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Help. Wife says Teres 340 Is too bright.

My Teres 340 is equipped with a Origin Live Illustrious 3 arm and Benz Ebony L cart. The rest of my system is listed.
I think the TT combo sounds great. She does too, but says the highs are just a little bright. I have played with VTA but that has not fixed the problem though she says we were headed in the right direction with tail lowered.

She says that we had the Scoutmaster just right prior to buying the Teres. Funny thing is that I thought the SM was a tad bright on certain albums. But she didn't. Now I think the 340 is just right but she thinks it bright on some recordings.

The only component that I can think that would be causing this is the tonearm. I cannot imagine the Benz Ebony L as bright. Nor do I think it is the Teres. I really think we (wife & I) need to have our ears calibrated so as to agree on brightness. But since that isn't going to happen, I suppose I should figure out how to please us both. So, do you think I'm on the right track with the tonearm being the culprit? What tonearm would give a warmer presentation? Thanks for your help
128x128artemus_5
jj2468
280 posts
 
May I suggest that you call Alan at Silverline. He is a very nice guy.

Your speaker is about 93db @ 8 ohms and has a silk dome tweater. It is largely voiced using moderate power to moderately low power tube amps. A friend of mine drives a pair with a 300b amp and uses a lesser benz cartridge and it sounds great. The Silverline is designed to allow you to take advantage of the benefits of low to moderate power tube amps. The CJ is likely designed for 4ohm speakers at less than 90db efficiency. (See the white paper at the Atmasphere website).

Two-hundred fifty-watts of solid state CJ into this speaker is not a good match for the speaker or for the amp.

I don't think a suggestion that you buy vaguely "better" gear is helpful. All your gear is good gear. IMHO, start with a good power match between speaker and (tube)amp. Then go for tweaks, treatments, cables, etc.. Jeff
dre_j
159 posts
 
Even without messing with spending more money to invest in a different amp, I think it may be helpful for you to find out what range of adjustments are possible with your current setup.

You tried VTA and you said your spouse thought it was going in the right direction. You can also try increasing tracking force and observing the results. Palasr made the third suggestion above which is adjusting the loading. To answer your question about loading, yes it could have an effect on the sound output with a different arm/cart combo. The best way to find out is to adjust it and note the results.

I think if you are up for it and spend a bit of time messing with these parameters, you may find a happy medium that you and your spouse can live with.

As for the amplifier change suggestions, they may yield even greater results. But that's no gaurenntee it's going to fix your immediate concern. Besides, there is never any harm in knowing how your analog rig responds to these adjustments cartridge suggested above. It could come in handy in the future.

Hope this helps,
Dre
maril555
619 posts
 
Jj2468,
Regarding Silverline Audio speakers- I beg to differ. I owned Bolero, and it absolutely did need a lot of power to sound its best.
90 w/ch. of PP tube power was not enough. 150 wt/ch of triode power (BAT-150 SE) was significantly better.
I tried SET amp- was awful.
I have a suspicion, that many manufacturers are rather optimistic in their sensitivity claims.
jj2468
280 posts
 
Maril555,
I have not heard the Bolero. Have you heard the Sonata?

What SET amp did you pair with the Bolero?
maril555
619 posts
 
Jj2468,
I have. And Bolero specs are very similar to Sonata- 92(or 93) Db and 8 Ohm.
Jas Bravo 2.3 6C33.
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