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Name: Travellin' Man
E-Mail:
Subject: In Eternal Pursuit Of The "Sweet Spot" For Max Joy
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2015
Time: 8:42:46 PM
Remote Address: 193.200.150.125
Message ID: 291147
Parent ID: 0
Thread ID: 291147
No I'm not referring to the "G" spot for "her" max joy, I'm focused on Concert Venues and stereo systems for that maximum pleasure of music listening.
Ever bought a concert ticket close to the stage but your seat was either left or right of the stage and you were really disappointed with the sound of the band that night? The band most likely was playing just fine that night, but you, my friend, were not positioned in the "Sweet Spot".
Ever listen to an album you heard was great from many sources but when you listened to it you were wondering what the hell was wrong with those people? Then years later you listened to the album and you thought it was fantastic, just like everybody had said it was?
That is likely because you first listened to the album "out" of the sweet spot and years later you heard it "In" the sweet spot.
(This happened to me with Exile On Main Street. I only liked 'Happy' and 'Tumbling Dice' the first time I listened to it. Fell in love with the whole album many years later. Exile needs plenty of Bass Or most of the songs can sound flat and tinny. That is my experience anyway. I first listened to the album on a cheap stereo with too much Treble and not enough Bass.)
Staying with stereo systems, and finding the sweet spot there. It is of course far easier to find the "Sweet Spot" (That perfect combination of Bass, Treble, Balance, and Volume to have you lost in music listening exctasy.) when the stereo is high end. There is more room for error. The Sweet Spot is bigger thus easier to find. Often just a new level of Volume does the trick if you are less than satisfied, but I have noticed even on my Big Stereo when it comes to bootleg CDs a slight addition of Bass from your normal settings can really bring that show home to the sweet spot or something close to it. Same with those old studio CDs in the 80s and early 90s, when CDs were in their infancy stage. Add a bit more Bass and it can make all the difference in your listening experience. I actually prefer stereos with Bass and Treble settings rather than equalizers. But if you have an equalizer you can find the Bass adjustments with a little experimentation. It's just easier to find definitive Bass if it is not an equalizer. Because the knob says, "BASS", and there is just one thing to move !!! HA
Portable stereos and car stereos are trickier regarding finding the sweet spot. (The biggest selling point for me buying my latest used car was the stereo is pretty high end with 4 BOSE speakers and an Alpine deck. A good size Sweet Spot with Big Stereo like Bass capabilities. Yet one must adjust if the windows are down. The more windows down the more Bass added in general. And you need to experiment a bit to get the sweetest of the sweet spots regarding FADE, the balance of console speakers to the rear speakers. Do Not assume the midpoint is the best place concerning FADE. Experiment.
Portable CD players do not need to be expensive to get expensive sound. You Do need to find one with Bass and Treble controls however. Stay away from the very cheapest little boom boxes which do not have even a tone control. (The permanent tone settings are normally set for FM radio Not the CD. FM radio needs a bit more Bass Than CDs so if you spin a CD with one of those dirt cheap boom boxes it will be too Bass heavy and you will not get to hear the wonderful highs of Rock And Roll. The CD music will sound muddy, which sucks.
Buy a portable CD player the next price level up from those 15 to 25 dollar dirt cheap models with no Tone controls. You CAN find the sweet spot with the ones with Bass and Treble controls. Remember to add a little Bass for the FM radio and decrease that Bass setting when spinning a CD. Experiment with your Bass and Treble settings enough to find the sweetest spot for playing your CDs. The Sweet Spot is there. It is just small and harder to find. I have proven this to people who thought their portable CD player was simply So So as far as sound. You find the Sweet Spot with a little patience and plenty of adjustments.
Finding the Sweet Spot at a concert venue is pretty simple if the price of your ticket is of no concern. Does that sound like you? Doesn't sound like me either. On the floor, center, 1 - 20 rows from the stage and you will definitely find the Sweet Spot for balanced, clear listening enjoyment, plus a great view. But the tickets, if you can find them, might be more than you are prepared to pay. What to do?
In an arena a good bet is to find out where the soundboard is set up. Remember those soundboard cats are adjusting the sound of the show to sound good there! Right where they are. So having seats near the soundboard is a good, and far less expensive option to rows 1-20. The soundboard is usually set up near the rear of the floor. Floor seats period are the way to go in an arena unless you know the Arena well and the tendencies for good sound in the seats. But getting those side seats near the stage, but off to the left or right, can really suck concerning the quality of sound. Normally the speakers are facing in the direction of the soundboard only. So if you are to the side of the stage you are hearing indirect sound waves which are likely to sound muddy or muffled. Plus you likely paid more than most for your ticket because of your close proximity to the band and the stage. Big money for poor sound and a good view makes no sense to me. Go for the Sweet Spot where the music sounds really good. Unless, of course, you are in love with a band member like Jiving Sister Jan.
Your thoughts are welcome. There are exceptions to many of these rules but I tried to cover the topic in general. Certainly stereos vary as do the acoustics of different concert venues.
Good luck finding your Sweet Spot!
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