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Likely culprit for harshness at higher volumes?

Hi,

I'm a newbie to higher end audio. I have a very modest system:
1) Pre-amp: Anthem AVM2
2) Amp: Adcom GFA-5400
3) Source: Sony CDP-X111ES CD player
4) Speakers: KEF C75
5) Toslink between source and pre-amp; cheap RCA cables from pre-amp to amp; 16 or 18 gauge speaker wire (Radio Shack?)

Room setup (10-ish feet x 20-ish feet rectangle):
1) 2 foot deep cabinets along one wall (20-ish foot)
2) Components stacked on top of small end table against rear wall (10 foot); centered between cabinets and opposite wall.
3) Speakers slightly in front of end table and about 2 feet from side walls and 4 feet from rear wall

Sounds good at about -45 to -25db; but higher frequencies get harsh at higher than -25db.

Appreciate your thoughts.
saru

Showing 3 responses by shadorne

shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
It could be the CD. Many modern CD's are mastered so that they sound harsh. Some genres like rock, pop and heavy metal are badly affected and virtually all recent material (as well as recent remasters of old material) can sound harsh.

You may be over-driving the speakers - the KEF75's are not known for their power handling (and can sound harsh if pushed).

Finally, it may be jitter - I doubt the AVM2 is particularly good at jitter rejection and digital interfaces very often add jitter. Try the analog output of your CD player to test this possibility.
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Saru,

It is obviously not your choice of music. I doubt it is the amp or preamp.

Therefore that leaves speakers or a jittery digital input.

One further possibility is your room, if you have tile on the floor and fairly reflective surfaces then this could be the issue - an issue that gets worse as you increase the volume.
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
hat on some CDs, at background listening levels, sound seemed to come mostly from one side or the other. When turning up the volume a bit, I'd then notice additional instruments coming from the other side (mostly some sort of percussive instrument). Since then, I've gotten used to playing CDs at a certain volume levels.

You may have a burnt voice coil that is rubbing - possibly one or both speakers are damaged. What you describe is definitely NOT normal.
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