How to fix my detailed, accurate but BRIGHT system

I agree with the above recommendations. You don't have to buy audiophile room treatments, but you need to address some of the reflecting surfaces in your room. Glass, tile, and good sound wont happen, until you add some absorption in your room. When you say glass, I'm assuming you're referring to windows and not mirrors.

I wouldn't waste your money buying different equipment either, until you fix your room problems. All you need is an area rug in front of the speakers, and some thick drapes over the glass, and you can close the drapes for listening and then open them, when you're done.

What is the distance the speakers are from the front and side walls?

Rich

Interesting post and Excellent observation Tvad.

It also seems that Tvad's Bryston 4B SST and 14B SST didn't double down either, which may have contributed to his findings of lack of balance from bottom to top, while leaning towards the "Bright Side."

However, I'm not sure why Robert Deutsch in the Stereophile review described the Aerial 7B's overall tonal balance, to be warm and laid-back rather than on the lean and forward side, even though the Bryston 7B-ST in the review didn't double down its power either. Maybe it was the CAT Tubed Preamp he was using? He also went out of his way to say that it sounded good in most rooms.

John Atkinson goes on to say that, "There is a slight negative plateau in the low and mid-trebles compared with the midrange, which could explain the slightly lower sensitivity, and might also contribute to RD's feeling that the speaker sounded a little laid-back."

Also keep in mind that although all of the Brystons' here in question didn't double down their power either, they were all 2 times as powerful as the Butler Amplifier to start with.

It's all interesting stuff..., but that doesn't let you off the hook Greg. Your room is not equivalent to "Most Rooms." First thing you need to do is take your Wife shopping for some home furnishings, and if that doesn't work then you may need to double down your power as Tvad suggests, or add a Tubed Preamp like John Atkinson, or try different cables as others have suggested.

Just curious, these speakers are approximately 10 years old, so were they ever in a different room were they sounded more to your liking?

Rich

Al,

I cross-posted with you, so I hadn't read your post, before I posted.

Are you saying that an erratic electrical speaker impedance curve doesn't actually present a more difficult load to the amplifier in this case, because it's still within the acceptable limits of the amplifiers current delivering ability, and there won't be a problem with a frequency db imbalance, unless the curve dips far enough below the amplifiers minimal impedance, lets say 2 ohms?

Rich

Did you say Changing Wire or Changing Wife?

You know one letter could make all of the difference in sound quality! (LOL)

Only Kidding!

Thanks for the explanation Al, but I need to read up more about this subject, so I think I'm going to get Robert Harley's book and some others that I've heard about here, because I would certainly like to understand electrical impedance mismatches better.

Rich

Hey Greg,

One other area that I would like to address with you is, How loud do you listen to your music?...., because, that room of yours is fricking huge; 22' x 38' with 17' ceilings.

I see that your speakers go down to approximately 35Hz, and they're down -6dB at 30Hz, which would be a nice match for a small to medium sized room, however I feel that they are probably undersized for your room. I would venture to guess that you're probably playing your system louder than expected, in order to fill your room with sound, and as you're turning up the volume to increase the bass fullness, and sound pressure levels in your room, you're further accentuating your reflective brightness and forward sound, because the bass is not holding down it's end of the bargain (pun intended).

It's certainly possible that you could add a subwoofer or two to your to do list, as this would add more bass to your room, while allowing you to play your music at a more reasonable level, without over-driving the midrange and treble.

Keep in mind that I'm no longer discussing more powerful Amps, I'm actually talking about increasing your Sound Pressure Level (SPL) in your room, by adding a subwoofer or two, or for you to consider larger floor-standing speakers for your next speaker purchase, if you should be required to go that route.

Another option, is for you to move your Aerial Speakers to another smaller room in the house.

Here is a link to Devon's thread, who also had a huge room 17' x 35' with 12' high ceilings, and when he moved his speakers to a smaller room, he was thrilled with the sound.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1247594481&openflup&1&4#1

A Smaller Room is Cheaper than Buying New Equipment.

Rich