Do your speakers bite??

I want to hear bite if it’s in the recording but not because of speakers. Yes my speakers can deliver that when it’s there. Ohms or KEFs. But it’s not just the speakers. The things that feed them matter as much if not more. Newer good quality Class D amps seem to do it quite well. My Cambridge evo 150 falls into that category.

I’ve had more “laid back” gear feeding same speakers before. I like that too. In a different way. More relaxed and less attention grabbing as better dynamics tend to do. There is more than one way to make good sound. Who says any one is always best? It’s not. Different strokes. Even sometimes for the same folks in different moods. 

I know what you mean. I have heard it. But over my fifty years pursuing high end audio I found that the more you shoot for natural and what the real acoustic events sound like, the more your system will sound better with all genera of music. I don’t hear that bite in real live acoustic music, just like I don’t hear a lot of slam or over emphasis on the subtitles of the venue.

So, while some overemphasis may favor one kind of music, typically it will get in the way of the others. As an example, I really chased the ethereal magic in Delerium and Enigma in the early ‘90’s. But it was to the detriment of almost every other music.

Around 2010 I got season tickets to the symphony (7th row center) and listened to acoustical instruments everywhere I could. The change in direction for my system was striking… all music started improving. It brought me to where I am today, with the most engaging and immersive system I have heard. I really have a hard time tearing myself away from it after hours of listening every day.

So, for me. Be careful about really cool artificially accentuated characteristics like excessive detail or slam and focus on natural and musical. All music will sound better and your system will be more rewarding.

There's a fine line between bite and a hardening of the sound and the trick is to tread lightly.  I've been going through some Toslink cable brands and lengths doing that very same thing: trying to find that balance. 

It's more of a finishing touch but what I found is that the right amount of bite can lend an incredible amount of realism and immediacy but too much ruins the sound. 

All the best,
Nonoise

I love the snap of a snare and the tsing of a trumpet or sax, but  when the sound acquires an overall hardness I quickly cease being a happy listener. But oh yes, back in the days when I listened to Vin Scully doing the Dodgers on AM, the hardness of the tiny transistor radio did lend an unmistakable aura of you-are-there excitement.

Bite can be called sibilants  or etched ,bright , in natural if it’s a horn it should sound brassy ,a screech from a electric guitar and if using reverb can be electronic sounding , .having been modding or upgrading Loudspeaker Xovers for Many years. If you have say a bright beryllium tweeter, or horn , more times then not. 
over80% of all loudspeakers use substandard parts for example I use mod Xovers and make loudspeaker purifiers ,

in your speakers a $2 ceramic resistor which can be gritty I use the best Mundorf copper foil ultra , or Path audio resistors $30 each,  capacitors many use ok at best Solen capacitors , or cheaper line clarity caps ,or Mundorfs mid line. Why 

it’s all about $$ . Roughly $25% of the cost of-your speaker including packing is all that goes into your speaker ,the rest R&D overhead and markup.

i was a audio dealer for 10 years, this too includes the vast majority of electronics .

this is why many times I just buy a quality component then lookfor all weaknesses and upgrade it ,with electronics for example I take Duelunds world class capacitors on the coupling or output stage of my preamp section from the very respectable Rel cap and give them a Loong  burn in and a huge jump in performance