Weak link

[tounra]

Most of the time I'm perfectly satisfied with my stereo: Marantz PM 7200 integrated amp Marantz CD 6000 KI cd Player Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 speakers I like the warm, but detailed sound a lot. The soundstage I get is pretty impressive too, considering the overall cost of this set. I listen to all kinds of music, but the main reason I bought these hifi separates is because I like classical music a lot. Pop and rock I enjoy almost as much played on a cheap ghettoblaster, but classical music just needs that kind of sophistication, a degree of transparency and weight at the same time which I get a lot when played on my Marantz/AE set. So everything is fine? Almost. Although I do not mind an ocassional 'edge' in the highs, I own some cd's which can sound really hard, grainy and fatiguing in the high-midds and highs, especially when a violin is played. Poor recorded, early 80's discs? No not necessarily, some are really good recorded classical cd's. The thing is that I do not always receive these discs as bright and digital. The sound I get from my set is mostly really gentle and fluid. Not completely without hardness, grain and dryness, but I like a certain hardness to the sound, it adds some timbre and it mostly tingles my eardrums pleasantly. So I think I'm not in a desperate need for a tube amplifier. My cd player, the CD 6000 Ki was described in reviews as a player without any 'digital nasties'. Of course it is a common phrase used in most reviews of cd players, whether it are budget of high-end players. I reckon you have to get a really expensive high-end player to get rid of the last tiny bit of grain, though I agree that the sound of the CD 6000 KI is much more sweet and analogue-like than my previous Marantz CD 5000. But do I need a new cd player? I really doubt it...I certainly am not willing to spend thousands on a new player. So my question then. Could the AE Evo 3's be the weak link in my set? I really adore the rich sound of these speakers, but maybe the treble is too much? Is there a way I can alter the frequency of the highs a bit? Or is it something I just have to live with, that some cd's are just a bit harsher than others? Or is my own hearing the weak link? which isn't a constant factor: sometimes I recieve a certain disc as hard and grainy, sometimes not.

 

[tounra]

What's with the layout?
I used spaces, but the text is cramped together???

 

[Anonymous]

Yes ;I get the paragraph problem aswell,not sure why.

Sometimes these problems we hear are in the recordings,some disc are recorded in a more sympathetic way than others,I find alot of pop sounds very compressed and bass heavy,so if it is truly shocking,but if was recorded in a bad room,that poor sound can get transfered to the CD you hear.

You are finding the other spectrum,where the treble is bothering you,if it really is that much of a concern try some other speakers,the source I think is fine,but try some different speakers,I'm not familiar with Acoustic Energy speakers so can't comment.

 

[tounra]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I may consider different speakers, but they sound gorgeous most of the time.
My room isn't exactly without clothes and furniture so this can't be the problem.

(...this layout thing is really annoying, who wants to read a large block of text?)

 

[Thaiman]

I think you have a nice balance if a little laid back system. The smooth marantz meet the high energy of er...Acoustic Energy

 

[tounra]

Thanks!

Yes, I like it a lot, let aside the occasional hardness...
I was wondering, could it be a jitter problem?
I read a couple of times about high frequency noise, concerning mostly single bit Marantz cd players and maybe I am very sensitive to this kinda noise?
My previous cd player, the CD 5000, which I still own has the same thing with a couple of cd's.

Listening music through headphones I occasionally hear a faint hiss.
Not exactly a hiss isolated from the music, but it sometimes it just pops into my ear, sometimes accompanied by a non-musical artifact, an edgy side timbre.
Is this the cause of some kind of hardness and grain?

 

[tounra]

Case closed.
Forget my previous post.
Nothing wrong with my speakers nor my cd player (Jitter? what the hell was I talking about?)
I just happened to listen, the last couple of days, to some really tinny recorded/produced cd's.
It would be nice though if there was a way to make these cd's sound great.

Right now I'm playing Bartok's 4 orchestral pieces (Pierre Boulez on DG) and I am honestly thinking: the sound is way too soft and rounded...