PSB Image T6 fuzzy sound

Hello B_limo,

If I may ask, what convinced you that the sound wasn't indicative of a blown tweeter? Although I did a comparison with my T5's, part of me still can't shake the idea that the tweeters are blown. It really just doesn't sound right. It may just be a matter of adjusting my expectations. I bought these with the intention for home theater.

Anyhow, here are few of the tracks and times that I noticed the high "fuzz" on. I hope you have access to some of the same CDs.

Artist Norah Jones, Album "Come Away With Me"
Track 1 "Don't Know Why"
0:10 through 0:13
0:22
0:38
0:50
1:00 through 1:04
1:10 through 1:18
Track 2 "Seven Years"
0:15
0:30
0:40
Track 3 "Cold Cold Heart"
0:23
0:40
1:07
1:10
1:22 through 1:24
1:47
2:00 through 2:11 (the whole piano part has this fuzzy hiss to it)

Artist The XX, Album "Coexist"
Track 9 "Unfold"
0:40
1:00

Artist Diana Krall, Album Live in Paris
Track 4 "The Look of Love"
0:49 through 0:51
1:22 (the "Long I've waited" part really brings out the hiss)

Artist Bic Runga, Album Drive
Track 1 "Drive"
0:41 through 0:43 (pay particular attention when she sings the word "know")
1:05 (notice the sound of the singing "feeling I guess")

Artist Coldplay, Album Parachutes
Track 1 "Don't Panic"
The chorus "we live in a beautiful world" brings out the hiss
1:20 through 1:23 (the piano part is pretty bad sounding)
1:50 through 1:54
Track 6 "Trouble"
0:40

Thanks again,
Kevin

Eek! That must of took some time to compile that list. Just one or two tracks would have done, my man! Anyhow, all I had to do was listen to the Norah jones cd to realize we definately aren't talking about the same thing. The fuzziness I am hearing is more of a distorted crunchiness that is only apparent in some rock music (mainly three doors down) during electric guitar solos.

Anyhow, I would think that you definately have an issue here. You are noticing it quite often. The Norah Jones cd I am listening to sounds perfect. I also listened to the coldplay cd and heard nothing.

This is definately not a charecteristic of your speakers. It's interesting that you heard it in your surround speakers also. I was going to say that you should hook up another pair of speakers and see if you still hear the sound. It may be a pair of rca patch cords going bad on you. I've heard rca's do what you are describing. Go to best buy or wal-mart and pick up a new pair. You can take them back, and I would even if that is the problem, once you order yourself a good pair of the net.

Hope you get it figured out soon! Must be a drag to get a new pair of speakers and not be able to enjoy them. Those are nice speakers and they will sound great once you get this figured out. If there is anything else I can do to help you I will! Nice taste in music by the way :-)

Thanks Limo! I will look into the cables next.

Kevin

I don't think it's your speakers, if your speakers are new maybe the company upgraded something in the crossovers, better caps? compared to older versions of the same model speaker giving you a little more detail, i ran your test on my infinity IRS epsilons, these speakers were $16,000.00 when they were new in 1995, they have so much detail from top to bottom that they will reveal the weakest link in your electronics and the good and the bad in all recordings...much better than any other speaker i have ever owned, they use planar tweeters, planar midranges, planar midbass drivers and a servo controlled 12"woofer, if you want to see what they look like you can search them on the web, i listened to where you marked the points in the Nora Jones cd and i hear the noise to, actually i heard this years ago and had to laugh at how bad it was recorded, it almost sounds like at times it gets distorted when they play or sing too loud but then at some points in the recording when they are not playing loud you can hear it too, i don't think it's your speakers i think it's just a bad recording.

Hello Okeeteekid. Thank you for taking the time to go through the listening exercise. The reply is much appreciated. You may be onto something with the bad recording idea. After B_Limo's response regarding the cables as a possible culprit, I swapped out the pair running out of the OPPO that went into the CD inputs of the Arcam for a different set (same model, same manufacturer). I heard the same thing, which leads me to think that the bad sound isn’t coming from that cable itself. I have a 99 cent pair that I am looking to try later today to see how the sound changes. I am not expecting much, but for a buck, it has some entertainment value. The only drawback is, my wife is getting pretty tired of Norah Jones.

During the process, I started to wonder if it was that particular set of RCA jacks on the Arcam, so I used an auxililary set instead. I got the same results. I guess if there is anything positive to come out of it, I am happy to know that the Arcam is consistent.

Being even more curious, I next decided to bypass the analog output from the Oppo and use the optical output instead. The bad hissing sound was not there. Unfortunately, some of the other resolution also went with it as I suspect the DAC in the Arcam is no where near as capable as that of the Oppo. I’ll have to spend some more time listening to determine what’s been improved and what’s be degraded. That’s all part of the maddness that makes this hobby fun right?

In terms of the Norah Jones recording, the thought of it being a bad recording never really occurred to me. For as long as I’ve been dabbling in this hobby (on and off since 2002), I’ve always thought it was a great recording. Thank you for giving me the new perspective. On my previous system which I thought was superior component wise (Meadowlark Ospreys, Bryston BP-20, Bryston 4bst, Arcam cd72) to my current setup, I never recalled the sound being so apalling. That system is still in the “family” so one day I think I’m going to take the Oppo over and see if the hiss is there. Should be fun.

Thanks again,
Kevin