HARSH MUSIC

[nelpastel]

reflection/comb filter

What is that ? I also suspect this is a cabin problem. My woofers are 6.5" Dynaudio Esotec located at the front doors, and the tweeters are Audison Voce located on the dash, a little off-axis, so it is a good quality equipment. My car is a Honda Civic 2010 sedan. Anyone else having tuning problems with a Civic ?

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

What is that ? I also suspect this is a cabin problem. My woofers are 6.5" Dynaudio Esotec located at the front doors, and the tweeters are Audison Voce located on the dash, a little off-axis, so it is a good quality equipment. My car is a Honda Civic 2010 sedan. Anyone else having tuning problems with a Civic ?

You have drivers that are know for being "warm" vs "harsh", so I think we can eliminate the drivers and the music/tracks. What are you using for a crossover and where are you crossed over at?

Look up comb filter on google. Basically it's when 2 (or more) sound sources combine and you get a response where at some frequencies the drivers combine to really boost response but at other/adjacent frequencies the drivers will combine to completely cancel those frequencies. It can sound rather harsh/piercing at certain frequencies.

The problem in car audio is the sources. Normally, we have 2 sources (the speakers), which if we tune properly should eliminate most nasty comb filters. However, in a car, we have all these lovely hard plastic surfaces and glass that's really good at reflecting sound, which in turn creates more sources of sound. A common one is piercing/harshness in the left ear from sound getting reflected off the driver side window. The dash is great for causing reflections because you have both the dashboard and the windshield reflecting sound and given the way the dash and windshield come together you end up with reflections of reflections. On top of that, we mount tweeters up there, which are omnidirectional up to ~5-7khz.

A few things you can do to see if it's reflection is try rolling the windows down. Try throwing a nice thick bath towel on the dashboard.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

few things you can do to see if it's reflection is try rolling the windows down. Try throwing a nice thick bath towel on the dashboard.

Good advice. I'ma try this.

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

Let us know if it helps.

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

sorry, cant help. im running old school Oz

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

sorry, cant help. im running old school Oz

Nauc from CAF???

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

Nauc from CAF???

yep

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

yep

Good to see you.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

I have all of the music listed here both from way back in the "borrowed from Napster" to my current purchased in HiRes from HDtracks and Qobuz in either FLAC or WAVE and not less than 92/24. It's going to sound a bit off for you no matter what because you have mids down low and tweeters up on the dash. Your ears are going to get the tweeters right off the bat and it's going to sound harsh. Now if you had some 3-3.5" near those tweeters you are going to really start enjoying your music. 3-Way active really makes a difference.

 

[R@kshasa]

Have you found rock and pop music that is inherently harsh, meaning, no matter the quality of your stereo components, and how good it is tuned, this particular songs always sound harsh? I have some examples of this: Dude looks like a Lady (Aerosmith), Angel (Aerosmith), Whole lotta love (Led Zeppelin), Sultans of swing (Dire Straits). When I play these songs I have to turn down the volume, otherwise my ears hurt. Is this normal, or is it a tuning flaw ?

Disclaimer - I am not a sound tech, nor do I practice medicine.

Hard rock and Symphony orchestra tend to be the most difficult genres to reproduce at high volume. Any music that relies on a precise reproduction of harmonics is going to sound harsh/off at high volume (in a car). Cars make for a terrible sound stage. This is also why no one really recommends audiophile grade equipment for cars.
Dissonant chords will also sound off. This is by design. Breaking Benjamin, add many songs that implemented dissonant piano chords. They are often used to intensify a jump scare in a movie as well.

As for the ears - Perceived harsh sounds seem to indicate danger. Take heed of your body's signals. Actual hearing loss is caused by SPL.

TLDR; Not all music is going to sound good loud.
Primus ***** at all dB levels.