Help on too much sibilance

Rethep

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May 2, 2011
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Who can help me out from the sibilanceproblem. Since i have my new amp (Cayin) instead of Audio Innovations, i have too strong (sharp) s-sounds f-sound and t-sounds. The Cayin sounds very good on dynamics and ambiance and open, but i could do without the new problem.

Could a Cambridge DAC already solve something of this. Or any other (cheap) DAC ? Till now i use the analog output from my iMac. I think it does not sound dull or flat as many people say! My CD-player does not give to much better sound.

Or is there another solution ? Acoustic ?
 
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Anonymous

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Rethep said:
Since i have my new amp (Cayin) instead of Audio Innovations, i have too strong (sharp) s-sounds f-sound and t-sounds.

Cayin make a number of amps, I have really no idea which one you have.

In view of the almost total lack of information I'd suggest the fix appears to be: go back to the Audio Innovations amp.
 
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Anonymous

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Sorry Rethep - didn't read your sig.

I suggest getting a Behringer Ultracurve DAC and a small optical cable, and setting the Upsample button on the Ultracurve to 88.2. This will sort out the front end for you - to eliminate if (and improve the sound!!).

What make of tubes are fitted in the Cayin - are they decent quality? You may also need to run it for a bit to allow the capacitors and iron to bed down, especially if they use fancy audio capacitors - standard Polypropylene seem to be OK from the get go.
 

Rethep

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Thanks Globs. The Cayin has its standard tubes and they should sound good. Th amp had enough of running in (aprox 300 hours). The sound from my computer (iMac) has also sharp "s" sometimes. The Audio Innovations (absolutely not a bad amp!) is more kind of rosy sound. Warm and open. Sometimes i miss it. The Cayin is much more open at the cost of highlighting the s-sounds.
 
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Anonymous

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Can you name some of the tracks you find sibilance on - maybe I can contrast and compare if I can play the same track here?

I'd definitely go for a separate DAC though - Behringer or DACMagic I reckon. I use an optical link from the Airport express to an UltraMatch, then digital at 88.2k/24 to an Ultracurve, then direct from the DAC into my tube amp.

There is a chance the Cayin is not designed quite right - not sure I know anough about them. Try posting on DiyAudio on the tube amps sections - someone may know - there's a lot of expertise there and anything can be adjusted - the sound is only a result of a particular set of bias points etc.
 

Rethep

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To name some albums:

Portishead: Dummy, Joe Jackson: Night and Day, Lou Reed/John Cale: Songs for Drella (e.g. track: Style it takes), Massive Attack: Mezzanine (esp. the tracks with Elisabeth Frazer singing), PJ Harvey: To bring you my love.

In general i think everything gets a little edge and tracks with already some sharpness are highlighted. The Cayin brand in general is considered to be rather good. Good imaging, good bass for a tube-amp. Beside the sharp "s" the sound is rather sweet, even sweeter than my Audio Innovations. That makes the contrast between the sweetness and sharp s extra big maybe. The Cayin has KT88's, the Audio Innovations has EL 34's.

With my Audio Innovations i could not hear any substantial difference between the Airport Express and the DACMagic. The Beringer you describe is it something special then ? I know the brand by name but not this particular one.
 
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Anonymous

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I think the main problem lies with the Epos, they are a bit heavy on the treble. A cayin tubeamp shouldn´t cause that much problem.

For a smoother dac, look at the arcam rdac, no ssounds there, and keep away from the dacmagic.

good luck!
 
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Anonymous

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I tried listening to Lou Reed/John Cale: Songs for Drella : Style it takes, didn't notice any sibilance although it wasn't on a desperately good system.

Will try it on the main system at the weekend!
 

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