Can the same speakers have different sounds?

[admin_exported]

I'm in the process of running-in my new B&W 684s and I'm generally delighted with their performance but I've noticed that one tweeter is brighter than the other. Initially I thought that the duller tweeter was perhaps faulty but now I'm not sure if the other one is simply giving that impression by being more 'tinny'.

Has this happened to anyone else, and should I expect their respective sounds to merge toward normal at the end of the running-in period?

 

[Anonymous]

have you tried switching the speaker cables? just to make sure...

right speaker into left input on amp and vice versa..

 

[Anonymous]

Yes I did try that but the same difference was there. I even played mono tracks to make sure that it wasn't simply down to the mix of the stereo tracks I'd been listening to.

 

[Anonymous]

sounds like a faulty tweeter then, but which one....

 

[Cold Roses]

It's possible that the difference in sound could be a result of room dynamics. Have you tried switching the speakers around?

 

[Alantiggger]

'' but I've noticed that one tweeter is brighter than the other'' .......... really ?

 

[007L2Thrill]

Chester, yes iv had the same thing happen to me with a pair of TDL RTL 3 when one tweeter was really clear and add a higher output and the other just sounded dull, I replaced the tweeters with new ones and they was fine. I would do want cold roses said and swap the speakers around as it could be room acoustics playing there part.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice! I'll try swapping them around this weekend and see if it makes any difference.

 

[AKMH]

Chester, just wondering if your speaker cables are connected to the high frequency or low frequency terminals at the back of your speakers? I also recently acquired the 684s (brilliant speakers!) and your issue with the tweeters should not be occurring. It's generally advisable to connect to the HF terminals, assuming you are single-wiring, but try experimenting to see if the problem resolves. Also curious about the rest of your setup, including cables?

 

[Anonymous]

AKMH:Chester, just wondering if your speaker cables are connected to the high frequency or low frequency terminals at the back of your speakers? I also recently acquired the 684s (brilliant speakers!) and your issue with the tweeters should not be occurring. It's generally advisable to connect to the HF terminals, assuming you are single-wiring, but try experimenting to see if the problem resolves. Also curious about the rest of your setup, including cables?

They're connected to the LF terminals on both speakers with the jumper bars in place and I'm single-wiring with Oddy 2. I didn't notice anything similar happening with the Focals which, since nothing else has changed, makes me think it must be new the B&Ws. I'm wondering if it's possible that one speaker needs more running-in than the other, ie. perhaps the brighter sounding tweeter will become mellower and smoother, and sounding more like the other one?

I'll let you know what happens over the weekend as I continue to break them in.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I tried swapping the CD interconnects and then the speaker cables round but with no effect. I then physically swapped the speakers around and was amazed to find that the problem hadn't also moved! At least this shows that the B&Ws are OK.

It seems to be a characteristic of the amp which I hadn't noticed with the Focals for some reason. I can't really call it a fault as such, it's just that one tweeter is a bit brighter than the other. Bizarre. The only other possibility is Cold Roses' suggestion regarding room dynamics having an impact.

The left speaker (the brighter) is 13" from the back wall, 6" from the system rack and 10" from the side wall. The right speaker is 13" from the back wall, 6" from the system rack and 36" from the side wall (with wooden door). Could the extra room on that side really be havng an effect?

 

[Cold Roses]

In short, yes - the variance in distance to the side wall could well be the cause of the imbalance. Speaker positioning and room acoustics have a significant impact on sound.

I'd definitely play around with speaker positioning, before you start investigating possilbe faults with the amp more specifically. Even if the size and shape of your room, plus the practicalities of everyday living, ultimately forces you to position the speakers in a less than optimum place (which, frankly, I imagine is the case for most of us), I'd experiment by moving the speakers out into the room (i.e., away from the rack) and equi-distant from the walls. That may not actually provide the optimum sound in your room (other acoustic factors come into play), though it should give you a better idea if you have a fault in your equipment. You can then work from there.

 

[Anonymous]

Cold Roses:

In short, yes - the variance in distance to the side wall could well be the cause of the imbalance. Speaker positioning and room acoustics have a significant impact on sound.

I'd definitely play around with speaker positioning, before you start investigating possilbe faults with the amp more specifically. Even if the size and shape of your room, plus the practicalities of everyday living, ultimately forces you to position the speakers in a less than optimum place (which, frankly, I imagine is the case for most of us), I'd experiment by moving the speakers out into the room (i.e., away from the rack) and equi-distant from the walls. That may not actually provide the optimum sound in your room (other acoustic factors come into play), though it should give you a better idea if you have a fault in your equipment. You can then work from there.

Thanks for the advice Cold Roses, much appreciated. Hi-Fi can be a pain in the backside sometimes!

 

[Nas88]

Hey Chester, this might help as I had the exact same issue with my 684s. If you have a look at my pictures on 'Your System', 1 speaker is close to a wall on the side, the other doesn't.

After a few days, I started to notice that 1speaker (left) without a wall to the side sounded a bit more prominent then the right speaker. I swapped cables over, same result, than I swapped speakers over same result. I toed in the right speaker to reach my right ear more directly and it all seemed to work better. Now me like!

 

[Sliced Bread]

Not to scare you, but something worth checking. See if you have the same effect with headphones, or by swapping the speakers over.I had the same problem and unfortunately the problem turned out to be my EARS. I'd never noticed it before on a day to day basis.I'm sure one of the other posts are correct, but it is worth checking.