I upgraded my speakers a few years ago and even tho it was the same brand, the newer more expensive ones also had that problem. Tweeter sounded harsh to me.
Two or three notches down on the treble control on the pre-amp solved that.
New Magico Speaker Break-in Question
This afternoon, I received my new Magico A5s, which replaced Revel Studios that I have owned for more than 20 years. The A5s are definitely more clear, have superior imaging and provide at least equal soundstaging. The bass is tighter, but, with three 9" woofers, I am surprised that it doesn't go very deep at all (fortunately, I have two SVS SB17-Ultra subwoofers that will easily take care of that shortcoming).
However, there is one aspect of these A5's performance that I find a bit disquieting and the reason for this post. The treble in the 2KHz to 5KHz seems to be a little [what I'll call] shrieking; it is somewhat uncomfortable to listen to for an extended time. I know that this loudspeaker uses a beryllium tweeter, and I have never had a speaker before that employed one. Perhaps, its tonality is what I am reacting to .
And so, my question. I have read that it takes 250+ hours for the A5s to break-in and become the speaker that Mr. Wolf and his colleagues intended. As part of that break-in, will the tweeter also blossom and become easier to listen to?
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Hi @jmeyers, I think the Revel studios (and Salons) are known for their laid back, easy to listen to tweeters. I have owned the Studios and own the Salons. I also have owned YG Haileys in my reference system, and even when fully broken in can lead to ear fatigue, especially with harsher music. What cables and other equipment are you using? |
To @jmeyers -
------------------------ How about dips into 2.6 ohms, more specifically. Your other speakers were 6 ohms. These are 4 ohms nominal, and dip down if you trust this SP test graph for reference. There was another member here who experienced something similar, different speaker, same type of situation as I recall. We ended up figuring out his tube amps and others had some trouble driving the speakers at low impedance and it becomes shrill, harsh, not fun to listen to for long periods. Worth checking this more and comparing A5 speaker versions, and worth asking Magico more on what amps are best to use. One of the tests, they used a mighty Boulder amp in a few tests and people mention trying some Pass amps to fwiw. See the comments below about "no tube amps", worth noting as well. Yes, looking at the crossovers and caps used, some 250+ hr break-in can help some, but I’d first be looking closely at what amp capability you have now, and compare from there. Apparently this is known about needing an extra capable amplifier to drive these well. My question is about what happens to the sound when other parts of the frequency experiences impedance dips like this. Others wil chime in, I suspect. Maybe you have this covered already, good luck.
Stereophile article, for reference: https://www.stereophile.com/content/magico-a5-loudspeaker-measurements
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