New cart for under 1K

Siox/Jjrenman,

I agree with both of you, I've had difficulty coming to the conclusion that it's my speakers, but I think you are correct. The rest of my system is a McIntosh 7205 5-channel amp that I'm only using 2 channels presently. I have two pre's, a Meridian 565 which I am not using and a McIntosh C32 which is old and should be replaced. I don't think it's the Mac gear that's causing the harshness. I really think it's the speakers. The Focal's do not have beryllium, those were the BE models and were 2K additional. I have the titanium tweeter model. My old JBL's had titanium tweeters as well. I am sure of one thing, I am never buying speakers with metal tweeters again!

Most dome tweeters have the same problem in that the top of the dome resonates at the upper end of the audio band that can add an edginess or sizzlly quality to the highs. You will notice that your tweeters have a lens covering the dome of the tweet. Usually these lens's are put in place to block as much of this extra resonate energy as possible.

If you want to try an experiment you should pick up some felt dots that are sticky on one side and try putting them on the tweeter lens. Start with one about the same size as the lens and work up from there. The idea is to increase the effectiveness of the lens without negatively affecting the tonal balance. The dots are easily removable if you do not like the effect or when you are ready to sell the speakers.

BTW you did not mention what other sources sound like? Do you have a CD or DVD hooked up to the system?

Jirenman,

I love that idea! I know exactly the dots you are speaking of. I have tested the harshness in the highs with my Arcam CD-Player as well as my iPod with identical albums and the highs are as harsh. Two years ago when I got back into my vinyl collection I performed this test. This is also why I'm sure the issue resides in my speakers. I have a pair of Wharfedale 10.2's in my office. I may bring them home for a simple test. I'm going to head to my dealer to start listening to speakers so I can start narrowing down speaker selection (which is a whole other realm of exploration).

In Tone Audio's Issue 15, publisher Jeff Dorgay reviews the Zu/DL-103 and concludes that it hits a sonic and musical sweet spot with Dynavector P-75. At the time of writing it was his absolute favorite cart and phono stage at that price. Back then (2008) Zu offered only one version of the Zu-103. Now they have various select models at higher price points. The basic Zu-103 is still only $439.

Dome tweeters aren't inherently bright and harsh, but many have a resonant peak that's tied to the material used for the dome. Silk and other fabric domes are pretty gentle up there; aluminum ones have a spike at around 30 Khz, which is usually not too noticeable. Some metal domes have damping, such as the cloth-damped Mirage titanium domes.

However, the JM Focal 936 that you have is evidently pretty bright and detailed, for whatever reasons, as dealt with in this Positive Feedback Online review. It's so bright and cutting, the reviewer warns not to toe the speakers in "unless you want a haircut."

Although I mentioned pairing the Zu-103 cart with your Dynavector P-75, the real problem with your tonal balance is your speakers. I've auditioned the mid-line Focals a few times at a local dealer and I always find them too bright and analytical. Maybe you should check around some more forums or talk to a speaker technician to see if there's a good replacement tweeter to calm things down. It might also be helped with a well-placed capacitor or resistor in the crossover to roll off the highs a bit. From your and Positive Feedback's descriptions this sounds more like a wider rising response in the high treble than an out-of-band resonance spike.

Spitty sibilants are the first sign the treble isn't right. In addition to an emphasis at that frequency range, it could also be tweeter overshoot or ringing.