Need advice on sound system

[admin_exported]

Hi!

first of all, greetings from Spain to all What Hifi staff and readers.

I have upgraded my system lately and I'm very happy with the results. However, there is one thing that keeps me away from full enjoyment. When I play jazz music, everything is balanced and wonderful. But, with pop and rock (Stones, Beach Boys, Joan Osborne, REM, Neil Young, Jayhawks, etc.) drum cymbals and vocals doesn't quite sound natural. Harsh high frequencies that does not appear in other kind of music.

I've tried CDs (Yahama changer) and vinyls (Rega RP1 with Rega Fono Mini) and result is the same: sibilant vocals and cymbal sound like broken glass or something like that. Not natural at all. If I switch to jazz (Dizzy's Big Band, Coltrane, Art Blakey, etc.) cymbals sound is just right.

Amp is Denon PMA-710AE and speakers Monitor Audio BX5 (80+ hours of use). Speaker cable, OEM copper 2.5mm.

Question is: do you think changing speaker cable to Chord Carnival SilverScreen will 'tame' this harsh sound in some way? I also have tried to reposition the speakers in every possible way, adding some rugs to my room but… no luck at all.

Thank you in advance for your time.

 

[Lee H]

Hi & welcome,

seeing that you're in Spain, is your room mainly tile/stone? Also, how big is it?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

thanks for your comment.

Well, I live in a flat, building is 8 years old. Brick facade. Room is 22 m2.

 

[DandyCobalt]

I think Lee H is asking about the inside of your house/apartment, not the outside, unless the outside has an impact on sound

Do you have carpet, or stone/tile floors, lots of soft furnishings or little to absorb reflected sound etc?

 

[Petherick]

If I switch to jazz (Dizzy's Big Band, Coltrane, Art Blakey, etc.) cymbals sound is just right

Of course, it could just be that the jazz recordings are better! All of the other artistes you mentioned do tend towards the 'rock' sound, if you know what I mean. No criticism of the music, just something I've found - they (producers, engineers, etc.)don't necessarily consider it important that the recording sounds 'natural'.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Sounds like inappropriate speakers for your room. You could try hanging a dish cloth over the tweeters to see if that helps - an old Aussie trick from uni days, that.

 

[vonchief]

Any chance of a dish cloth shootout in the next issue of WHF

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, my fault. I tried to explain the inside describing the exterior! Anyway, I'm sure that in the Hi-Fi world someone has to think that the outside has an impact on the sound!

So, solid wood floors, not so much furniture. I know it's not an ideal room and that's why I thought that maybe another kind of speaker cable might help.

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Any chance of a dish cloth shootout in the next issue of WHF

:rofl: I have tried the cloth solution kindly provided by altruistic.lemon and... well, it sure helps to tame the treble but the whole sound is not as good as without the cloth. For example, I have some grey label Capitol Sinatra vinyls and... what a wonderful sound I get with my system! Warm, detailed, just great. So, why the sound of another recordings is so terrible?

One of the worst is Neil Young "Ragged Glory". Well, in Steve Hoffman's forums several users think that both the CD and vinyl sounds great. I can tell you that in my system both sound horrible! |(

 

[CnoEvil]

I suspect that cables aren't the answer and to get fully what you are after, it may take different componants (tubes + warmer speakers)......this may be something to look at in the future.

Meanwhile, look to room acoustics and speaker positioning. The usual suggestions apply (rugs, soft furnishings, curtains, bookshelves and plants etc. You can even get nice looking acoustic panels.

IMO. Mains cables (Clearer Audio Copperline Alpha+) and isolation devices (Deflex Foculpods) can help give a less "gritty" sound. It's worth a try provided they can be returned (the Clearer Audio allow this - give Darren a ring).

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Mickag, unfortunately when you decide to take the step from midi system to a separates system where it's soul purpose is to try & extract more detail/ resolution from your cd/record's then it soon becomes very clear that not all are recorded to the standard you hoped when you purchased them, it an be a let down to hear that some cd's are far superior to others, when your listening to jazz music you are hearing exactly what your system can be capable of when fed properly.
Cheers
Benny.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much CnoEvil and benny39 for your advices.

I have changed speaker cables from 2.5mm OEM copper to the ones that came with an old JBL 5.1 speaker system. These are 1.5mm and looks very cheap, but guess what, treble is so much better now (at least for my taste). Now I don't know if that is because these cables are so bad that tame the treble in a bad way. Bass and midrange wise the system seems to sound just as good as with the first set of cables. I guess I'm going to try with Chord SilverScreen.

By the way, I'm glad to see that cables do matter. There are sooo many people in another forums saying cable is cable... My girlfriend was out when I changed the cables, and when she came home again, she asked me what have I changed because sound were much better and natural.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi again!

I have received today the SilverScreen cables and I'm very pleased! High frequencies now sounds detailed BUT natural. Cymbals are crisp but sounding like cymbals.

I have one question about my new cables. For the moment I have connected them bare wire, but I wonder also if it's "dangerous" if I run them some days without heatshrink tube like all the SilverScreen pictures I have seen. Is it really important to "insulate" them or is it more a matter of aesthetics?

Thanks!

 

[ear]

Yess it is ok to have bare wires.no problem there.Cabes make a lot of difference.metal tweeters do to.Guess Im a fan of metal tweeters, no other material can make cymbals sound so real.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you, ear!

Now, for this part of the cable:

Will be ok leaving it without the heatshrink tube for some days?