Matching House Curves and Mastering

[Le Concombre Masqué]

There are several threads discussing target curves ; please let's keep this one tidy with simple sharing of our findings regarding Matching House Curves and Mastering. So yes there's a postulate that beyond subjectivity and idiosyncrasies of loudspeakers/room fit, there's a rational for using different curves so to get closer to the conditions in which the art was created/approved. The linked paper is an excellent read. I provide a picture of the curves I'm referring to (top to bottom : JBL Synthesis, Harman RR1, Bruel & Kjaer 1974, not theoretical but how I actually achieved them L + R with my room/system) ); please specify if you use different ones but let's not discuss their respective merits and motivations here. Once again, let's focus on matching, simple, straight to the point. However a few words about your criteria might be useful. AFAIC, it's mostly soundstage, how things fold together.  The obvious more or less bass and sub bass criteria is not that operational and how vocals are infatuated or not tends to be the go/no go point for RR1 (above the 2 others between 160 and 500 Hz) vs either BK or Synthesis that are equivalent in that region. Also, the extra mids from 800 to 4 K of the Synthesis often act as an appealing reason to go Synthesis even if there's a touch too much bass, because of extra presence and delineation of soundstage, instruments and vocals separation.

 

Next post is an example of how I suggest we populate this thread. If deemed necessary, precisions about decade of mastering or country could br added

17839.pdf

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Mobile Fidelity (MFSL) SACDs : JBL Synthesis

 

ECM : B & K 

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Blue Note remasters 

 

by Kevin Gray & Steve Hoffman on AP SACDs : RR1

 

24/192 by either Bernie Grundman or Alan Yoshida : JBL Synthesis in conjunction with MQA LP in HQP

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Esoteric SACDs : RR1

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SHM SACDs (Roxy Music) : B & K 

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SHM SACDs (Roxy Music) : RR1... 

 

sorry about that one ; though "DSD edited" by the same Japanese engineer, those "flat transfers from original UK tapes" seem to benefit from different convolutions on a case by case basis, almost track by track : it's more like trying to do the eQ work that hasn't been done than matching house curves we may implement to the conditions in which the art has been mastered since there hasn't be any mastering

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Verve Reissues 24 192 : RR1

Columbia 24 44 Leonard Cohen : RR1

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Tony Visconti's Bowie @192 for Parlophone : RR1

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Elektra by Bruce Botnick (known to use JBL M2) : RR1

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If a single house curve, for the whole span of ECM productions,  allows us to reduce the "circle of confusion " by approaching the conditions in which the mastering engineers supposed we would be listening to the art, I'd now would recommend the quite ubiquitous RR1, especially with most recent productions such as Anna Gourari - Elusive Affinity (2019)

it's a bit stuffy with older productions, hence I recommended B&K before 

[Le Concombre Masqué]

16 hours ago, Le Concombre Masqué said:

If a single house curve, for the whole span of ECM productions,  allows us to reduce the "circle of confusion " by approaching the conditions in which the mastering engineers supposed we would be listening to the art, I'd now would recommend the quite ubiquitous RR1, especially with most recent productions such as Anna Gourari - Elusive Affinity (2019)

it's a bit stuffy with older productions, hence I recommended B&K before 

This led me to add convolutions created to the HARMAN standard RR (discussion here) : 

It's an HF extended JBL Synthesis flat from 3 to 20 K

 

Matches very well ECM indeed

Benefits MFSL with better snares, more punchy bass notes and of course presence and brillance

Tested with Blue Note 24 192 Maiden Voyage, cymbals were a bit to prominent so I keep the JBL Synthesis recommendation.

 

Update and summary so far in the xls

Matching House Curves and Mastering.xlsx

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update with  names such as: Beatles Pink Floyd Bernie Grundman Bob Ludwig Steve Wilson Ted Jensen

 

I might be wrong here and there and reconsider later based on another record another time mood SPL etc and I might bring revision. But this is for sure : the circle of confusion does exist (see attached pdf by FLOYD E. TOOLE) and we'd better reduce its radius by choosing a house curve resembling the eQ in the mastering room or wherever the Art was approved. If we are 6 or 7 dB off say because we have eQed flat or almost flat our system while we are supposed (by artist producer engineer, whoever approved the Art) to have listening conditions that would measure resembling a HARMAN STD or a RR1 target curve, we can then spend zillions in DAC cables power supplies various accessories etc etc and still be off, blame recording mastering etc etc, or otoh, praise a soothing expensive stuff which benefit might be marginal in comparison of a several dB offset, short of the effort of addressing the circle of confusion

Matching House Curves and Mastering.xlsx