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speakers or room???

I have a nagging problem with a frequency spike in the midrange that I especially notice in acoustic piano (jazz and classical) and sometimes vocals. I have heard this in different speakers including SF Venere 1.5, Dynaudio Emit 20, Martin Logan motion 15, Zu Dirty weekend, and various other 2-way designs. I have not had this problem with Polk Lsi m703 3-ways, and some 2-way DIY towers that I built a few years back. Back in the day when I was still using an MXR graphic eq, I would roll off  the 250 - 500-1000Hz sliders 3-6-3 db for a more balanced sound. I stopped using it because it introduced it's own coloration to the sound.

My listening room is a small family room adjoining the kitchen for a fairly open space about 15 X 30 with a cathedral ceiling in the family room portion. The flooring is oak hardwood with 8 throw rugs in various places. I would describe it as being fairly lively, although the kitchen island, cathedral ceiling and a fireplace create some asymmetrical surfaces.

So me thinks it could be:

a. speakers, especially 2-way
b. the room, too lively, not well treated
c. my hearing going wonky at age 67
d. all of the above

Any and all thoughts, experiences would be most welcome.

Current system:
Hegel H80 or Primaluna Prologue depending on the mood
Tannoy XT8 speakers


dtapo

Showing 1 response by williewonka

williewonka
3,110 posts
 
@dtapo - A while back a friend asked me about his listening space - it was an open concept apartment with 12 ft high concrete ceiling and walls and hardwood floor. His kitchen cabinets did not go to the ceiling.

I had achieved a lot of success in my own living space by using a vinyl roller blind behind the listening position.

Since I had some spare vinyl lying around so I took it down to his apartment and tried hanging it in different locations & positions. 

The vinyl was 8ft wide and 24" tall

It turned out that the best position for the vinyl was at ceiling height on the wall facing the speakers and also as a "barrier" between the audio system and the kitchen. 

On further investigation there was considerable reflection issues between his ceiling and the top of his kitchen cabinets.

So now I tend to "look up" when thinking about room treatments. 

A lot of companies that deal with sound issues in commercial spaces have great success with treatment on the ceilings. Vinyl lines drapes are also effective for noise suppression.

Good luck with solving you problem.
 
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