On the subject of HiFi

[Cressy Snr]

I sort of fall into the Mark and Ed camps. I’m in the Ed camp now I’ve sorted out a narrow frequency range to my satisfaction.
I call this the ‘shriek zone.’
From my own experience and from hearing the early efforts of many of us on this forum, the second you start down the DIY speaker path, the shriek zone manifests itself. I find it interesting that as soon as I put a commercial floorstander back in the system after 17 years, the shriek zone disappeared and now I simply listen to the music.

[Cressy Snr]

It is also interesting that the most successful speakers I ever built, were built in the late 70s and were sealed box three-ways with ‘complex’ crossovers: shriek zone proof by their very nature. Poorly implemented two-ways in ported boxes have a lot to answer for.

[IslandPink]

This is so true, Steve. There's a very tricky trade-off between efficiency, dynamics and treble tone, and listenability of vocals. I went down so many blind alleys trying to get that right.

ps. Thanks for your comments Ed. Maybe there wasn't enough in my story-telling on the big thread about how much pleasure I had along the way.

[Nick]

I call this the ‘shriek zone

The problem is you have just created yet another phrase that may or may not describe something without saying exactly what it is other than its easy to get it with DIY and "sealed box three-ways with ‘complex’ crossovers" are "by their very nature" not able to do it, or generate it, or something.

[vinylnvalves]

Describing things isn’t easy.

I remember On a systems design course... an example on requirements capture : how to specify a watch by functional requirements, was hard and this is a lot more abstract.

[Nick]

Describing things isn’t easy.

"On our inability to do much"

Chapter title of one of the most influential books (on me at least) about computer programming.

[Cressy Snr]

shriek zone:
where tenor male or female vocals, soprano, alto, tenor saxes, clarinets, flutes, piccolos, high register instruments sound

biting
blaring
cringe inducing
earsplitting
fierce
loud
nasal
painful
penetrating
shrill
stentorian
thin

Very easy to produce inadvertently.
These tracks will show it up mercilessly on the wrong, (wrongly designed) speaker
Good Rockin’ - Jr Walker & The All-Stars
The Supremes - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart
Cilla Black - Anyone Who Had A Heart
Henry Mancini - Baby Elephant Walk
There is no need whatsoever, for any of these tracks to sound like that.

[ed]

Describing things isn’t easy.

"On our inability to do much"

Chapter title of one of the most influential books (on me at least) about computer programming.

You probably wont be surprised that I respond to that......I saw the quote and agonised about the source, thinking I'm sure I recognise that....I've just spent nearly half an hour pawing over Helman and Veroff, to no avail.....so I cheated and googled it.....

damn, damn, and double damn...you may(or may not) be pleased to know that I have never written a goto statement because of discovering that guy in the early seventies.

[Nick]

I am guessing you are talking about upper mid frequencies cone breakup with "full range" drivers? If so I agree, but I don't think we need a new phrase for that do we?

[Nick]

damn, damn, and double damn...you may(or may not) be pleased to know that I have never written a goto statement because of discovering that guy in the early seventies.

I can't say I have never used a goto since, but every time I do I feel a twinge of guilt because of that book

[ed]

lawks!...I had to look up the meaning of stentorian

[Cressy Snr]

I am guessing you are talking about upper mid frequencies cone breakup with "full range" drivers? If so I agree, but I don't think we need a new phrase for that do we?

Maybe, but it isn’t a new phrase to me. I’ve used it for years. The shriek zone is not the exclusive preserve of full-range drivers. Bass/mid drivers going too high, tweeters going too low will do it too, though it’s still a form of breakup either way. It only takes one guilty driver in the pair to set it off, and gawd help the listener if both of them are at it and in the same phase.

[Cressy Snr]

lawks!...I had to look up the meaning of stentorian

The Brian Blessed approach to speaker design

[Nick]

Maybe, but it isn’t a new phrase to me. I’ve used it for years.

Ok, but never as far as I can tell have you used it on this forum.

[Cressy Snr]

I’ll give you that.
However, I used the phrase all the time when yet another bloody DIY design managed to find a shriek from somewhere, then it appeared on everything once I’d heard it.

Me - The b’stard thing’s in the fecking shriek zone again!”

Melanie - You can’t be satisfied for five minutes can you!

Me - Well it’s shrieking again! I’m sick of fecking shriek!

Melanie - Well throw the bloody records that do it away then!

Me - It’s not going to bloody beat me!

Repeat for 17 years.

God the bliss now.
This
And this