2. misc-audio
  3. 191068-13640

End of a long quest to vanquish sibilance.

As some of you are aware, I’ve spent nearly two years attempting to root out this annoyance, along with fatigue, from my modest system. No one knows just how frustrating this has been more than the handful of forum members who’ve provided numerous suggestions and insights along the way. You gentlemen know who you are and I’d like to thank you again for your ongoing generosity and camaraderie. Eliminating the source of fatigue (DAC) proved easier than the sibilance.

Having swapped out everything except speakers, with no impact on sibilance, I identified a pair of monitors that 1) I could afford, 2) are universally praised and 3) come with a refund policy. I figured this was the only thing left to try, aside from power conditioning.

When the new speakers arrived, I noticed they were a bit taller than my Silverlines so in an effort to compensate for the difference in tweeter height relative to my ears when seated, I removed the concrete pavers under my speaker stands. These are clearly visible on my virtual systems page.

When the new speakers were hooked up, I pressed "play" on my Jay’s transport remote and was immediately shocked. The sibilance was gone! I put the Silverlines back onto the stands and the sibilance was still absent. That was about two months ago and the sibilance demon has yet to reappear. Although I preferred the sound of the Silverlines and returned the other speakers, if it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t likely have solved this problem.

Perhaps my experience will help someone else. I was familiar with the maxim "everything matters" but I still failed to consider one "thing" that was sitting in plain sight the whole time I was tearing my hair out.

So, I will reiterate : "Everything matters" actually does mean every thing!

 

 

 

 

 

stuartk
stuartk OP
2,964 posts
 

@toddalin

Your focus on "removing doubt" makes perfect sense, given your occupation.

You mention the difficulties of "back and forth comparison" as if the difference between the presence of sibilance and its absence is subtle and fleeting. Given that you haven’t heard what I’ve been contending with, this is an understandable assumption but it’s also inaccurate. At this point, I’m not going to recount what’s already been described in earlier threads.

The point of this thread was simply to inform those who’ve taken an interest and offered suggestions where things currently stand. Whether I’ve presented a credible "case" is another story, entirely. I’ll leave it up to guys to make up their own minds. What matters to me is that I’m no longer assailed by an incredibly frustrating and seeming unsolvable problem and that those with whom I’ve shared communications know it’s finally been put to rest.

BTW, I’m an intuitive, artistic type but I did follow guidelines provided by an engineer regarding how to approach this issue systematically.

 

ghdprentice
7,148 posts
 

@stuartk

 

Yes you have meticulously documented the multitude of changes you have done to deal with this problem on more than one thread. Swaps in CD players, preamps (I think), speakers, cables… we have even discussed this off line. Hasn’t it been over a year now?

stuartk OP
2,964 posts
 

@ghdprentice 

I believe I saw an audiologist in the spring of 2022, soon after I began to notice sibilance.  

And yes, I systematically swapped out integrated, transport, DAC and all cables in accordance with another forum member's suggestions. 

 

 

 

stuartk OP
2,964 posts
 

For the sake of completeness, I can't definitively claim that the sibilance couldn't have been eliminated utilizing a different speaker while retaining the pavers. 

However, given that the sibilance disappeared with my current speakers, I didn't feel compelled to try yet another speaker, because I really enjoy the Silverlines.

 

More to discover