Music for use for putty adjustment?

ctviggen · « **on:** 21 Mar 2005, 12:23 pm »

I've been waiting for the upgrade to the RM40s to arrive before readjusting putty on my RM40s and initially adjusting putty on my Largers. I've been trying to figure out which songs to use when adjusting the putty, and I'm a bit confused. For instance, certain Muse songs, which have a ton of "heavy" bass, don't sound boomy to me. Other songs, not as heavy on the bass but still with bass, do sound boomy to me. Do I select the "boomiest" songs to adjust the putty?

Also, I was thinking of turning off the Largers (each Larger is for one channel of stereo), then adjusting the putty on the RM40s, turning on the Largers, and adjusting the Largers. Right now, I have the RM40s running full range and the Largers supplement the low end. Should I turn the RM40s off when adjusting the Largers, or leave the RM40s on? Also, I'm going to adjust the cutoff frequency for the Largers. Does putty adjustment affect the frequency response of the Largers? In other words, the Largers are currently crossed over at about 50 Hz. If I adjust the putty at 50 Hz and then decide to change the cutoff frequency to 35 Hz (for instance), do I have to readjust the putty?

Thanks!

Bob Wilcox · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Mar 2005, 01:09 am »

Once you figure out out which tracks to use, I suggest that you make a mono CD-R to use for tuning.

Bob

koteng · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Mar 2005, 08:26 am »

Quote from: ctviggen

I've been waiting for the upgrade to the RM40s to arrive before readjusting putty on my RM40s and initially adjusting putty on my Largers. I've been trying to figure out which songs to use when adjusting the putty, and I'm a bit confused. For instance, certain Muse songs, which have a ton of "heavy" bass, don't sound boomy to me. Other songs, not as heavy on the bass but still with bass, do sound boomy to me. Do I select the "boomiest" songs to adjust the putty?

Also, I was thinking of turning off th ...

Hi "ctviggen"

I use a test-cd with tones of different frequencies recorded on it. I think it is easier to adjust the putty with a constant signal. You can download a test pattern like that from:
http://www.realtraps.com/test-cd.htm

Regards,
Roger

meilankev · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Mar 2005, 12:46 pm »

Bob,

I do not use a subwoofer in my main system (although there is one in my wife's Thiel-based system downstairs). So, I have no advice on how to integrate the RM40s with subwoofers.

But I do have an opinion on what kind of music to use.

Back in the Harmonic Discord days, I posted a number of long-winded diatribes about my ordeals of RM40 tuning. It's funny I went through all of that effort, just to determine my preamp was faulty. When I finally got a replacement preamp (5 months later), everything went smoothly, and I've been ecstatic ever since.

However, one of the mistakes I made in the original tuning effort was the choice of songs used. I had a couple of gentlemen here with me (who had also ordered RM40s), and we foolishly gravitated toward heavy-bass tracks. I guess we thought that if we tamed these beasts, everything else would be a piece of cake.

The problem was that we put in all this effort putty-dipping and pot-tweaking to make these tracks sound normal (when in fact they were bass-heavy). The result was that normal tracks with normal amounts of bass now sounded extremely bass-shy.

So, my advice is not to look for tracks with boomy bass or accentuated synthesized bass. I would look for tracks that you feel have "realistic" bass (some Ray Brown "Soular Energy" would be the ticket).

Once you get "good bass" to sound good, you have to let the chips fall where they may for "abnormal bass". If the recording includes tracks that are bass-heavy, expect the speakers to present this in all its artificial glory.

Kevin

rosconey · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Mar 2005, 03:53 pm »

big head todd and the monsters - sister sweetly cd

very good tight solid bass- i used it for my sub

dubravko · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Mar 2005, 04:10 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

Do I select the "boomiest" songs to adjust the putty?

It seems like a logical solution, but I think it is best to tune the speakers for a broad range of recordings. Extremes then sound a bit extreme, but not too much on a well adjusted speaker.

Quote from: ctviggen

Also, I was thinking of turning off the Largers (each Larger is for one channel of stereo), then adjusting the putty on the RM40s, turning on the Largers, and adjusting the Largers.?

I've had 40s with Original subs and I did it this way. When adjusting PRs at 40s it affects a sound as a whole, not just bass and it is easier to hear it when they play alone.

Quote from: ctviggen

Right now, I have the RM40s running full range and the Largers supplement the low end. Should I turn the RM40s off when adjusting the Largers, or leave the RM40s on? Also, I'm going to adjust the cutoff frequency for the Largers. Does putty adjustment affect the frequency response of the Largers? In other words, the Largers are currently crossed over at about 50 Hz. If I adjust the putty at 50 Hz and then decide to change the cutoff frequency to 35 Hz (for instance), do I have to readjust the putty?

You don't have to readjust if you change only a cutoff fr. Perhaps Largers could be adjusted without playing them together with main speakers, but I guess this should be done by measuring distortion like Mr. Cheney did with RM/X recently. That was described somewhere at this forum, along with measurement charts.