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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

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bigkidz
3,385 posts
 

Stop using cables as tone controls.  The Sonus are in no way bright sounding speakers.  It is not the room either.  It is the equipment you are using.  We have Vivid speakers in our Listening Room with a brick wall behind them.  No room treatments.  Brightness comes from you equipment as the speakers are only communicating what is feed to them. Someone mentioned Mac components.  Now they are warm and musical.  The ML will never offer a "lush" sound.  It is not how they are designed.

Happy Listening.   

ler0ck
10 posts
 

Buy a mic and measure before give any commend about sound quality.

grislybutter
3,078 posts
 

SF isn't as great as the myth, but probably great enough with the right equipment. For sure the best looking speaker design and easy to (re)sell.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,100 posts
 

Yup the two myths…B&Ws are bright and terrible and SFs are warm and welcoming. Goes back a looong time. Hasn’t been true for at least 10-12 years.
It’s all about synergy. Careful matching and you can get most speakers to sing (at this level at least). And yes matching includes cables. It is not about using cables as tone controls but it is about using cables that match up well and do no harm.

mofojo
2,300 posts
 

@bidkidz,

 

+1 about using cables as tone controls. Cables can make a “different flavor “ difference but will not turn something into something else. Cables ain’t gonna fix your issue.
 

Sounds like you just don’t like the speakers although the Sonus reputation is the opposite of how you described them as being bright. Heard some models at dealers in the past but was never overly depressed by them. 

 

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