taming a nasty treble response


ideas for correcting frequency response imbalances, especially due to over emphasis in the treble region have often been requested.

i experienced this problem myself, with a combination of magnepan 1.6s and a bat vk d5 cd player.

rather than even consider replacing a component, i thought of an inexpensive solution, something you may have around the house, being used for another purpose.

i am referring to cedar blocks used as a moth repellant.

i placed two of these objects under the front "feet" of the 1.6s, changing the radiating angle of the tweeter.

as a result there was a shift in the spectral balance. there was less treble energy and i was pleased because it cost me nothing to solve a problem.

i mention this as a suggestion to consider, before replacing that "bright" sounding amp or other component one may be considering for replacement.

no, it's not a panacea, but it's worth a try.

one can also vary the thickness of a piece of wood to observe the effects on the over all balance.

another idea is to raise the speaker off the floor, so that the tweeter "fires" over one's ears.
mrtennis
When I want to alter the balance of the sound away from treble towards midrange I recline my Aeron one click.
Not sure what is under your CDP but try a 16" bike inner tube and see what happens to the sound. Tubes run about $4.00.

Happy Listening.
My Maggies are raised about 8 inches off the floor, with open space underneath and I think it helps
For one thing, it reduces floor bounce...
All (I think) speakers include a "tweeter padding" resistor in series with the tweeter. (This is necessary because tweeter sensitivity generally runs higher than woofers). The MG1.6 has no built in tweeter padding resistor, but you can insert one where the jumpers go. Magneplanar instructions suggest that you do this because the flat HF response of the MG1.6 may sound like too much treble when you play recordings that have been equalized for speakers with HF roll off. The exact value of the resistor to suit your system and your ears remains to be determined, but start with one ohm, which is what Magnepan furnishes with the speakers.

My Maggies are raised about 8 inches off the floor, with open space underneath and I think it helps.
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