I was browsing through another forum when I came across a mention of "critical listening". From the context, I though that that is not what I mean by "critical listening. So, I ask what to you mean when you say that you are engaged in "critical listening"? (So as to not color the responses, I will give my definition later.)
Bob
Bob
A really good article on "Critical Listening" is found here:
Evaluation of recordings
This is what I think of when I hear the term.
Evaluation of recordings
This is what I think of when I hear the term.
It depends on the context. It can mean the performance of the musicians but I guess on a forum such as this we are talking about critical listening to the behaviour of the speakers. In my case, that would involve a range of material (not all music and some of it recorded by me) and a way of quickly making comparisons between two designs.
It will be interesting to read how others interpret the phrase.
It will be interesting to read how others interpret the phrase.
I use several reference tracks that I know very well and these excercise the various characteristics of a speaker I look for: mid range clarity, sibillance, percussive detail and resolution of sparkle and "air", bass extension, bass tightness of group delay, overall balance and whether or not there is shout, ability to handle complex congested passages often only heard in large symphonic pieces, finally imaging and spatial coherence. What I have found is that if a speaker measures well, it will sound good. There may be speakers that measure poorly but still sound good with certain genres. But if a speaker measures flat, has clean impulse response, low harnonic distortion (2nd through 5th) - it will sound good when you listen to it for all genres.
Having said all that, measurements cannot tell you the "WOW" factor and you know it when you hear a great speaker in the first 20 seconds with a test track you know well. I have experienced this only a few times where you know the speaker is special and the sound is magical.
The synergy style point source horns with a good bass horn sub do this for me. The reduced spray of sound from the walls resulting from the controlled directivity really makes a huge difference. A synergy sounds great with all genres and a good speaker makes you want to keep listening and rediscover your music collection.
Favorite test tracks:
Anne Bisson - September in Montreal and Soothing your Soul
SRV - Tin Pan Alley
Diana Krall - Narrow Daylight
Fiona Apple - The First Taste
Rebecca Pidgeon - Spanish Harlem
Dire Straits - Telegraph Road and Private Investigations
Carl Von Dittersdorf- Concerto for Double Bass and Symphony in E major
Bach - Double Violin Concerto in D minor
Fourplay - Bali Run
Robert Cray - Foul Play
Buddy Guy - Five Long Years
Dave Brubeck - In Their Own Sweet Way
Having said all that, measurements cannot tell you the "WOW" factor and you know it when you hear a great speaker in the first 20 seconds with a test track you know well. I have experienced this only a few times where you know the speaker is special and the sound is magical.
The synergy style point source horns with a good bass horn sub do this for me. The reduced spray of sound from the walls resulting from the controlled directivity really makes a huge difference. A synergy sounds great with all genres and a good speaker makes you want to keep listening and rediscover your music collection.
Favorite test tracks:
Anne Bisson - September in Montreal and Soothing your Soul
SRV - Tin Pan Alley
Diana Krall - Narrow Daylight
Fiona Apple - The First Taste
Rebecca Pidgeon - Spanish Harlem
Dire Straits - Telegraph Road and Private Investigations
Carl Von Dittersdorf- Concerto for Double Bass and Symphony in E major
Bach - Double Violin Concerto in D minor
Fourplay - Bali Run
Robert Cray - Foul Play
Buddy Guy - Five Long Years
Dave Brubeck - In Their Own Sweet Way
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For me critical listening means focusing on the technical aspects of the sound reproduction. For a recording engineer it might mean focusing on technical aspects of the production and mixing, for a musician or conductor it might mean focusing on details of the performance. But it always means picking the sound apart instead of enjoying the music as a whole.
Sometimes these aspects stick out so badly that you can't help but be critical of them, but mostly critical listening is a frame of mind that you deliberately enter with the aim of identifying technical problems so you can fix them.
Sometimes these aspects stick out so badly that you can't help but be critical of them, but mostly critical listening is a frame of mind that you deliberately enter with the aim of identifying technical problems so you can fix them.
Listening with the intent to come to some sort of conclusion/understanding with regard to what is being heard.
Usually listening carefully to something I've just done and wondering why it sounds worse than before.. 
In general evaluating the subjective aspect of equipment performance after a single change I have made that in theory and/or measurement should yield an expected improvement to see whether or not in fact it does. The usual outcome is being confounded when it doesn't or I don't like the end result. (Most of the time)
In general evaluating the subjective aspect of equipment performance after a single change I have made that in theory and/or measurement should yield an expected improvement to see whether or not in fact it does. The usual outcome is being confounded when it doesn't or I don't like the end result. (Most of the time)
its like - why does it sound so bad? is that a digital glare or do strings really sound that terrible and monotonic? what was good and bad with analog ? Where are the highs? - why does that commercial release sound so much worse and dead than a careful dub of a 78 like those of F. Reeder at Archive.org? do l like harmonic distortion? when did cutting lathe amps get clean enough not to significantly color the bass? are op-amp chips truly transparent? - why did I never like them in RIAA stages? why are they deemed transparent in the digital age? would I be better off with single ended everything or would that make matters worse? are active regulators necessary for class A single ended tube preamps? Is the room temperature affecting the tone? did the 1960's have cliches which reeked really bad? on and on. I can stand my Klipschorns less than a minute and have to shut them off. LOL
Well, it all depends on your angle.
I sometimes mix for local bands, so my critical listening is aimed at the overall balance between instruments, what meshes well and what doesn't, transients and their effect on the particular song, and so on...
Then, when I am sitting on my couch, and I am enjoying tracks I know very well, I listen carefully at passages that appeal to me and smile... when I listen to new tracks, I like to pick out what sounds good and what doesn't.... and maybe I'll find another favorite track to add to my collection of "feel-good" songs.
Finally, when I finish building a new DIY enclosure (or it may be a commercial offering), using tracks I already know well, I try to find strengths and weaknesses of the new build . Where does it shine? Where does it fall short?
In all things, it is possible to find good and not so good points... but then again, it is also very personal... just like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder... sound is in the ears of the beholder.
I sometimes mix for local bands, so my critical listening is aimed at the overall balance between instruments, what meshes well and what doesn't, transients and their effect on the particular song, and so on...
Then, when I am sitting on my couch, and I am enjoying tracks I know very well, I listen carefully at passages that appeal to me and smile... when I listen to new tracks, I like to pick out what sounds good and what doesn't.... and maybe I'll find another favorite track to add to my collection of "feel-good" songs.
Finally, when I finish building a new DIY enclosure (or it may be a commercial offering), using tracks I already know well, I try to find strengths and weaknesses of the new build . Where does it shine? Where does it fall short?
In all things, it is possible to find good and not so good points... but then again, it is also very personal... just like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder... sound is in the ears of the beholder.
Hello Bob.
My version of critical listening is listening for/identifying sounds/products that do not belong.
This includes errors of omission.
System induced products/omissions may detract, or indeed enhance the relaxed/casual listening experience,
When evaluating for accuracy and realism, by definition any deviations subjectively identified count as fails.
I'm interested to read your version.
Dan.
For me "critical" listening is about emotional response to the performance - for example, there's a currently popular male vocalist named Michael Buble - certainly a talented enough vocalist, but having seen him in broadcasts and heard his recordings on fairly resolving systems, I can't help but sense above all a cynical contrivance in his performances. When that lack of emotional "integrity" becomes apparent, I start to analyze what I'm hearing, rather that be absorbed by what I'd like to be feeling.
OTOH, someone like Eva Cassidy, the Wailin' Jennys, or Harry Manx, the latter two whom I've seen live at least twice each, never cease to give me an ear to ear smile and even goosebumps - even on my lousy pickup truck stereo
OTOH, someone like Eva Cassidy, the Wailin' Jennys, or Harry Manx, the latter two whom I've seen live at least twice each, never cease to give me an ear to ear smile and even goosebumps - even on my lousy pickup truck stereo
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