ribbons vs domes and sibilance

@mike_in_nc 

Thanks for your comments.

OK. I suspected what I’d read was overly simplistic and comments here appear to be consistent with my suspicion. 

@tonywinga 

Can you say more about the dac factor?  For example, which dacs were involved?

I ask because I'm currently using the internal AKM dac in my Hegel H390. AKM dacs are not, so far as I've read, usually regarded as peaky. I did sell my Aqua La Voce because it was fatiguing, but this did not reduce sibilance. 

@roxy54 

Interesting. There seems to be much divergence of opinion re: beryllium tweeters. 

@knotscott 

IMHO, sibilance and over brightness are far too common, and it’s one of the most annoying aspects of many systems.

...and far too often I've read or watched a review of gear that sounded promising only to be disappointed at the end by the disclosure that the product is "somewhat forward". This seems to be a very common refrain, these days. Do most people simply prefer overtly bright sound? 

@knotscott 

Good info can be tough to come by, so we often end up going our own way, which in the end can be a blessing, but is really tough to those starting out.

Yes, in the end we each have to figure out what we like. I envy those who can base buying decisions solely on specs. I try not to buy anything I cannot hear at home and return if necessary but I've found I can still make mistakes, even with home demos. A certain amount of trial and error appears to be unavoidable. 

@tonywinga 

  The sound of this pair blew me away.  I heard clarity and detail in my CDs like I had never heard my CDs before. 

I had this experience with more modest gear. The jump in resolution was very significant and it took me a good 6 months before I noticed I didn't really feel much like listening to my system. 

@mike_in_nc 

Another issue is that many hi-fi speakers have a rise in response in the sibilance range. 

I'll definitely pay more attention to such specs in future. 

@audioman58

Thanks for pointing out a speaker utilizing a ribbon with waveguide.

@bigkidz

You mean in my amp? So far, I haven’t heard that Hegel H390 is deficient in this regard.

@deep_333

Playing with positioning hasn’t helped in my case, although I’m constrained due to system being located in living room. For example, I can pull speakers no further out than 3.5 feet (from front baffle). I’ve played with toe-in extensively and noticed changes in soundstage but not sibi

@arnold_h 

Unfortunately, I cannot treat room.  Sibilance has only recently become an issue for me, however. With previous systems, I never heard it. 

@audphile1

Sent you PM in reply to your first question.

I intend to demo other speakers when my budget allows, starting with Fritz Carbon7SE’s.

RE: amplification:

The SR17 is fairly efficient (nominally 90.5 dB/watt @ 8 ohms), but more importantly it’s easy to drive - my Ayre AX7e, known for being rather limited in the power delivery department, sounded open and effortless. Alan Yun said the Dynaudio drivers love current and will benefit from powerful amplifiers, yet will sing with low-powered tube amps. I can confirm it loved the grunt of the 300wpc Bryston 4B Cubed, yet I never felt lower-power amps like the Ayre or Bryston B60 integrateds were lacking for dynamics. And my favorite pairing by far was with the 55-watt Valvet A4 Mk.II class A monoblocks sporting a single pair of bipolar output devices. (Incidentally, Alan’s favorite amp paring with the SR17 is the 30-watt Pass Labs XA30.5, which @mgd-taww can attest to being a magical combo.

When I first heard the Silverlines with the Hegel, I was astonished. My first thought was "This is the first time I’ve heard what these speakers are capable of".

@erik_squires

It’s always fun to talk tech and possibilities of advanced motors, but audiophiles do sometimes get obsessive over the part of the speaker that produces the least sound. 

My intention in starting this thread was purely practical: to gain some helpful information to use when shopping for my next speakers. 

@erik_squires 

I made the mistake early on of pairing B&W's with Rotel and Creek on the basis of a showroom demo.

Once I set up this system at home, my ears found it quite painful. Important lesson! 

@botrytis

I have heard silk domes, aluminum domes, beryllium domes that had sibilance and also others that had no sibilance. It is based on how good the speaker designer is.

For this reason,when I can afford to upgrade speakers, I will only buy what can be demo’d in my room and returned, if necessary. I posed my initial question out of curiosity, to see whether there was any consensus about tweeter design/materials to use as a guide when compiling a list of  speakers to consider.  

@deep_333

Thanks for your suggestion. Regrettably, I don’t know anyone who used gear with such a feature.

@liquidsound 

This is a particularly interesting subject for me, since I have been experiencing sibilance in one form or another with my last two sets of speakers.

I empathize with your scenario. Sibilance sucks. I'm also in search of a solution for this problem. 

@tonywinga 

  Beyond that, it is the cable carousel or finding a better DAC or Amp.  

Please define "better".

@tonywinga

Yes -- I understood that much. ;o)

What I was hoping, given you knowledge, was that you might be able to make some suggestions re: brands/models/designs/topology or specs. Or is this too system/room dependent???

@tonywinga 

Thanks for going into detail. You provide percentages for contribution of room, electronics and cables. What percentage would you guess is associated with power conditioning? 

@nonoise 

Good to know. 

@tonywinga 

Thanks.