Tori Amos and me...

Netlist · 6th May 2003, 08:10 PM

Test-driving my new born Mono AlephX High Power Amp,
I kept an eye on the scope while playing music.
I put the scope in XY configuration, connecting the A-channel to the +out and the B-channel to the -out.
The whole monoblock is biased high enough: 750mA with 0.47ohm source resistors. The source is a cd player directly connected to the input, non-balanced.
Power supply is +/- 24V
The output drives two 8ohm speakers in parallel.
I played different cd's till finally I took Tori Amos's StrangeLittleGirls from the shelf.
I could not believe my ears and my eyes!!
The volume was rather high compared with other cd’s. I know that the Tori Amos record is superb when talking dynamics, but I wonder what the cause of this behaviour could be.
Thinking that AlephX should be able to produce them accurately, knowing that my speakers
are not the best, but not bad at all and hoping that the cd is well recorded.
The speakers got mad, the scope too, had to dramatically reduce the volume, thinking the AlephX was about to blow!
I started measuring DC and all other kind of voltages, but everything was normal.
There's no way to take a picture from the scope because dynamics are too fast and I don't have a memory scope, but I made an approximated drawing of the distortion.
Is this just normal clipping, severe clipping, is there something I overlooked in building the amp, I wonder….
Did someone else experience such behaviour, Peter…others?

/Hugo – thinks Tori Amos is a naughty girl.

Taco · 6th May 2003, 08:54 PM

With the same CD my BOZ clipped like hell, because the volumepot is at the output. My DAC has a output near 2 Volt. So maby pass doesn't like Tori

.

till · 6th May 2003, 08:56 PM

Are they recorded superb?

I ask because i never understood the reason for this strange noise right at the beginning of Boys for Pele.

Excellent dynamiks? I just listen to Norrington / Berlioz symphonie fantastique .......

SY · 6th May 2003, 09:12 PM

Sounds like (bad pun) a classic case of compression, and up near the MSB to boot. Great for AM airplay, which is perfect for dull poseurs (poseuses?) like TA. Image is everything, and I don't mean soundstage.

rickpt · 6th May 2003, 09:19 PM

I agree with SY

The last Red Hot Chili Peppers album has a maximum dynamic range of 6 Db!!!!!!!!! You can clearly listen to distortion even on the TV set

Regards

Edwin Dorre · 6th May 2003, 09:22 PM

Quote:

I could not believe my ears and my eyes!!
The volume was rather high compared with other cd’s. I know that the Tori Amos record is superb when talking dynamics, but I wonder what the cause of this behaviour could be.
Thinking that AlephX should be able to produce them accurately, knowing that my speakers
are not the best, but not bad at all and hoping that the cd is well recorded.
The speakers got mad, the scope too, had to dramatically reduce the volume, thinking the AlephX was about to blow!
I started measuring DC and all other kind of voltages, but everything was normal.

I had the same with a Michael Jackson album. I was happily testing my Aleph 4 with one eye on the scope and one on the speakers and the Aleph. Suddenly with the first song I say massive clipping. I mean every bass line clipped. I jumped up the unplug everything in 1 second...

After looking and looking... and grabbing it with cooledit it seemed the CD clips..... brrr... bad Michael! He sure did scare the hell out of me!

Edwin

Netlist · 6th May 2003, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by till
Are they recorded superb?
I ask because i never understood the reason for this strange noise right at the beginning of Boys for Pele.
Excellent dynamiks? I just listen to Norrington / Berlioz symphonie fantastique .......

I'm not saying this cd is a superb recording, but it definitely has superb dynamics

Can you give us the label of the Norrington / Berlioz symphonie fantastique?

To Taco: Glad I'm not the only one. Still want to know what's the problem here. Maybe Nelson could explain something.

First track of the cd is just amazing.

I just tried another one: In Requiem on Yara from Rabih Abou-Khalil (Enja record ENJ-9360 2) http://www.enjarecords.com/c9360.htm
The amp (or my cd-player, or my speakers, or..or..) shows the same strange behaviour with the cello. But here the midrange suffers from heavy crackle. I could compare the sound with the sound of a speaker with a broken voice coil.

/Hugo

till · 6th May 2003, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Can you give us the label of the Norrington / Berlioz symphonie fantastique?

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASI...924418-8835723

Netlist · 6th May 2003, 09:33 PM

OK, I'll put Tori on Cooledit tomorrow and let you know.

If someone happens to have Rabih Abou-Khalil let me know how he performs. I will test him also with Cooledit.

Still, I'm not convinced that this is the reason for what I heard.

Thanks for the info, till

/Hugo

moe29 · 6th May 2003, 09:34 PM

SY - In what way is Tori Amos a POSER??? Maybe you should
think twice before slagging off on one of the most talented
musicians making music today. Or keep your opinion to yourself
(you don't here me saying a word about Mr. Jackson do you?)

Netlist - I refer to a lot of Tori's CD's as reference material when
evaluating equipment. I don't have Strange Little here to listen
to right now, but had not noticed anything strange about it in
the past.... It wouldn't happen to be a BMG disc or something
like that would it?

Pics of the Aleph-X????!!!

6th May 2003, 09:12 PM	#4
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	Sounds like (bad pun) a classic case of compression, and up near the MSB to boot. Great for AM airplay, which is perfect for dull poseurs (poseuses?) like TA. Image is everything, and I don't mean soundstage. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

6th May 2003, 09:19 PM	#5
rickpt diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: portugal	I agree with SY The last Red Hot Chili Peppers album has a maximum dynamic range of 6 Db!!!!!!!!! You can clearly listen to distortion even on the TV set Regards __________________ NE5534 Rules!

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6th May 2003, 08:54 PM	#2
Taco diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Place in the Netherlands	With the same CD my BOZ clipped like hell, because the volumepot is at the output. My DAC has a output near 2 Volt. So maby pass doesn't like Tori .

6th May 2003, 08:56 PM	#3
till Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Germany, Clausthal	Are they recorded superb? I ask because i never understood the reason for this strange noise right at the beginning of Boys for Pele. Excellent dynamiks? I just listen to Norrington / Berlioz symphonie fantastique .......

6th May 2003, 09:33 PM	#9
Netlist diyAudio Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2003	OK, I'll put Tori on Cooledit tomorrow and let you know. If someone happens to have Rabih Abou-Khalil let me know how he performs. I will test him also with Cooledit. Still, I'm not convinced that this is the reason for what I heard. Thanks for the info, till /Hugo

6th May 2003, 09:34 PM	#10
moe29 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Florida	SY - In what way is Tori Amos a POSER??? Maybe you should think twice before slagging off on one of the most talented musicians making music today. Or keep your opinion to yourself (you don't here me saying a word about Mr. Jackson do you?) Netlist - I refer to a lot of Tori's CD's as reference material when evaluating equipment. I don't have Strange Little here to listen to right now, but had not noticed anything strange about it in the past.... It wouldn't happen to be a BMG disc or something like that would it? Pics of the Aleph-X????!!!