2. amps-preamps
  3. 182262-179539

Help. System sounds thin and bright or harsh

Hope this isn't redundant tried to post in Tech Talk

Just moved my system to a new home/sound room and it still sounds harsh and a bit thin despite supposedly "warm" sounding Harbeth 30.1 speakers. This issue is not new and I had put the blame on the old listening room.  Can't figure out what the problem is. I listen loud at 80dcbl or higher and sit nearfield about 8 feet from the speaker plane. (sound is thin and bright from afar as well) I have experimented in both homes with speaker placement, toe-in and the like. Speakers are placed a lil over 3 feet from the rear wall and about two and a half feet from side walls.  I feel something is off. Perhaps a component or two that is known to be tipped up in the highs and a lil bass shy?? Also, I leave all solid state components fully powered up 24/7. (not the tubes)

System:

Modwright/Oppo BDP 105 disc player  (all mods with tubed power supply and pricey NOS tube upgrades throughout)  Looking to replace once the harshness/bright issue is nailed down.

Parasound JC2 Preamp

Pass Labs X250.5 Amp

Harbeth 30.1 stand mount speakers

Puritan Labs PSM 156 power conditioner. (less "edgy" sound with it in system)

System is run all balanced with fairly costly Cardas interconnects.

All input is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Happy listening.

 

 

cymivka
pops
2,273 posts
 

Consider starting over with speaker placement using the Sonus Faber method.  Easy and effective.  Presented by Will (can’t remember his last name).  
 

you can always go back to your current setup 

pops
2,273 posts
 

Will Kline is his name.   

falmgren
30 posts
 

 I have a small room with Parasound Halo, B&W 805d3, Arcam ST60 streamer and two Rel 7x subs. I don’t have expense cables and my room is 12x12 with some glass on sides. I have been looking to help make the bass cleaner for hearing bass lines for music. I read comments about bass nulls as well and the feedback was to add subs and using pairs will help cancel the nulls. Not sure I have all the terminology correct here. I used an XTZ room analyzer to adjust my subs and it helped. I have had some feedback to use a Minidsp Flex with subs and perform the sub-optimizer then use Dirac live adjustments to fix for room issues. Also a thought for myself is whether or not my ears are losing bass frequency? Not sure any of this fits for you as there is a lot of feedback on your question. Good luck

cymivka OP
46 posts
 

Got time to attack this situation today. gonna start with pushing speakers back against the wall, though most advise that Harbeths need space around them. Dont want to collapse the depth of the sound stage. Will also play with moving the listening position. Gonna also try changing out the amp as I have access to nuforce 9 mono blocs that will accept balanced feed. Gotta track down Pre and cd player if these other "fixes" havn't exposed the problem. ( tried the second set of balanced outs on the Parasound and one channel, the right, was clearly louder than the other...still bright, though.) Not sure about a bass null since the problem followed me from room to room.and through a myriad of speaker placements.  I feel like if an expert or fellow, experienced a-goner was in the room, they'd be able to help pinpoint the problem. Just about everyone says its hard to make the 30.1's sound bright.   Just may need to upgrade many parts (front end for sure)..ad subs or even new speaks. If I had to make a wild guess I'd point an accusing finger at the Modwright,.  Thanks all for your suggestions. 

cymivka OP
46 posts
 

Yes, subs as are NOT out of the question as I think its pretty common "knowledge" that two are needed for proper two channel set ups. I've been reading that for years now.

More to discover