End of a long quest to vanquish sibilance.


As some of you are aware, I’ve spent nearly two years attempting to root out this annoyance, along with fatigue, from my modest system. No one knows just how frustrating this has been more than the handful of forum members who’ve provided numerous suggestions and insights along the way. You gentlemen know who you are and I’d like to thank you again for your ongoing generosity and camaraderie. Eliminating the source of fatigue (DAC) proved easier than the sibilance.

Having swapped out everything except speakers, with no impact on sibilance, I identified a pair of monitors that 1) I could afford, 2) are universally praised and 3) come with a refund policy. I figured this was the only thing left to try, aside from power conditioning.

When the new speakers arrived, I noticed they were a bit taller than my Silverlines so in an effort to compensate for the difference in tweeter height relative to my ears when seated, I removed the concrete pavers under my speaker stands. These are clearly visible on my virtual systems page.

When the new speakers were hooked up, I pressed "play" on my Jay’s transport remote and was immediately shocked. The sibilance was gone! I put the Silverlines back onto the stands and the sibilance was still absent. That was about two months ago and the sibilance demon has yet to reappear. Although I preferred the sound of the Silverlines and returned the other speakers, if it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t likely have solved this problem.

Perhaps my experience will help someone else. I was familiar with the maxim "everything matters" but I still failed to consider one "thing" that was sitting in plain sight the whole time I was tearing my hair out.

So, I will reiterate : "Everything matters" actually does mean every thing!

 

 

 

 

 

stuartk

Ok, well congratulations! But, I can’t imagining finding that but to stumble on it.

It is interesting. I realized, that I will usually only put so much effort (quite a bit) into solving a problem. Then just go on. Typically, I’ll do something unexpected and discover the real cause of the problem. I realize I developed this largely unconscious method over decades of problem solving… you just made me conscious of it. Thanks.

@ghdprentice 

Interesting. I wonder if some other part of the brain kicks in once we exhaust the possibilities dictated by reason.

I agree that in my case, I probably would never had discovered the root of the problem had I not happened to demo speakers with taller cabinets. I would've gone on to exploring power conditioners and perhaps given up entirely on vocal music... 

I was just lucky, I guess. 

 

Congrats on solving the issue. It’s a good feeling when it all comes together.

Good deal! In the end it doesn't matter if you figured it out or got lucky. Glad your happy.