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B&W speakers sounding very harsh?

Hey guys, brand new here.

So I recently got a new sound system for my game room. Keep in mind as I'm explaining everything that I'm brand new to the world of sound systems and how they work.

Here's what I'm using: I have a Marantz SR7015, a pair of B&W 702 S2's that are being powered from a Rotel amp (can't remember the model) , 700 series center channel, 600 series rears (the anniversary edition) and the 1000w sub. I also have 4 overhead speakers that are no B&W's.

The system sounds amazing! .....except for one thing. The highs sound very harsh on certain songs. It's almost like I hear a crackling if that makes sense but even putting my ears up to the speakers I can't pinpoint it. A good example is T.N.T. by AC/DC, when I listen to this song it's almost like I can hear a buzzing or crackling coming from somewhere (watch me explooooooooooode!) and the highs of the song sound very grating. Again, I'm having difficulty pinpointing what it could be and I listen to some songs and they sound just fine.

Keep a few things in mind. A. The sound system is relatively new and the sound system has probably 60 total hours of play time. I've read that these systems do require break in time. I also started from scratch learning how to configure everything (it took me 2 days before I figured out how to get sound of the speakers turned on) so it's possible I may have the tweeters turned up too high.

Based on the limited info I was able to give, does anyone have any advice? TY!
vgundam21

Showing 3 responses by james633

james633
912 posts
 
I owned the 702s in college a looong time ago lol. 
They have a nasty upper midrange peak. They worm my ears out quick. On the perfect music it was kind of magical with it’s upper mid range peak but most of the time I just wore me out. Look for stereophile’s measurements of similar B&Ws and the 5k peak is almost always there.  
Personally I would just change front speakers before chasing electronics. 
james633
912 posts
 
I got my model wrong in the post above. I had the 703s (not 702s) which is very similar to the current 702 from a driver layout perspective. 
james633
912 posts
 
850cc

As a past owner of the 700 series the sibilants (s-sounds) are due to the midrange/crossover they use. There is a peak somewhere from 3-5k. I am sure the measurements show it. Not only is there a peak but it seems like cone break up as well. No electronics will fix it and if it really bothers you I would move to a different brand. 
I found the same issue with the 804d3. Only when moving to the 805s did it go away. Not sure about the 803d3 as I have not spend a lot of time with them, just demos. 
I own both Rotel and Macintosh amps. I can say the Rotel is brighter as a house sound. Is the Rotel bright or McIntosh dark? I don’t know but the McIntosh does soften the edges a bit and is more enjoyable. A change in amp will NOT fix the mids on the B&Ws though. 
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