Reckless, Who You Selling For, The Walls are Closing In/Hangman on Qobuz HD at about 83dB level and heard some mid tone distortion in the right channel at around the 28 second to 49 second area. Repeatable. So I listened on a different system in another room through JBL L19s and didn’t hear it. Thinking the worst I took out the mid horn and removed and reinstalled the diaphragm, checking everything was in order. Re listened and heard it again. Removed the tweeter horns and reinstalled the original phenolic diaphragms. Distortion was still there, so gave up and tried to not think about it.

Next day listening to Steve Miller Band, Children of the Future, In my Second Mind also Qobuz HD, from 1.24 to 1.48 seconds I can hear mild distortion in the right channel again. Now I'm pissed, all the hard work and money put into these speakers and they distort. So I think to myself, I should try swapping the channels and verify the issue is actually the right speaker. Well the distortion is now in the left channel instead.

At this point I think the distortion is actually in the recording. Both white and pink noise sound and measure equally well in both speakers at both equal and louder settings.

Anyone want to check those two tracks for me?

Bill
 
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Schmidlapper said:
The headphone suggestion is a great idea.
Click to expand...

I have to give Dennis Had the credit. :)
I bought a new set KT88 amp from him and a new pair of Omega 3i speakers at the same time.
Playing a very familiar recording I heard distortion never noticed before, of course I immediately assumed something was wrong with my new amp (or speakers).
Dennis suggested listening to the recording with headphones in a different system, even with my inexpensive old Sennheiser's the distortion (in the recording) was clearly audible.
 
Schmidlapper said:
Yes, I swapped the channels, leaving the speakers alone.
Click to expand...

I was pretty sure you didn't physically move the speakers. ;)

Schmidlapper said:
So I think to myself, I should try swapping the channels and verify the issue is actually the right speaker. Well the distortion is now in the left channel instead.
Click to expand...

This sentence confused me because the left channel is now connected to the right speaker.
 
Touche! I didn't maintain my own channel and speaker distinctions.

Did the test and....... funny story, I did the headphone test and didn't hear the distortion. I quickly realized that I had the headphones on backwards, and swapped them so right cup was over right ear and listened again. This time the distortion was plainly there in the sections I had noted. It seems I've also proven I hear better with my right ear.

Bill
 
Out of curiosity I looked up the two tracks I referenced above in the DR loudness compression database, The scale is 00 to 14+, with anything 08 and lower considered heavily compressed (red). While from 12 and higher is considered good (green).

The Pretty Reckless track scored at 06
The Steve Miller Band track scored at 06

Another example the currently available streaming 24/94 version of The Moody Blues, To Our Children's Children's Children, track 1 is quite noticeably distorted in places and it scored at 05.
 
Makes me wonder whether heavy compression can cause audible distortion. I guess technically compression is distortion, so does it cause or exasperate harsh clipping type distortion? As my few examples here would suggest.
 
I've learned to ignore most of that stuff..... but what DOES catch my ear is a faint sound that is so faint it's almost ghost like.

Example: Toto: Africa

Beginning of song (and I'm not listening to it now so my description might be incorrect)

Anyway, at the beginning of the song is a drum-beat. As I recall, on the 5th or 6th beat, you can hear someone (I think it's left channel) that makes some kind of noise. Was it a throat clear, a cough, a laugh.... I don't recall. It's one of those things that I THOUGHT I heard it and had to repeat several times to ascertain that I did in fact hear it.

Same thing happened on a Thelonious Monk CD..... (preface that I live out in the country on dead end road....if someone is out here they are either up to no good or lost)

I'm at home alone one night, have this Monk CD on. I suddenly hear very faint voices outside. My senses immediately shoot up. House lights were out and someone was outside sneaking around.

Knowing the lay of the land, layout of the house, I quietly work my way over to the door.... I hit all the outdoor lights and go outside. Someone would have been temporarily blinded by this....

I hear crickets and frogs.

WTF???? My adrenilyn is pumping, I'm ready to fight or flight.....and since I can't flee, I'm ready to rumble.... I'm pumped.....and all I hear are stupid frogs and crickets laughing at me???

Getting suspicous, I go back inside, replay the CD and it was on the disk. Someone in that sound room, probably on the other side of the room, was whispering to someone else and it got picked up on the mic, causing me years later to rush outside to fight with the crickets and frogs.

sigh...
 
That is too funny! I love the story because I have experienced the same. Glad the OP got his distortion issue resolved.
 
Glad to hear that your problem is solved, and you can still hear very well, lol.

Do you have a link th the DR loudness compression database?
 
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