Apart from a pair of REL T5x, I'd look at the tubes. Any idea what 6SN7s are fitted? RCA VT231 or Ken-Rad 6SN7 are on the warmer side.
Help. System sounds thin and bright or harsh
Hope this isn't redundant tried to post in Tech Talk
Just moved my system to a new home/sound room and it still sounds harsh and a bit thin despite supposedly "warm" sounding Harbeth 30.1 speakers. This issue is not new and I had put the blame on the old listening room. Can't figure out what the problem is. I listen loud at 80dcbl or higher and sit nearfield about 8 feet from the speaker plane. (sound is thin and bright from afar as well) I have experimented in both homes with speaker placement, toe-in and the like. Speakers are placed a lil over 3 feet from the rear wall and about two and a half feet from side walls. I feel something is off. Perhaps a component or two that is known to be tipped up in the highs and a lil bass shy?? Also, I leave all solid state components fully powered up 24/7. (not the tubes)
System:
Modwright/Oppo BDP 105 disc player (all mods with tubed power supply and pricey NOS tube upgrades throughout) Looking to replace once the harshness/bright issue is nailed down.
Parasound JC2 Preamp
Pass Labs X250.5 Amp
Harbeth 30.1 stand mount speakers
Puritan Labs PSM 156 power conditioner. (less "edgy" sound with it in system)
System is run all balanced with fairly costly Cardas interconnects.
All input is welcome. Thanks in advance.
Happy listening.
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Thanks guys much to think about Room is 13'2" wide in a loft with side walls extending 11 feet back from the front wall where the speakers are close to. Behind the seating position about 8 feet from the speaker plane is wide open in a loft of a two story home. Ceilings is vaulted 10 to 11 feet high as it is angled. Carpet is pretty thick. No room treatments as of yet. But as Avanti1960 speculated I USED to sit against the rear wall in the old listening room and still didn't have the warm, full sound. Bass shy for sure. Now its wide open behind me except for a four foot high wall behind the couch or seat. As for output tubes, I have two sets aside from the stock harmonix something or others. One pair is a set of matched Tungsol 6SN7's from upscale audio. The much better set is from RCA circa 1940's 6SN7 GT's. Much more sparkle and "life" compared to the Tungsols. Tungsols help a tiny bit with edgyness but rob the sound. They can't compare to the NOS RCA's. Still playing with speaker placement but since I mentioned that this problem has followed me from listening room to listening room it leads me to think the problem is component related?? Maybe bad synergy. Maybe speakers really aren't up to the task for high volume but still sound thin at low volume Call me crazy but even with all this the system has never sounded better, so I am re-invigorated to pin this issue down and upgrade if need be. Its nice cranking the volume without disturbing neighbors.
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I have the HARBETH 30.2 XD’s that developed a digital “edge” and excess brightness that needed to be fixed. (A) The HARBETHs are driven by a very beefy high-current REGA OSIRIS integrated amp. - REGA ISIS VALVE cdp/DAC, and - BRYSTON BDP-1USB digital player/ streamer/ network player feeding its stablemate BRYSTON BDA-2 DAC - each in an independent discrete 20A dedicated circuit. - cables were the ethereal challenge and finsl piece of the fix, THE FIX FOR ME: - Cables were upgraded to a better synergy match. Read on. I had an all-NORDOST FREY Ag-over-Cu cables array from a prior system . With the introduction of the HARBETHs something was now off …I upgraded to an all-CARDAS array sequentially with an unusual final upgrade choice change in the speaker cables. Was:All NORDOST FREY array. NOW: an all-CARDAS array replacing an all-NORDOST FREY array, CARDAS CLEAR XLR interconnects CARDAS CLEAR / CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTION power cables CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTION speaker cables
(1): Careful model experimentation of cables matter I was still frustrated by the cables upgrade lacking until Josh Meredith at CARDAS gave me a tip to fix it. Let me explain. My sequential cables upgrade was ICs first, then the power cables, and finally the speaker cables.Each step was a sequential audio performance upgrade , but the legacy of the shotgunned flat ribbon silver coated copper ferrule NORDOST FREY speaker cables was leaving a residual “edge” that was still “off” with that annoying (albeit sequentially progressively less …) I was torn between upgrading to the full Monty CARDAS CLEAR speaker cables or choosing the one model down CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTIONs. Josh Meredith at CARDAS ( hubby of Chief Operating Officer Angela Cardas Meredith ) gave me the key valuable tip fix, He explained that they had a similar listening room to me with a lot of glass windows creating more acute stubborn hard reflection points. They started with CARDAS CLEAR speaker cables as part of their top model all-CARDAS CLEAR array, but it was still a lingering-issue for some brightness and digital edge. They now swapped down one model to the CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTION speaker cables ..,, a “warmer” signature tonality cable model …and presto ….. their problem solved. He said it’s their “go-to” model in bright or reflective rooms. So I now followed his advice and did the same ,,,, CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTION speaker cables …and presto … problem solved for me too. Who knew? Go figger.
The following excerpt echoed that beefier diameter CARDAS speaker cables were a better match for me than my very thin and flat ribbon NORDOSTs for my HARBETHs, AUDIO SPEAKER CABLES - From Alan Shaw ” … So, the moral of the story is this: the most important factor of the loudspeaker cable that you should select is the amount of metal in the cable core. More metal means lower resistance. If the core is round (as most are) then the correlation is simple: the fatter the diameter of the metal core the better because the electrical resistance between amp and speakerwill be lower. Thin and really thin cores should be avoided regardless of how exotic the metal material is claimed as the lack of metal in the core conductor will increase resistance. That will reduce amplifier damping, affect the frequency response of the speaker and give unpredictable results that will vary from amp/speaker combination.
(3) SPEAKER STANDS FOR HARBETHs DO MATTER Your HARBETG speakers can perform a lot better if placed on quality build “ light” open-form design stands as recommended by HARBETH, (e.g. Tontraeger ...I have custom build bespoke clones done by a pro woodworker) and also properly positioned from the back wall and side walls ( min .75 m and 1 m respectively).
FWIW … |
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