Does your system produce a real kickdrum sound?

[Native_bon]

Am asking this question cause many systems have lost the ability to produce the body & weight of a real kick drum. May be we have to bulit different systems for different music styles. Can a system really do it all, or do we have to spend six figure amounts to get the right performance.

Pls disscuss.

 

[the record spot]

All depends on how well you've picked the gear to do the job you want it to do. Also depends on the recordings you listen to; if they've not managed to capture the sound in the right way, doesn't matter if you've got a £1 or a £10,000 system, it'll sound poor.

And you don't need to spend megabucks to get great sound either. Far from it.

 

[Thaiman]

My system can produce Kick drum no problem and with the placement. The kick drum sound coming from the lowest point of soundstage, not always in the centre depending on recording.

 

[Native_bon]

Ok i see. But i have got a music recording studio, & been to so many recording studio were live drums are played, but i dnt think most systems sound like the real thing. It may be the case most recordings do not capture the sound of a kickdrum?

 

[Electro]

If I had to pick one thing amongst the many things my system does very well it is reproduce kick drum .

I regularly go to live music gigs and my nephew plays drums in a small band , he is also training to be a recording engineer so I have plenty of exposure to the real thing .

There are very few systems that I have heard that can reproduce that deep pressure wave that a kick drum produces even when struck lightly and still sound like a real drum that you feel as well as hear !

IMO you need speakers with a large bass driver 10" plus and an amp with a high current output, or one of the larger transmission line type speakers such as PMC and a high current amp that is preferably DC coupled , and of course a good uncompressed recording

 

[CJSF]

Ok i see. But i have got a music recording studio, & been to so many recording studio were live drums are played, but i dnt think most systems sound like the real thing. It may be the case most recordings do not capture the sound of a kickdrum?

I think thats more to the point on modern recordings, a kick drum is almost an incidental in modern sound reality terms IMHO. . . ? I use an old Sandy Nelson recording for my 'drum reality', Church organ recording for ambiance and low frequencies, female vocal (usualy Jennifer Warnes and Carol Kidd) as a general pointer . . . all the rest seems to drop into place from there.

However, its still my own percepion at the end of the day . . . do I like it that way?

CJSF

 

[Native_bon]

Many a systems IMHO do not do kickdrums well. This may be due to a lot of compressed recordings or the madness to made accurate sounding HIFI or both. Even when listening to a live band, in this case i mean without ampification, u would not hear the very last detail of say the bass player like most systems like to emphasize now adays. Hence the question can a system do it all.

Playing for exmaple double bass on its own you may pick up a lot of detail, but when panio, gituar & other instruments start playing its impossible to hear a very clear detail as a whole of each instrument. May be in the future we can look forward to affordable systems that can do it all. For now i think its still very mechanical sounding..

 

[paradiziac]

Probably, if you're fussy, you need to spend quite a lot or choose very wisely on the used market...

Regarding kick drums, almost the only recordings I have where they sound realistic are live--I think they are mixed down/out of many studio albums. I wouldn't say my system produces a realistic kick drum, but to me it's acceptable, if it were truely realistic I would have to go and listen to my hifi from the garden!

 

[paradiziac]

I agree with Electro about needing a good sized speaker or transmission line and many modern speakers are a) too bright and b) don't have enough weight/body

For now i think its still very mechanical sounding..

What's your source, turntable or CD/DAC?

IMHO, it's a problem of the digital source as well, a lot of modern DACs have lots of detail, but they don't produce exactly the right tone/timbre and don't sound fluid.

 

[MattSPL]

You need to move a lot of air to reproduce a kick drum properly. I think half of the problem is that most of todays room/wife friendly loudspeakers are too small and use small bass drivers.

 

[Electro]

I guess if you listen to mostly pop , rock and most mainstream recordings then the bass and drums have been totally emasculated or distorted so there is little or no chance of hearing a kick drum properly from that type of recording anyway,

Jazz and classical recording are usually far better though .

Try and find some recordings made by drummers / percussionists they are usually very good recording generally and they make sure that the drums can be heard properly

Two that spring to mind are , Manu Katche and Chad Wackerman .

 

[Native_bon]

Oh my system sounds great to me. I got Cambridge audio 840c source. AVR600 amp, with Sonus Faber flooring stand speakers. But it seems to me the problem is with most digital sources. Cause been to the shops to upgrage my source & some of the systems just sound so bad, making me think again i may not need to improve on mine.

 

[MattSPL]

Try some Kodo drummers music. This is real drums and dynamics at their best(on cd anyway).
Just be careful with the volume control as some of the bass drum hits could tear a speaker apart.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Am asking this question cause many systems have lost the ability to produce the body & weight of a real kick drum. May be we have to bulit different systems for different music styles. Can a system really do it all, or do we have to spend six figure amounts to get the right performance.

Pls disscuss.

Hi Native_bon

No, i don't believe six figure amounts need to be spent. I use ATC SCM100ASL Pro monitors, C6-SCM0.1/15, SCA2 and Chord Electronics QBD76. This system is more than capable of reproducing the body and weight of a kick drum

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[relocated]

Listen to AVI ADM 9T speakers. [other actives are available from other manufacturers]

They are active speakers, the type that studios use to master your music. Because they have a very clear delivery to good depth you can definitely hear bass and drum detail, no problem.

I played WHO Live at Leeds yesterday and the Moon and Entwistle detail comes over a treat.

:cheer:

 

[John Duncan]

Apparently the fundamental of a kick drum can go down to about 30Hz, which is way lower than most standmounts or floorstanders can reproduce at full power. You need a sub :-D

 

[Native_bon]

Well my system does do kickdrum very well, but wanted to add a little more air at the top. From this topic it seems many systems miss out on producing that bottom end sound. It was only when i got to so called reputable Hifi shops, that i decided my Hifi was doing a good job...

What some of those hifi shops play you should be regarded as sinful.. Its just so dreadful..

 

[Big Chris]

You guys should listen to metal. It's all about the kick in metal, the kick and snare being mixed as forward as the vocals on many albums.

I agree a sub is the best way of achieving that meaty thud. The one thing adding my PV1 to my stereo set up did was make a kick sound - and feel - like a kick.

 

[Anonymous]

You need to move a lot of air to reproduce a kick drum properly. I think half of the problem is that most of todays room/wife friendly loudspeakers are too small and use small bass drivers.

I agree i think only way you can hear a kickdrum really well i on a well power pair of big speakers, like some big Focals, possibly on a decent sub but i dont like using them for music as i think it can ruin it, unless you have the levels set perfect which is extremily difficult.

 

[fr0g]

In answer to the original post. Yes. ADMS and a BK sub. No problem. The question is, how many shtty modern recordings actually contain the sound of a kick-drum?

 

[Mr Steve]

Do you think a sub going down to 1Hz (rolling of at a top end of 30Hz) will satisfy

Was a bit mind boggled to run across this recently - Eminent Technology TRW-17 (http://www.eminent-tech.com/main.html)

 

[Electro]

Well my system does do kickdrum very well, but wanted to add a little more air at the top. From this topic it seems many systems miss out on producing that bottom end sound. It was only when i got to so called reputable Hifi shops, that i decided my Hifi was doing a good job...

What some of those hifi shops play you should be regarded as sinful.. Its just so dreadful..

I agree , I have heard some very expensive systems that don't come close to producing good realistic sounding bass, sure they go loud and deep but it is just a lump of unidentifiable low frequency sound , it is impossible to hear the textures or rhythms and difference in pitch at all .

 

[Thaiman]

In answer to the original post. Yes. ADMS and a BK sub. No problem. The question is, how many shtty modern recordings actually contain the sound of a kick-drum?

:O

Plenty...absolutely plenty

 

[MattSPL]

Those Rotary subs are serious kit. They use 6 of them at the Niagra falls visitor centre to recreate the sound and feel of the waterfall.

They cost about $20,000 each though including installation.

 

[relocated]

Well my system does do kickdrum very well, but wanted to add a little more air at the top. From this topic it seems many systems miss out on producing that bottom end sound. It was only when i got to so called reputable Hifi shops, that i decided my Hifi was doing a good job...

What some of those hifi shops play you should be regarded as sinful.. Its just so dreadful..

So what is it that you run that produces kickdrum 'really well' but is obviously not making you entirely happy. I'm not really clear where you want this to go?????????????

Believe me an AVI ADM 9T pair with a [variety of] sub will reveal bass and drums if they are in the mix.