Anyone have experience with using de-esser for sibilance in home audio system?


I've been experiencing sibilance over the past year and have arrived at the conclusion that it's my hearing. 

I'm wondering whether a pro-audio de-esser might help.

Does anyone have experience with this?  

 

stuartk

I have been having that same problem for about a year now. IMHO it is your ears.As we age our hearing changes as mine did and now at almost 65 I have no choice but to listen to your music with a background hissing ( tinnitus).Believe me, I did so much experimenting (and very costly) to finally accept my tinnitus condition after seeing an audiologist.BTW, I have the Weiss 501 with all the room improvement features and it’s not the room but ears. My friends tell me my music is crystal clear like they never heard before so on that note I accepted my condition and decided to stop looking and spending and JUST ENJOY THE MUSIC 🎶🎼

My tinnitus started almost a year ago, and it bothers me throughout the day. Fortunately, I haven't noticed a change in the sibilance level from my audio systems. Does this rule out tinnitus as the cause? I don't know, but I want to emphasize that there might be a correlation rather than a causation.

I recall two instances where I observed improvements in the sibilance level. The first occurred during an audition of the Wharfedale Evo4.2 speakers, where the sibilance level diminished substantially to my surprise. However, I opted to return them due to other considerations. The second instance was when I introduced a preamp into my system’s chain. It notably enhanced sound quality in almost every aspect, including sibilance control. In my case, it appears to be gear-dependent.

I have tinnitus but I'm not specially bothered with sibilance even so it is present in some songs. I have no experience with de-essers but I don't see why I would limit myself to adjusting only one frequency. Instead I use the Loki max eq. Not often but it comes in handy with poorly sounding recordings. If that does not help, it surely would be your ears and just like tinnitus, the best way to deal with it is to learn to accept it, relax and enjoy whatever sounds you can still hear. Good luck to you.

 

 

 

 

 

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Assuming you DO hear it through headphones, then EQ is the right answer instead of a de-esser, compressor.

If you don't it's the room being too bright and needing absorption and diffusion.