Reference system under construction.

This post is for anyone wondering how reviewers are able to tell the difference in sound between components and how they describe what’s being heard. If you think many reviewers just waffle rubbish but are still a little bit intrigued how to tell the difference in sound you’re about to learn how.

I’ll take you through my personal journey with building out my “audiophile” well let’s just call it a reference system. We’ll dive into what a reference system is and how it can help identify the sound signature of different components to aid in your own self discovery if the sound moves you.

We’ll also cover off some terms used to describe sounds and do a little deep dive into a loved track of mine to see if we can apply some of these terms to describe what we are hearing. I’m going to be up front, I’m not a fan of BS and prefer to call it how I see it but for the sake of this process let’s jump onboard the audiophile vocabulary train and get inline with some standardised terms.

Sit back take a deep breath and relax it’s going to be a fun 10 min read where I’ll take you on a bit of journey into sound 😉

Why would you have a reference system?

The primary reason for a reference system is to create a baseline that you can easily hear when something is swapped out. Your personal reference system doesn’t need to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars it just needs to present a sound signature that you know well. Simple’s!

Why switch out components?

Well that’s a simple answer, anyone in this hobby or even those who are just looking to make changes over time with upgrades need a point of reference to make it easier to distinguish a change in sound signature. How pissed would you be after purchasing a new amp, pair of speakers or DAC to upgrade your existing system or for testing purposes only be presented with what “appears” to be the the same sound signature you already have. Imagine forking out cash for new kit and convincing yourself that it’s a good purchase but can’t really tell the difference between old and new. Don’t laugh it does happen.

That’s all we’re really doing here is setting some working boundaries to aid in distinguishing one sound from another.

How Different Components Effect Sound Signatures.

It’s funny I’ve read a number of articles and forum posts talking about how an amp is an amp and they all sound the same. I’ve linked to an interesting article from Audioholics touching on this subject, it’s a really interesting read “The Sound of Audio Amplifiers: Can you hear a difference between Amps?“.

With that said consider this small piece of logic, even if all amps sounded the same meaning they do not impose any additional colour to the music or remove any, then the only potential difference between a less expensive amp and more expensive amp should only be the power output, build quality and aesthetics.

Putting aesthetics to the side and let’s just say for the sake of this argument that build quality across the board is the same (well we know it isn’t but lets just say it is) If these things are true then wouldn’t the lack of power to efficiently move a speaker to its optimal performance mean that the speaker itself would then sound/present differently and deliver a different sound signature?

Therefore if this statement is true it actually supports the fact that correctly pairing the right amp with speakers will deliver better results than just using any amp and speaker combination even if all amps sound the same.

To me this means that the amp itself does play a major role in sound signature as can all components in the chain DAC, Preamp, Cables to a certain degree even power bricks and transformers and yes even if we are talking about an integrated amplifier or separate components, the only difference being some components will have more of an adverse effect on the final sound than others.

What to listen out for

Having a reference baseline also stands true for integrated amps as well as separate component builds, it’s super easy to get lost in all the different sound signatures when comparing speakers, amps, DACs you name it they all have their own sound signature; and when paired with different components will also alter the sound in different ways. For example the sound stage width & depth, dynamics being how quickly and accurately the volume can change between highs and lows, bass tightness, are the mids pronounced or recessed, the list can be extensive. What about depth can you place instruments or vocals at the front, middle or rear of the speaker/stage?

These are just some examples to be mindful of. Other sounds are less obvious and this hobby can really be like going down a rabbit hole when you first get started, but let me assure you, once you know what to listen out for it gets much easier to identify any changes in the final sound signature being presented. We are basically going to train our ears to listen for these differences.

Some of us learnt to drive a manual or ride a manual motorbike, part of getting the best gear change is listening out for when the revs are just right to make the change. For those out there who know what I’m referring to you can even have a smooth gear change without using the clutch by getting the revs just right and carefully shifting the gear at the right time. Listening to the difference in sound on an audio system is just the same as those optimal revs, tune in and listen for the changes.

Like everything in life there is always a steep learning curve for anything new but once you get your head around it and apply a little patience and logic the world is your oyster, if you like oysters that is!

There’s a lot to cover and we’re not going to get through everything in a single post but we will touch on some key points to consider when listening and pairing audio kit to help you through “This is a journey into sound” Eric B. & Rakim (yes I’ve made that reference twice now but only this section has a link to the track).

What’s in my personal reference system?

Well it was a pair of Polk R200, 2 x Sony TA-N55ES/ N330ES vintage amps bridged into mono for 300w per channel, Eversolo Z8 Dac + Preamp connected to a dedicated mini PC running Roon Bridge all managed by Roon Labs core Mini media server.

It might sound like a lot or an expensive system but it’s extremely well priced for what you get. If we look at replacing the Sony’s amps with something easier to source like single emotiva Basx A2 power amp and switching out the Mini PC for a WiiM Pro streamer we would be looking at an approx under 5k price point for an excellent sounding system.

see featured image of my initial reference system under construction.

What’s Changed?

reference_system_jan_2024

Like everything in life evolution is inevitable (hopefully) so the previous system had been running for approximately 4 months as is, then December 2024 came along and we added 2 x REL t/7x sub woofers (I’ll dive into why 2 Subs is better than 1 in a separate dedicated post), Topping Pre90 preamp, Gesheli J2 DAC with Sparkos opamps, a WiiM Pro Plus streamer as a Roon bridge and a month later in Jan we switched out the Polk R200 for the Polk R100 and that’s where we are today.

Why?

Like many I’m looking (haha listening) for a specific sound signature that resonates with me personally. I like a neutral sound where the sound is balanced with the right amount of low + mid bass, mid range and treble. This basically means that I would like to hear it as close to a true to life reproduction of sound as possible. I’m not sure if it’s 100% attainable but I’m seeing how things pan out with my journey 🙂

I’ll be running with my current system without change for at least a few months while it’s dialled in and tuned to my liking. I’ll get familiar with every aspect of the new sound signature so that way when it comes time to review a new component and change something out i can more easily hear what’s changed and then describe what I’m hearing in more detail to help others on their own journeys.

How has the sound changed from the original setup?

That’s a really good question!

Initially the Polk r200 delivered the best bass without needing a sub in the setup. The bass was going down to approx 39Hz give/take depending on speaker positioning to the wall. Unfortunately for me as you can see from the images we only have 1 wall to the left which means the right speaker wasn’t able to use a wall to throw a deeper bass response, also we don’t have the available space to be able to pull the speakers out from the wall closer to the seating position which would balance out the sound a little more.

In another post I’ll cover speaker positioning and how a room can change sound signatures, for now let’s keep with the flow of the post.

If you would like to learn a little bit more about the Polk R200 we have a dedicated post going over its sound signature, pros, cons and all the info you’ll need to make an informed decision if the R200 is the right speaker for you.

As I started to understand the sound I was chasing and exploring what could be done to fill in the missing frequencies I’m chasing. The R200 will deliver in spades for their price point, I would go as far as saying for the price point you really can’t beat what the R200 has to offer as an all-in-one package. It really just comes down to what sound you want to hear.

For me I needed more lower mid + mid range frequency and due to the R200 having a larger enclosure and higher frequency cross over set to 3000 Hz separating the tweeter from the woofer meant we were sending more of the frequency range for the woofer to handle with its larger bass driver. The woofer digs deeper into the bass which I feel may be overpowering the mid attack I’m chasing making it a little less appealing to my ear. The lower mid frequency range makes the bass pop and present tighter. Keep in mind the type/ style of music you listen to will also play a big part in what speakers work best for you.

For those who would like to learn a little more about what part of the audio frequency spectrum pertains to what you hear I’ve linked to a great post from Teach Me Audio “Audio Spectrum” to help explain in more detail.

For sure we can apply some EQ – Equalisation to the mix and look into adding a high pass filter to cut some of the lower reaching bass to make it a little tighter but this won’t affect the internal crossover of the speaker. Like everything in life EQ & DSP come at a cost not just financially but using DSP – Digital Sound Processing and EQ also has its trade off’s and if possible I like to keep things as simple – KiSS – Keep It Simple’s = Successful when possible.

Enter the Polk R100!

The same awesome speaker in a smaller package, the crossover on the R100 is set a little lower at 2700 Hz meaning we get a little more mid range presented to the tweeter. The bass driver and enclosure are smaller so we get less bass reach overall but a little more in the lower mids + mid range pop exposed, we also get a wider sound stage. For the R100’s I’ve actually used EQ to push up 335 Hz lower-mid’s and 1120 Hz in the mids which now brings a lot more body and attack to the R100’s. I know what I said in my last paragraph about using EQ but in this instance I’m willing to take the trade off for the benefits. If we could have EQ off my OCD would prefer it but at the same time the improvement outweighs the trade off.

Now adding 2 x REL Subwoofers to fill in all the glorious sub bass and part of the bass frequency range taking the pressure off the R100 woofer allowing us to have a better overall SPL – Sound Pressure Level (Volume for those of us that like it simple) and in my subjective opinion I believe this allows the mid range frequency response to shine from the R100.

The REL’s crossover will be set a little higher for the R100 somewhere in the 60-70Hz range to integrate better between the subs and main speakers. The R100 enclosure and woofer present a tighter lower mid response compared to the R200, the R100 sports a 5 1/4 woofer vs the R200 6 1/2″ woofer, by default all of these changes to crossover, woofer and enclosure means we hear more of the lower-mid bass I’m chasing and let me tell you yes it does sound great. The R100’s met and exceeded my expectations in this area.

At this point I’m really enjoying the new sound and may tweak the EQ a little more by dropping 335 Hz range by 2 DB as I’m being a little aggressive. Let’s just call it a tweak in progress 😉

We now hear a tighter bass which in turn allows the mids and higher frequencies to pop better. Overall everything is more defined and on top of all of that the sound stage is wider, yes that’s right wider meaning we can hear sound coming from further outside where the speaker is placed. When your eyes are closed it really helps the speakers disappear and feel like you’re sitting in front of a stage, it’s an awesome experience to escape into the music.

I’m sitting on the couch and Careless Whisper by WHAM starts playing, I’ve actually stopped typing at this stage and turned up the volume BRB…

WHAM! – What I’m hearing.

Sitting with my eyes closed or open the experience is the same, the room is flooded with glorious sound.

– A wide sound stage, with my my eyes closed I’m in the audience

– George’s vocals are strong and forward of the speakers man this guy had a set of lungs on him – RIP, what a great artist.

– There’s a distinct percussion sound click, click, click, like a drum stick tapping on a wooden block, some bongos in the the distance at the back of the stage, such an excellent accompaniment

– Snare drums tapping away in the middle of the stage

– Ts, Ts, Ts, High Hats tapping to the beat, super clear, well defined and balanced in the right place meaning the treble isn’t accentuated/boosted very “Neutral” sounding

– Did i mention the Sax front and centre, smooth, accurate and balanced it really flexes the mid range presence on this track

– Gentle bass guitar to the back of the stage keeping the beat in time

– Amazing synths throughout sounding like violins, another mid range flex

– I’m pretty sure there’s a tambourine in there left of stage, “ching” to every second beat

– The instrument separation is second to none with great detail all very defined and balanced.

– Plucking of a steel string guitar coming from left of stage

– So I’m never gong to dance again, the way I danced with you! – haha link to lyrics.

What are we hearing?

Methods for selecting and describing
attributes and terms, in the preparation of subjective tests

You know what that’s an excellent question, this is where we need to set some more rules or as I like to call them guide lines more then anything.

To start with I want to thank Erin from Erin’s Audio Corner for finding and sharing this official PDF from the International Telecommunications Union “Methods for selecting and describing attributes and terms, in the preparation of subjective tests“. I had no idea it existed and really helps tighten the language around describing what we hear so we have an across the board standard everyone can reference and relate to.

Having these guidelines in place helps associate sounds with terms for easier categorising of what we are hearing. The guide itself isn’t the be all and end all it’s just a guide but it’s a great place to start so let’s dive into the language a little more.

Common terms used that help identify sound characteristics are:

– warm

– cool

– neutral

– bright

– coloured

– muddy

I’m pretty sure there are lots more but these are some of the more popular terms and again these can be used in conjunction with each other, for example on the warmer side of neutral meaning it’s a slightly warmer sound than neutral, same with cooler side of neutral meaning it’s a little more defined and leaning towards being a bit more analytical, honestly when i first started hearing these terms i thought to my self what a load of rubbish but as I listened more and became more in tune with what i was hearing the terms started to fit well.

Having these terms really helps describe what is being heard in a more descriptive way. If it wasn’t for these terms we wouldn’t have a reference point to start with so whomever coined them, thanks a bunch!

What to look for when A/B testing.

Now that we have our baseline in place and some straight forward rules to follow we can start to listen for sometimes subtle or not so subtle differences in sounds.

Let’s start with picking a piece of music you’re very familiar with or a favourite track, play said piece of music a number of times on your reference system to familiarize yourself with the music.

It’s time to change out a component, but only one, its no good changing out multiple components at the same time as there will be too many variables changing the sound signature to know if it’s related to one or multiple components.

For this example we’ll dive back into our Polk R200 / R100 speakers as we’ve already covered the differences in sound between the two, we’ll break the speakers down into their frequency ranges.

Polk R200 – Only

– Deeper fuller bass

– Warmer mid bass

– Slightly recessed mid range

– Well defined treble

– Great stereo placement and sound stage (imaging)

Polk R100 – Only in comparison to the R200

– Better defined mid bass

– More mid range attack

– Wider sound stage

These are the core differences I hear in a nutshell.

A look into my current reference setup.

Amps (Amplifier)

2 x Sony Class A/B power Amps bridged into mono 300W per channel @8Ω

– TA-N55ES
– TA-N330ES

Pre Amplifier (Preamp)

– Topping Pre90

Speakers

– Polk R100 book shelf speakers
– 2 x REL t/7x Sub woofers

Cables by NB Speaker Cables

– Custom made 14 gage speaker cable 3m
– Custom made RCA cables 1m

DAC

– Geshellie Labs J2 Socketed AKM 4499 + Sparkos Labs SS3602 Dual Discrete Op Amp

Streamers + Transports

– Roon Core – Intel i3 Nuc
– WiiM Pro Plus as Roon Bridge + Transport

Media Server

– TrueNas Mini Server

Summery.

Today we’ve covered what a reference system is, setting a baseline sound signature, using some common terms to describe what we are listening to, picking out different sounds from a song and describing what we are hearing, all the while investing our time doing something we love!

Let me know what’s in your reference system?

Looking to build out your own reference system and just need a little help?

Reach out using our contact form below and let’s chat HiFi.

Catch you in the next post, until then, get lost in the music!