The CD or the System? (cluttered sound)

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Hi,I have recently bought the following:Marantz MP6004Marantz CD6004Monitor Audio BX2 SpeakersVanDamme 2.5mm LC-OFC speaker cableAtlas Equator 3 Inter connectMark Grant power cablesAll were bought after literally months of research in the internet. I also didn’t want artificially skewed sound with things like silver plated speaker cables etc.Anyway to the point…30% of CDs sound spectacular50% of CDs sound very good.But 20% sound muddled. It’s like the vocals an instruments clash a bit, the sounds are not defined.Is this due to a part of my system, or are quite a lot of CDs not actually that well produced/recorded?I feel I maybe cheeped out on the speakers, as was originally going to but KEF Q300s. I did listen to them beforehand (admittedly for only a few minutes) and there seemed very little in it between the two so I went for the £250 rather than £450 ones.Thanks for any advice.

Hi,
I have recently bought the following:

Marantz MP6004

Marantz CD6004

Monitor Audio BX2 Speakers

VanDamme 2.5mm LC-OFC speaker cable

Atlas Equator 3 Inter connect

Mark Grant power cables

All were bought after literally months of research in the internet. I also didn’t want artificially skewed sound with things like silver plated speaker cables etc.

Anyway to the point…

30% of CDs sound spectacular

50% of CDs sound very good.

But 20% sound muddled. It’s like the vocals an instruments clash a bit, the sounds are not defined and seperated. Usually its when there is a lot going on in the track, anything thats just vocals or guitar for example always sounds spectacular.

Is this due to a part of my system, or are quite a lot of CDs not actually that well produced/recorded?

I feel I maybe cheeped out on the speakers, as was originally going to but KEF Q300s. I did listen to them beforehand (admittedly for only a few minutes) and there seemed very little in it between the two so I went for the £250 rather than £450 ones.

Thanks for any advice.
 
You have expressed what i wanted/tried to say,and i'm positive it's the cd's...
 
GSB - I'm in two minds, but if I had to guess I'd also say its the production at fault.The room is quite big (for a 3 bed house), wooden floors and beams up top.The speaker position is pretty much perfect. Symetrical and central in the room.The stands are Nexus and filled with the 'speacial' synthetic sand stuff.Thanks for the rep

Thanks for the replies.

The room is quite big (for a 3 bed house), wooden floors and beams up top.

The speaker position is pretty much perfect. Symetrical and central in the room.

The stands are Nexus and filled with the 'speacial' synthetic sand stuff.

GSB - I'm in two minds, but if I had to guess I'd also say its the production at fault.
 
Pedro - I will try find some common examples (it might be tomorrow now)

One from earlier today was a Killers CD. As soon as the track got complex it clashed.

In contrast a CD that I thought would have sounded poor, but sounded superb was the Jackie Brown Soundtrack. Thats full of tracks that were recorded decades ago as well, just to complicate things.
 
Sounds like the recordings to me. The Killers CDs are pretty ropey sounding on the whole and there are plenty of other discs out there that just don't sound that good.
 
I have the 6003 combo with MA BX 2 speakers for more than a year now.

But I have to say after swapping my BX2 with my dad's old Mission M51 (bought new in 2004 for about £300) and I've noticed my Marantz has become quite a different animal.

A quick comparison with tracks like Katie Melua's "A moment of Madness" and "Red Ballons" in The House Album.

The sound coming out from my Mission is so much more alive compare with the BX2. The bass is a lot more dynamic and puchier and overall, a much better performer than the BX2.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/CZsfl/DSC00020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/CZsfl/DSC00621.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/CZsfl/DSC00624.jpg

P.S. Having said that, after today's visit to Hughes in Norwich and bumped into a gentleman who was auditioning the BX2 hooked up to a Denon ( I gues it may be the DF107DAB), I was just blown away but its sound quality.
 
Yep, the CDs.

One of the annoying things about good systems is that you start to realize how badly recorded some CDs are. It's even worse when it's music that you really like.
 
I have the same sut up as you cd6004 pm 6004 and bx2s have had the system for about two months now the only thing i have noticed when i play cds and push the source direct button its sounds awfull really tinny and no base, so idont use it sounds better when i adjust the base treble myself or use the loudness button do you have this problem

martin..
 
martin38 said:
when i play cds and push the source direct button its sounds awfull really tinny and no base
Click to expand...

...and therein lies the truth 🙂
 
Thanks for all the replies so far.

After a bit more listening my percentages were wrong. Its a fair amount of CD that sound cluttered when busy.

Pulp, The Heavy, Stevie Wonder, King of Leon, Oasis, Radiohead and the list of big names goes on.

Some that sound really good..

Lana Del Ray, The Pixies, Guns and Roses, Paloma Faith, the majority Tiesto type music and a lot of rap musuc is bizzarly good like kanye west etc

Does it still sound like the CDs, or a weak point in my system?
 
Why not buy a Test CD and find out if your system is good enough to reproduce the music being recorded.

Opus 3 produces quite a number of good Test CDs and there is a small booklet in the jewelly box explanining what you should look for during music playback.

http://www.opus3records.com/cd_samp.html

I got quite a number of them 🙂
 
To the original poster I have exactly the same problem......

I have a PM6004' CD6004' BX2 and chord silver carnival and crimson plus cables, some CDs sound terrible some sound fantastic! I guess it's down to the recordings.

Great sounding ones include

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

Massive attack. - mezzanine

However stuff like Kasabian, Linkin Park, oasis sound terrible, it's as though everything is muddled and it actually sounds painful to listen too!
 
I have £1200 spendors and the Killers still sounds muddled. Wouldnt be too disappointed if so many of your collection sound good.

Just beware you are beginning a journey that will bring expense and future disappointment no matter what equipment you buy.
 
I have £1200 spendors and the Killers still sounds muddled. Wouldnt be too disappointed if so many of your collection sound good.

Just beware you are beginning a journey that will bring expense and future disappointment no matter what equipment you buy.
 
I had a similar problem for several years.

Some CD’s and some specific tracks I avoided as I knew they would become fatiguing destroying my listening enjoyment. I too thought that it was some CD’s and put up with it for years as CD’s that sounded good sounded great.

I then about 18 months ago started changing various components including pre-amp, speakers, interconnects and speaker cable.

It cost a bit but I now have a system that I can put on almost any CD and listen all day with no fatigue. A lot of top end sparkle has gone but with the added bonus of more midrange and lower detail. Personal opinion and from my experience some kit is designed, intentionally or otherwise, to be a bit more forward or is skewed in some other way to try to get more detail. This can have the effect of muddling the sound.

Might be worth going to your local Hi-Fi store and demoing some ‘warmer’ sounding kit to see if the same tracks are as muddled.

It could just be that some of these CD’s are poorly mastered.

Nolaj56, what electrics are you using? CD player/amps?
 
Although there is an argument that if even one CD sounds good then the system must be basically sound, it is an unfortunate irony in my experience that the better the system, the better the less good recordings sound.

If I were choosing a new CD player today, I'd be taking AAD recordings from the 60's and dodgy remasterings, as well as one or two immaculately done modern recordings (say from Chesky, Linn or Naim). The best machines seems to clear away the fog and clutter, revealing new layers of detail, much like restoring an old faded master painting to its former glory. Modern recordings meanwhile sound good on everything!

To test this out, try one of your dodgy sounding discs at a show or dealership with a system much like your own, and then on one much more advanced. It isn't the speakers that make this type of difference, but the source.
 
nopiano said:
Although there is an argument that if even one CD sounds good then the system must be basically sound, it is an unfortunate irony in my experience that the better the system, the better the less good recordings sound.

If I were choosing a new CD player today, I'd be taking AAD recordings from the 60's and dodgy remasterings, as well as one or two immaculately done modern recordings (say from Chesky, Linn or Naim). The best machines seems to clear away the fog and clutter, revealing new layers of detail, much like restoring an old faded master painting to its former glory. Modern recordings meanwhile sound good on everything!

To test this out, try one of your dodgy sounding discs at a show or dealership with a system much like your own, and then on one much more advanced. It isn't the speakers that make this type of difference, but the source.
Click to expand...

Another viewpoint.......

From very fresh experience I have found changing the stands and interconnect have made startling changes to the clarity of all recordings I have tried over last day or 2, including some bad rock recordings. IN my case Old very heavy Apollo stands and Mark Grant RCA interconnect to some (unknown) open frame stands from 90's with speakers placed on carbon fibre risers (Stands unique) and back to my old Chord crimson interconnect!

Really a big difference and much more enjoyable. At higher volume is a different matter however. I think there has to be compromise, and finding where and fine tuning as best as possible.

I agree with other comment about top end sparkle in this respect as reducing sparkle makes easier listening, especially at higher volume, however at low volume the top end sparkle is more welcome as it is not so fatiguing to me at least.

Not settled on above but most definately in right direction and can see what is possible.
 
It sounds like you are another victim of , THE LOUDNESS WARS :shhh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ

http://turnmeup.org/
 
I agree with nopiano.

Poor recordings are more of a challenge and need a better system to sound good.

I wouldn't blame any single component, each one has a part to play including cables.

The key question you have to ask yourself is if you are ready to spend 80% more for 20% of recordings!
 
It is definitely the cd's.
The same problem for me.
It depends of the production and recording of the disks.

Many of old cd's are remastered from analogue tapes 🙁
 
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