2. amps-preamps
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Sibilance how do I get rid of it?

Hello
I am currently experincing a problem with sibilance in my system,I must admit I know that unless I set up a overly dampened ( lack of Hi's ) set up, I'm almost always going to have some degree of siblance,I listen to mass produced commercial cd's so I know that this is atleast 40% of my problem , and my listening room 26'x14'x8' is relatively live,,lanolium floors..no dampening,,etc,,
But somewhere in the back of my mind I hear "you need to do careful system matching,
My system consisits of:
Cal Aria MkIII CDP
Conrad Johnson Pv10a Pre
& Conrad Johnson PV 14L Pre
Llano A100 SS Amplifier
Dynaudio Contour 1.3 2 way's "GLORIOUS Midrange and Presence"
JPS Labs superconductor FX Ic's
Tara labs Time and Space with TFA Return speaker cables
Transparent Power Plus Power cord &
MIT run of the mil powercord on the Llano power amp
I have no power conditioning whatsoever except some hospital grade junction boxes in which I have the CDP & Pre's hooked up-AMp straight to the wall.
Now I have experimented with various IC's and speaker cable Discovery,Cardas,Transparent..etc
I don't want to address this problem thru cable choice
I have changed the tubes in the CDP as well as the PreAmps
the Jps labs provides me with the transparency speed and extended Hi frequencies,,and resolution, but with noticable
sibilance could it be the Ac line conditioning or lack of it that is introducing the stridency and graininess to the sound? if so where can I start?
What brand power cables offfer the best shielding or get's the GRUNGE out? I've heard good things about coincident
I knwo that I should ( and AM in the process of)addressing the room itself carpet is in order and some accoustic paneling to kill the early reflections,should I do this first? then get the ac conditioning? has anyone had any experience with Marigo Powercords, shuyanta, Coincident etc.
Please offer me your suggestions
braab8
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,212 posts
 
I could be off base, but all the suggestions about electric quality, while good, won't help you with your problem. I think the sibilance is endemic to your source material. If you are listening to recently produced pop/rock material, then you will hear a good deal of sibilance. An unsophisticated/untrained vocalist singing into a condenser micropohone only an inch or two from his/her mouth (as is typical in an isolation booth) can produce tons of sibilance. Frequency keyed compression (de-essing) can lessen the problem, but compressing only a portion of the vocal range introduces its own set of problems and can sound somewhat unnatural. Additionally the current trend of applying massive amounts of compression to the final mix further accentuates sibilance. If the sibilance is embedded in your source music, then there's not much you can do about it. The above suggestions about room treatments, electricity and tubes can help with your system not adding siblilance to the music.
stehno
1,453 posts
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but I would suggest that those who poo-poo the idea that AC is the main culprit for sibilance have probably never experimented with or altered their AC. Or they may have experimented with AC a bit but because of their equipment, did not notice any difference.

Last night, I tried something I've been wanting to do for some time.

I have three in-line power conditioners and three dedicated circuits/lines for amp, pre, and source.

I removed my Foundation Research LC-2 from the outlet to the amp and installed a cryo dipped Hubbell 20 amp IEC to ends of my dedicated 10ga. OFC romex and plugged it directly into the back of the amp. No outlet, no breaks, etc., just straight from the service panel to the back of the amp.

Although I noticed a tad better dynamic headroom, which was expected since the LC-2 is a bit enemic for my amp, the most noticeable degradation was the enhanced sibilance on female vocalists and cymbals. The difference was fairly substantial.

I put the LC-2 in-line power conditioner back in and sibilance is once again essentially gone.

And I know for a fact that if I were to remove all 3 in-line power conditioners, the sibilance would be greater still.

Cleaning up the electrical undoubtedly enhances numerous aspects of a decent or better system. In my experience, sibilance is at the top of those enhancements.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
I must agree 150% with Stehno's experiences above; very nicely described as well. Certainly I experienced the very same things when I performed essentially the same experiments several years ago, but with different equipment.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,212 posts
 
Stehno, are you saying that improving the quality of electricity will actually lessen the sibilance already embedded in the recordings, or will it simply prevent your system from adding any more sibilance to that which already exists. If the music signal contains sibilant effects, then your system should accurately reproduce this recording artifact. My earlier post argues that modern recording techniques will produce a good deal of sibilance within the recording. Improving the electric quality can't hurt, but it will do little to eliminate what is part of the music signal.
stehno
1,453 posts
 
No,Onhwy61, I am not saying that at all. As I already indicated in my earliest post I am already assuming that recordings and equipment are of a certain caliber.

And by that I am implying sibilance is not embedded in the recording to any appreciable degree.
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