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  1. #1
    Suspended topspeed's Avatar
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    Pink Floyd DSOTM SACD question

    I just picked this up and noticed there's a very distinct distortion, especially noticeable in the opening sequence with the heart beat. It's like someone hung a piece of paper mache over the port so there's a rustling sound at each beat. I know this was recorded in the '70's, but I was really expecting the remastered DSD transfer to eliminate most of the static.

    Is it just my copy or do they all sound like this? I hope it's just mine and I can exchange it because outside of this annoyance, I must admit this is easily one of the best multi-channel mixes I've heard. Doug Sax put some serious thought into the panning of the effects. Truly a fabulous update to a legendary album.

    BTW, I put on a few other SACD's and RBCD and none exhibited the noise. It's definitely software related.

  2. #2
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Checked it out once at normal listening levels and found nothing. Checked it out again at obscene levels and heard nothing more than a bit of speaker hiss from my rears--what one would expect at 100 dbs, or so. In fairness, I don't really have ports on which to hang paper mache though.
    So, I broke into the palace
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    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  3. #3
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Hey TS

    Are you listening off-axis? I got right up on my left speaker and heard some overlap off of MIC1 and some resonating hi-hat in the first verse (nothing on the heartbeat)--I don't think it was distortion, just an oddity of frequency overlap. Whattya got, elephant ears?

    Cheers
    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  4. #4
    Forum Regular BinFrog's Avatar
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    I have never had this issue with the SACD DSOTM at any volume level.

  5. #5
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Hey Topspeed -
    I tried it at all sorts of crazy volumes and couldn't duplicate a distortion.
    It's possible there's a disc error, but that would be a bit odd.

    Ugghh..I hate to suggest this to you of all people, but are you positive it's not your speaker causing the noise? Maybe one of those low frequencies is exciting some dust bunnies, rattling the port tube, or something in the port? Is your hired help dumping her cigarette ashes in there?

    Dunno what to say...a real mystery.

  6. #6
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
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    Ouch, I hate to agree on this

    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Hey Topspeed -
    I tried it at all sorts of crazy volumes and couldn't duplicate a distortion.
    It's possible there's a disc error, but that would be a bit odd.

    Ugghh..I hate to suggest this to you of all people, but are you positive it's not your speaker causing the noise? Maybe one of those low frequencies is exciting some dust bunnies, rattling the port tube, or something in the port? Is your hired help dumping her cigarette ashes in there?

    Dunno what to say...a real mystery.
    But the heartbeat is like a 30hz tone. It just might be at a resonant frequency of your cabinet.
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  7. #7
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Didn't want to say that outright....

    Quote Originally Posted by Geoffcin
    But the heartbeat is like a 30hz tone. It just might be at a resonant frequency of your cabinet.
    But that's kind of what I was thinking...

    Could also be exciting something in the room? My 32" TV set would literally vibrate so much at 100 dB of bass that it sounded like a static like distortion or a loose, vibrating woofer. Took a while to figure out what was making the noise. At the listening position, it didn't sound like it was coming from the TV at all, sounded like it was coming from behind both speakers.

    Just a shot in the dark.-

    Could be the disc though - I'm sure there's a few lemons out there.

  8. #8
    Forum Regular N. Abstentia's Avatar
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    No distortion here. And I agree...I really doubt it's the disc. Something is vibrating somewhere in your sub or in your room...or in your head

  9. #9
    Color me gone... Resident Loser's Avatar
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    Hmmm...

    Quote Originally Posted by topspeed
    I just picked this up and noticed there's a very distinct distortion....BTW, I put on a few other SACD's and RBCD and none exhibited the noise. It's definitely software related.
    Cone tear, failing surround, rubbing voice coil, loose internal bracing, bits of manufacturing debris being excited @ that frequency...

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  10. #10
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
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    I've got Blue tack everywhere!

    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    But that's kind of what I was thinking...

    Could also be exciting something in the room? My 32" TV set would literally vibrate so much at 100 dB of bass that it sounded like a static like distortion or a loose, vibrating woofer. Took a while to figure out what was making the noise. At the listening position, it didn't sound like it was coming from the TV at all, sounded like it was coming from behind both speakers.

    Just a shot in the dark.-

    Could be the disc though - I'm sure there's a few lemons out there.
    Having two 15" subs, I should have bought stock in that company! (my teeth still rattle though)
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  11. #11
    BooBs are elitist jerks shokhead's Avatar
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    It should do it on other discs if its his equipment and he said he tried others and it didnt do it. Only thing i can think of is wash the disc and retry.
    Look & Listen

  12. #12
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shokhead
    It should do it on other discs if its his equipment and he said he tried others and it didnt do it. Only thing i can think of is wash the disc and retry.
    Thought of that too - Other discs might not be triggering this effect, even at lower frequencies. There's a difference when there's a sustained, synthesized 30 Hz fundamental tone being played stronly for an extended period of time vs. a quick, almost instantaneous sweep across 30 Hz for a fraction of a second in music - the rare time it happens. But I trust Topspeed's judgement, and part of me expects him to have a new DSOTM disc in hand without these symptoms.

  13. #13
    Suspended topspeed's Avatar
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    Thanks guys!

    Bobsticks:
    I'm on axis and no, I don't have elephant ears. You did just paint a rather interesting mental self-portrait for me, tho .

    Kex:
    The sound is emanating from the tweeters, both channels. This is definitely not chuffing or port noise. It's too loud for that, which leads me to believe it's not cabinet resonance either. That said, I'll check my ports later today and see if the kiddies decided to put Lightening McQueen or Mater in there. Come to think of it, I was just looking for Mater the other day...

    NA:
    Definitely coming from the speakers, and besides, there's nothing in my head to vibrate!

    RL:
    I'll see if anything else is loose

    Geoff:
    Again, it's awfully loud to be cabinet resonance, but I'll check again.


    Guys, I usually listen at around 82-84dB's, so it's not like I had her cranked to "11." That is a very low note tho, so maybe it was something rattling around the tweeter. I'll pay more attention to it today and if possible, I'll see if I can give the disc a quick listen on my friend's reference system to see if the distortion is still there.

    As always, thanks for your feedback. I'll report back with my findings.

  14. #14
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
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    Not really

    Quote Originally Posted by shokhead
    It should do it on other discs if its his equipment and he said he tried others and it didnt do it. Only thing i can think of is wash the disc and retry.
    I had a similar thing happen to my old Magnepan III's. It was just ONE track on Sarah MacLachlan's Surfacing album that used to excite a buzz in the speaker. I never heard it before that, and no other track ever produced it.
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  15. #15
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Have you had a chance to compare the SACD with other versions of DSOTM or listen to it with a pair of headphones? Also, does this occur with all three layers (2-ch CD, 2-ch SACD, and 5.1 SACD)? I noticed that the CD layer got mastered at a much higher level than either of the SACD layers.

    I didn't read the notes to see who did the mastering, but I know that Doug Sax uses a tube-based mastering rig for a lot of the SACD remasters that he's worked on. I have no idea though whether that was used for DSOTM or if he mastered all three soundtracks on that disc himself. James Guthrie did the remixing, and some Pink Floyd fans have grumbled about original engineer Alan Parsons not participating in the 5.1 SACD project, since he had prepared his own multichannel mix of DSOTM years ago.

    That very slight rustling sound is something that I recall from my old bookshelf speakers and MFSL LP copy. I never thought of it as distortion, just something that's part of the recording.

    Thus far with the SACD version, I've primarily listened to the 5.1 mix, and have yet to do a direct comparison between the two-channel SACD layer and my old LP copy. I might have to compare everything and see how differently that SACD release might have been prepped. The SACD sends a surprising amount of bass into the subwoofer (judging by the level indicator on my sub EQ), so as others have said, it might be port noise or some resonance specific to your speaker.
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