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Vocals and upper midrange too forward?

Hey all - I just have a question regarding my new speakers.  I would say I am an audiophile apprentice.  I just got new speakers in the system and likely they have a more sophisticated sound with tighter bass and likely more detail but I think that the upper midrange (my words but it seems to be noticeable with male vocals and some guitar etc) is too forward.  Current system uses Prima Luna Dialog HP Integrated and went from Totem Sttaf to Devore Fidelity Gibbon 88.  I notice it both with analog and CD sources.  At first the sound was more "advanced" with the Devore speakers and I was hearing things in the vocals with bands like the Allman Brothers that I had not heard before.  As time goes on, I am starting to think it may border on the fatiguing.  The Sttaf with the silk dome tweeter may be more to my liking though would be a trade off with more cabinet resonance I think with the Sttaf.  Not sure if there is any fix but am I missing anything?  Anyone have similar experience?  All parts of the system are broken in I believe (I bought the Devore speakers used).  There actually may have been an improvement in the sound with the Devore speakers before the spikes were added as they were being shipped and I could not wait.  But now I have the spikes in place and positioned well I think.  Thanks in advance.
zipline11
Post removed 
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,701 posts
 
zipline11,
A kt88 is a brighter sounding tube than the EL34, so you don’t want to do that. You can try using different speaker taps and see if that works.
reubent
7,005 posts
 
Play with speaker toe-in. You can try any angle from straight ahead to having the speaker angle cross over in front on you and everything in between. I would start with straight ahead (no toe-in) and see if the anomaly disappears. This may cause some issues with the coherence of the soundstage. If so, start toe-ing in the speakers until you have the best balance between consistent soundstage and forward/fatigue.

If you can't get them to work with adjusting the positioning, you're left with trying to tame the forwardness with cables, tubes, etc.

It could be that you just prefer the totems over the new speakers......

Good Luck,

TIC
paul79
174 posts
 
Spikes.... On slab floor? Carpet? If so, I have never liked the result from this, and the issues are exactly what you are describing. Even with carpeted wood flooring.

If you have threaded inserts for the spikes in the bottoms of the speakers, look at Herbie's Audio Labs Giant Studded Glider, or Studded Gliders to replace the spikes.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,405 posts
 
I used to own a pair of DeVore Gibbon 8 speakers.  I never felt they were bright or fatiguing but they were quite lean in the bass.  I had to get them close to the wall behind them and that did help a little.  I was using an all tube preamp (Audible Illusions Modulus 3A) and a 175wpc Classe' 15 amplifier.  I ended up trying a pair of subwoofers with the speakers and eventually tired of it and sold the speakers and subs.  I would try getting them a little closer to the wall and perhaps even try close to a corner.  It may thicken up the bass enough to get rid of the leanness you describe.  I also found toe in was more critical with the Gibbon8.  Not sure how that would relate to the 88.
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