PSB Image T6 fuzzy sound

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

I don't know about the bad recording idea. I do agree that some recordings are bad in some spots but you are hearing it all over the place. I don't know though I could be wrong, but still, good speakers should sound good most of the time and if they make "the recordings hard to listen to" why would people buy them. The point is to make the recordings enjoyable to listen to, to take you away so you get lost in the music. Keep us informed on what you find out!

I've had CD's that have gone bad that can make some funny sounds, sometimes similar to what you are experiencing. If you can get your hands on a duplicate CD, it'd be interesting to pop that in and see if the problem persists.

Last year when i auditioned the magnepan 1.7's i brought along my Nora Jones cd to see what it sounded like on them, the dealer told me that the Nora Jones cd was badly recorded, he actually pointed all what you are hearing out to me on the new maggies, on less revealing speakers you won't hear it.