Speakers sound best facing wall????


Should I complain? - After months of tweaking and testing various components, I found my perfect sound. It really sounds beautiful and genuine (I listen only to classical; and authenticity is paramount), and the stereo image is there, when speakers are turned away from me, facing the wall at 135 degrees. I am looking at their backs when listening,

So, I am really happy. Or should I? With that very odd speaker position, something must be very wrong somewhere???

Ever since I took on my old hobby again (it had been in neglect for 30 years), bought 2 different solid state amplifiers (a powerful and very well balanced Sony TA-FA3ES, and a lower quality Technics), 2 different cd players (Arcam and Cyrus), 2 different sets of loudspeakers (Heybrook Heylo and Tannoy Revolution), a Velodyne subwoofer, a power conditioner (Belkin) and 2 sets of shielded IEC power cables and interconnects, I have been battling a problem:

*****an ear-piercing treble*****

No matter how low I would adjust the treble on my amplifier, and no matter the combination of amps, cd players, speakers etc., their position, my armchair's position, that problem was still there... until I turned the speakers away from me.

Room acoustics? - Well, all my equipment is in my living room, which has a normal height, and an odd, asymetrical shape. See plan. The house is made of timber, and the walls are painted plaster panels, with 2 dozens glass covered pictures in wooden frames. The room is carpeted, and slightly emptier than an average living room (3 armchairs, 2 wooden cabinets and audio rack). The wall which the speakers are facing has a curtain. The speakers are 130cm / 4ft away from the wall.

If not the room acoustics, what may be causing the ear-piercing treble when speakers are turned towards me? - Dirty power that the power conditioner cannot cope with? Faulty tweeters (on 2 different sets of speakers???)? Should I worry, since I have my perfect sound with the speakers facing the wall? - Any advice appreciated!
waryn

Showing 2 responses by kirkus

Waryn, I find your observations very interesting . . . I am wondering . . .

- Have you had similar experiences with headphones; that is, do you find most of them harsh and bright?

- How do others find the sound of your system, now that you've reduced the treble to your liking? Do they find it overly warm and dull?

- What impressions did you have about the Tannoys and Heybrooks when you bought them? Did they not seem bright at first?
Hi Waryn . . . what I'm trying to get an idea of is if your perception is based on some combination of the following:

- sensitivity to an ultrasonic peak or diaphragm resonance in the speakers' tweeters - in this case I'd expect a soft-dome tweeter to sound better to you than a metal dome, or metal horn diaphragm

- the relationship between the frequency of sound and the directivity of the tweeter - here, I'd expect you not to have the same issues with headphones

- early room reflections . . . again, headphones would eliminate this

Anyway, your case is an interesting one. At least you're finding some solutions . . .