Sibilance

Troy62

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I've had my system set up for about 2 weeks now. The speakers are running in nicely and the sound is getting better all the time.

The problem is I'm getting an awful lot of sibilance on voices, especially on albums by the likes of U2, REM and to a lesser degree on artists like Peter Gabriel etc. I was going to have the turntable as the only source but at the weekend I plugged the dvd player in to see what that sounds like. Although I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of detail I'm getting the sibilance is still there. The system is sat on a Atacama hifi rack, Equinox I think. The speakers are sat on Atacama stands that are sand filled and on spikes onto 2p coins and cable is Chord Silverscreen and they are positioned as recommended in the manual.

So could this be down to the sources not being good enough for the rest of the system, believe the Audiolab doesn't suffer fools, or have I got a problem elsewhere.
 
A

Anonymous

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It could be the recording, Yo La Tengo's Autumn Sweater has a fair amount which I only heard on upgrading. I'd be surprised if it were on every album though as you're finding.
 

bluebrazil

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you could try blutac, or whatever its called these days, between the speakers and the stands. might not do a thing but it wont have cost you much
 

Troy62

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Cheers Eddie but I don't think it's the recording as I'm getting it on a lot of albums.

I usually do use bluetac between the speaker and stands but the Quads have got rubber feet on them so would mean having to pull them off which I didn't really want to do on new speakers and assumed they were there because Quad think they sound better like that. Would it be worth going to blutak?

Any more thoughts?
 

bluebrazil

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im sure the rubber feet do a good job, im really no expert but you could try the stands sat on some concrete flags ( maybe some dampening between them and the floor like a towel if only to not scratch your wood). if this makes a difference then you could look at something more tasteful like granite or marble for keeping permantly
 

Troy62

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Might just try that, cheers mate. I've got some thick granite tiles waiting to be laid so I'll chuck a couple on the floor and see how it goes.
 

bluebrazil

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re your stands ( i have a lot of spare time tonight ) if you have filled them to the top with sand it could be the problem, try somewhere between 3 quarters and half , the one time i experimented i found approx 2/3 to be ok with sand. if you hear a difference dont ignore attabites, i know the price takes the preverbial, but in the greater scheme of things i think they are value
 

Troy62

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Hope it's not the Quads, only just bought them lol

Stands are about 2/3rds to 3/4s full. The speakers have been running in for 2-3 weeks for about 2 hours a day. I'm seriously hoping they still need plenty more running in and they'll be fine once that happens.
 

shooter

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Doing a quick internet scan and the Quad speakers seem to have some sibilant issues when new. It may be worth a chat with the dealer and keep him informed just in case it's another issue.
 

Blackdawn

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Did you demo the setup up before you bought? Especially the amp and speakers together? If you have a spare amp or some spare speakers laying around it would be worth quickly swapping them over to see if there is a difference. Or maybe you have a spare cd player to try. Just a thought. Doubt it is to do with the stands. If you have a really empty room with no furnishings, carpets and bare walls this won't help. Try to put some rugs down and carpet plus some pictures-bookcases up. You could try moving the stands-speakers around as well.
 

Troy62

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Thanks for all the reply's.

I bought the amp second hand so didn't get chance to audition but bought the speakers as everywhere said they go well together.

You might have a thing with the furnishings though. The room is pretty bare with just 2 leather sofa's and blinds to the window, no rugs or soft furnishings to speak of. If I through a couple of blankets or whatever on the floor and maybe round the window to try it do you reckon I'd see a difference?
 

Frank Harvey

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Systems can only sound as good as the CD, so if your system sounds greatth some CD's and not others, it's more than likely down to the CD. Sound quality varies hugely.

But as mentioned, let them run in more first as this might settle down.
 

Troy62

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The ones from the turntable are hard wired in. The ones from the dvd are QED, can't remember what model but they were about £30 a pair. Think they might have been Qunex but not sure. Had them a couple of years now.

Like as been said i think I need to stop being impatient and give them more time to run in. I'll have a walk to my dealer tomorrow and see how long they reckon they'll need.

Thanks for all the advice chaps.
 

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