I have NOVA V's and I am not happy
I have a Mark Levinson 585 and a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica Nova V's and although I admittedly have some room acoustic issues that I am working on I am not happy with the sound.
I listen to music LOUD. This Pairing thru a pair of Kimber Cable 8TC's gets bright in what I think is the 2 to 4 khz range and the sonus faber nova's seem to mute the lower end of female vocals, artist like Macy Gray or Tina Turner dont seem to have the same drive in the lower octaves. At the same time the upper end of vocals like Sheryl Crow can get too bright and cause fatigue (I am assuming this is in the 2 to 4khz range) I have tried every speaker placement you can think of, toe in, toe out. distance from front wall and I am adding acoustic treatments as fast as they can be shipped.
Here is my question, I had Mark Levinson 436 Mono Blocks in the past connected to a pair of B&W Nautilus 802's thru a pair of MIT Shotgun bi-wire speaker cables and I never noticed that system to be bright. Granted that system was in a different room in a different house. Everyone is telling me that B&W is a brighter sounding speaker by far over Sonus Faber. If I decide after all my room treatments that I am not a fan of the Sonus Faber sound where should I turn for my replacement speaker? Or is it Mark Levinson's Fault? I want Rich Lush Loud Musical sound. I like a decent sound stage, I also really love it when when you hear decay from the instruments. I don't really care if that's what is neutral or not that's what I like :)
Where did I go wrong and what can I do to fix it?
Thanks Lee
Could also be the Sonus Fabers are reproducing the recording with all its warts. I have the same issue with my Thiel 3.6’s. On great recordings they are unbeatable; on poor recordings the performance better be great for me to tolerate. If you’re on Qobuz, go to a recording of sopranos Francesca Aspromonte or Sabine Devielhe. May not be your cup o’ tea but just listen to their vocal range and see if there is the same harshness in the upper registers. |
The best way to tell is to move your seating position next to the speakers. Like put the speakers together and your seat 3' away. The difference between that and what you hear when 8'-10' away is the room. Another,, less easy way is to get some blankets. This type of compression in the midrange often happens in the floor between/behind the speakers. Do some cheap experimentation. |
| Post removed |
@rlross3 I agree with your assessment of B&W Nautilus and the latest Sonus Faber. The older series SF such as Cremona, etc. were dark/warm sounding. But the latest SF are transparent and don’t have the warmth the older SF speakers were known for. Also, Kimber cables I tried in my system in an attempt to get a bit more air and details resulted in similar experience. The KS interconnects made my system sound bright and fatiguing. Yes slightly more detailed but the cure was worse than the disease. Lastly, look into a warmer sounding amplifier such as Pass or Luxman. Someone mentioned hearing Levinson with Magico A3 and it wasn’t warm not an indication. The A3 sound like the older Cremona may be even darker. |
