New Magico Speaker Break-in Question
This afternoon, I received my new Magico A5s, which replaced Revel Studios that I have owned for more than 20 years. The A5s are definitely more clear, have superior imaging and provide at least equal soundstaging. The bass is tighter, but, with three 9" woofers, I am surprised that it doesn't go very deep at all (fortunately, I have two SVS SB17-Ultra subwoofers that will easily take care of that shortcoming).
However, there is one aspect of these A5's performance that I find a bit disquieting and the reason for this post. The treble in the 2KHz to 5KHz seems to be a little [what I'll call] shrieking; it is somewhat uncomfortable to listen to for an extended time. I know that this loudspeaker uses a beryllium tweeter, and I have never had a speaker before that employed one. Perhaps, its tonality is what I am reacting to .
And so, my question. I have read that it takes 250+ hours for the A5s to break-in and become the speaker that Mr. Wolf and his colleagues intended. As part of that break-in, will the tweeter also blossom and become easier to listen to?
Step 1: Set them up facing straight ahead (i.e. 30 degrees off axis). If brightness still there... Step 2: Get a 31-band dBX dual mono EQ or other EQ and try to EQ out the offending frequency band. If brightness still there... Step 3: Pack them up and return or sell because no amount of gear changes, cable changes, etc will make up for a speaker's native balance. Speakers either work for your listening preferences or they don't! |
+1 @bojack Hopefully step 1 works for the OP. That is exactly what I did and it worked for me (my post above, step 1 only). |
Honest question... does a speaker such as the Magico create a harshness, or does it reproduce a harsh tone being sent to it with more clarity? I mean, do the drivers distort, etc and create the harshness? My previous preamp sounded really good most of the time, but many songs sounded sibilant. I blamed it on the recordings. When I was forced to get a new preamp, I still had excellent detail, but the sibilance was gone. Upgrading my dac also helped. I'm not saying that this is the OP's problem. I'm not familiar with his gear. |
I had exactly the same experience when upgraded SF Venere to SF Sonetto III, shrieking sound. I played them, facing each other and covered with heavy comforter, for four days using "Irrational but Efficacious" CD by Ayre. The results were obvious, shriekiness was almost gone. All together, after about 200 to 250 hours the sweet SF sound settled in. Be patient! |
I had Salk speakers with this problem and did everything to try to figure this out. In the end: nope, not even absorption could help. I also recall the Be tweeters in the Focal 926 were pesky, too. Magico is a great company but I wonder if they're designing this speaker for that "high end clarity magic" that, to some ears, is just a shriek. |
