Bright sounding music via av receiver

[Chris1725]

I posted this query as part of another topic several weeks ago, but havn't had any reply.

My setup includes a Yamaha RX-V475 5.1 channel receiver and a Sony BDP-S790 blu-ray player and is used for both films and music I currently use a pair of old Tannoy Mercury M3 floorstanding speakers for the front left and right channels. When listening to music, both multichannel and stereo recordings played via my blu-ray player, i find the sound can at times be rather bright, even with the front speakers set to large on the receiver. I listen mainly to classical music, but also some rock and pop as well. I generally find that more recent recordings are more likely to sound bright. While adjusting the receiver's tone control can improve things to a certain extent. I'm wondering what's the best way of reducing the brightness of the sound, or would I have to replace my speakers to hear a noticable improvement in this regard.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Is this at normal or higher volumes? And are you transferring audio from the Bluray player via HDMI, or the analogue outputs?

 

[Chris1725]

The blu-ray player is connected to the receiver via HDMI, and the volume level doesn't have to be particularly high to notice the brightness.

 

[Native_bon]

From my setup it really makes no difference weather am using HDMI or anologue. Don't think that will make any difference as regards brightness. I think the problem may come from not matched the items properly. What is your room like?. Have you got a lot of soft furniture in the listening room. Have you tried moving the speakers around if possible?.

Also did you buy these items as one or seperately.

 

[Chris1725]

I find that older recordings generally do not sound as bright as more recents ones.

 

[Native_bon]

I find that older recordings generally do not sound as bright as more recents ones.

Thats a problem thats being long discussed about on whathifi forum. Most morden recordings are badly mastered & badly compressed.

 

[Chris1725]

The room in question is a small 3x2 metre sized bedroom. It has laminate flooring and the bed is along the back wall of the room. My av setup includes a Samsung UE32F6800 32 inch tv in addition to the receiver and blu-ray player. All the items, with the exception of the centre and rear speakers which are part of an old Yamaha NSP110 package that came bundled along with my first receiver around 11 years ago, were brought seperatly. I'm considering the possibility of replacing these Yamaha speakers, as the rear speakers are starting to open up at the sides which are badly scratched.

 

[Chris1725]

I've heard some rock and pop recordings that make for a particularly dreadful listening experince, especially when played back on a seperates setup, due I gather, to the way they have been mastered so as to sound good on a portable device such an iPod, while perhaps listening in a noisy environment, but I thought that this is much less of an issue with regards to classical music.

 

[Native_bon]

Have you tried any of my suggestions as per moving speakers. If you must, then audition or borrow a pair of speakers or take your boxes to the shop & try with other speakers. Only way to know for sure is to demo them at home. What ever you do, do not buy blindly without proper demo.

 

[ellisdj]

Most modern music is not as bad as it gets blamed on here.
Not saying it's all great but blaming the media is burying the head in the sand to ignore the real cause of which there can be many.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Have you tried changing the AVR settings for the speakers? Specifically whether you're telling the receiver theyre small or large, limited frequency or full range, and / or playing with the low frequency cut offs / subwoofer takes over settings?

 

[bigboss]

It's the first time ever that I've seen anyone say that Yamaha receiver is bright. It's usually on the warm side. If you say only some recordings sound bright and not all, the issue is likely to be with the recordings. Check the settings as others suggest.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Are your speakers in phase? If they're out of phase, you will notice a lack of bass, which in turn can produce a bright sound.

 

[Chris1725]

With the front speakers set to large on my receiver, there seemed to be little difference to the sound much of time than when set to small, though occasionally there was a little more bass. At times the sound seems particularly bright. I do recall What HIFI's review of my blu-ray player, the Sony BDP-S790, stating that its sound can be "a touch lean at times".

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

With the front speakers set to large on my receiver, there seemed to be little difference to the sound much of time than when set to small, though occasionally there was a little more bass. At times the sound seems particularly bright. I do recall What HIFI's review of my blu-ray player, the Sony BDP-S790, stating that its sound can be "a touch lean at times".

See if you can borrow a pal's BDP or CDP and try that out. If it cures the problem, there's your answer. Replacement BDPs are dirt cheap right now as everyone's waiting for the next wave of 4K units to hit the shelves. Here, Bestbuy and the other big electrical stores have all but stopped stocking "antiquated" 1080p BDPs, but the Samsung UHD units are flying out the door (especially as they're now down to under $320 plus tax).

You could also, at the risk of attracting ire from all the "cables make no difference" brigade, also try a different HDMI cable or connecting the audio (RCA) or digital audio outputs from the BDP to the receiver, bypassing your HDMI cable. Make sure any new HMDI cable is up to the latest HDMI specification, 2.0, September 2013 edition, and don't use el-cheapo RCA / fibre optic (won't make a lot of difference, this one, admittedly) / coaxial audio cables either.

 

[richardw42]

Don't even waste your time expecting a change of bdp to make any difference. Unless somebody can explain how it can be at all possible that a digital signal along a HDMI cable can result in bright or warm sound.

Some of the recordings you listen to might be to blame, but it's almost certainly the room and/or speakers.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Does no harm to try, especially if the items can be borrowed. At least then the OP will know whether or not it's his BDP, cables, or the receiver and speakers.

 

[Chris1725]

I tried the optical audio output from my blu-ray to the receiver and the sound was if anything, slightly less bright then with the HDMI connection. The difference was minimal though.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Dumb question maybe, but have you checked the speakers with a different amp?
I think we're down to eliminating possibles here now...
And whatever is left, however IMprobable...

 

[Chris1725]

I orginally had the Tannoy Mercury M3s connected up to a Marantz stereo amplifier used in conjunction with a Marantz CD player back in the late 1990s, and sold both Marantz items around 11 years ago when i first upgraded to a surround setup, but overall I don't recall the sound being quite as bright as at times with my current setup.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

If the speakers are that old, could they be on the way out? See if you can beg (not) steal or borrow a pair from a pal and see how those sound.

 

[Chris1725]

I have been considering a new set of 5.1 speakers for some time now, since my current satellite rears are coming apart at the sides, but haven't decided which package to go for yet. I might have to wait until then to see if there is any diference to the sound.

 

[Chris1725]

I recently received as a gift, the Wharfedale DX-1SE speaker package in its black finish. I hadn't read any reviews of this package beforehand. Now I have the centre and the two rear speakers connected up to my Yamaha RX-V475 receiver, along with my old Tannoy Mercury M3 floorstanders as the front pair. The rear speakers are mounted on a shelf above my bed at the back of the room. I don't have the Warfedale subwoofer hooked up as I feel, going by its specification, that it may be a bit too powerful for my requirements, given my small room and that I'm not a big fan of floor shaking, window rattling sonics. My setup is used for both stereo and multichannel music as well as films, and although there are occasions when I find I have to turn on my receiver's adaptive dynamic range control, even without the Wharfedale sub connected, I'm generally pleased with the sound, which is on the whole more detailed and less bright than that of my old Yamaha NS-P110 package, with a noticeable improvement in the area of bass frequencies.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Glad to hear (ahem) your good news.

I suggest you try the Wharfedales fronts just to see if your old Tannoys are the culprits.