Speakers sound too bright.
I just bought a new pair of Martin Logan 60xti speakers. They are too bright and fatiguing. I would like to avoid returning them. I've tried toeing them in and out. I cant get them further than 1ft away from the wall (back of speaker to wall). I have a about 1-2 hrs of play time on them. Not sure if break in will help settle the upper frequencies down. Any suggestions...?
Following the thread I understand you have no carpet no furnishings nothing to dampen the brightness of the speakers. The room is as important as the system. If you put furnishings in the room it's going to affect the sound just as putting carpet on the floor or putting up damping material on the wall. Not very many systems are going to sound good in a bare room. Speakers also need to be broken in as stated by other people on the forum. |
It all about matching the preamp and power amp to the speakers. You're not going to go out and buy a Krell amp for them speakers, yikes too bright. You can try different interconnects to change the sound as well, you know to soften up the sound and make it more musical. Try different things and if everything fails, take them speakers back for a refund. |
All speakers in the world sound distorted and bright, except Wavetouch audio Antero speaker. Compare Antero sound vs. Magico A-1, Focal Sopra No. 1, TAD Me1 below Antero https://youtu.be/LlYlIvmmg3c?si=EB_m8Mi5PRDD2vcJ&t=152 Magico - in video, Jay’s voice is perfectly natural. So, this is honest A1 sound. https://youtu.be/iLQMNJi8JAs?si=7V-pIRiieDqu1_1B Focal - People’s voice sound great in recording. So, this is real Sopra sound. https://www.youtube.com/live/Msaq4kCYclw?si=lJMZFA1mufR9DUxM&t=830 TAD - Accuphase + DCS. (expensive!) https://youtu.be/aAWLLMladgM?si=VMZwsUfb4R99zRCR Alex/Wavetouch audio |
I had similar troubles and even switching speakers did not completely ameliorate the problem. It turned out that I have a difficult room and was able to get beautiful smooth sound by addressing that. A good test was to buy some cheap gobos (portable sound absorption panels on stands) and use them to block the first reflection points (use a mirror to find those). Also I did some near field listening. That made the harshness go away, so I could tell it was the room. We now have a lovely display of strategically placed pillows. Also found that, with the listening couch against the back wall, reflections off that wall were harmful. Pillows again. |
Why is everyone skipping over this is a dipole 1 foot away from the wall behind them? I dont care how long you burn them in, what treatment you use, the cables, the preamp- NOTHING will fix that "dipole close to the wall behind them" problem. If the dealer told you this would work, definitely return them and say it was terrible advice. Don’t shop there anymore if they really said that. If you wanted it and they said nothing because you were determined, I’d give them the benefit they didnt understand your room conditions. But if you explained this room in detail and they understood you were seting them up 1 foot away from a wall behind them, they shoudl never be trusted again. If they try to sell you something else to "fix" it, just run the other direction. This problem is super simple audio 101. Dipoles are advanced math products that require a good understanding of acoustics to properly set up. Otherwise you need pure luck or a deaf client. To test what I am saying, try a little demo of your own. Divide your room in thirds wall to wall. Pull the speakers out to the first (third) point, dont change the distance to the side walls from where they are now. Then put a listening chair at the next third point. Now the room is divided into three, the speakers and the listening position split the room into three parts. NOW listen- completely different right? This is how you know for sure its the room and speaker position. If the room is also highly reflective (hard surfaces everywhere, no absorption), it will make the problem worse and changing the speaker position will have have less of benefit. Dipoles in highly reflective rooms is acoustically a no no unless you have a acoustic consultant figuring it out and building the room specific to a dipole. Dipoles can sound good in large rooms that are not highly eflective. |
@lonemountain The ML speakers the OP has are not dipole, they’re box speakers. |
Try one of the Schiit EQ components....It may tame the speakers to your liking. https://www.schiit.com/products/lokius
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If you don't like the way it sounds good out and buy a mini dsp hook it up to your computer and make it sound like you want.time delay graphic eq , crossover ,mapping ,room eq,ect.ohh wait klipsch just put it on the la scala.bryston has it on middle t ect it's the new milenium.if your a purist do it find out your crossover frequency from the dsp computer then get someone to build your coil and caps put it together. Danny gr research or others parts express could help you. Enjoy the research and the search .expand your horizion.read a book on it.watch y tube ect.happy listening. If you do it all at low wattage you should not fry anything.i like my sublime accoustics have little modules plug in for frequencies.fun to play with.marchant has electronic crossover even some digital 2 way I play with.it goes between your amp and pre amp.grant it you might have to bi or tri amp it but these class d amps are so economical 100$for fossi audio you can change op amps in 240 watts.what a blast.great audiophile era we live in enjoy it. |
I've pulled some speakers 5' away from any reflective surface to bring the high fq's down. Local dealers use panels like Vicoustics or other brand panels to aid in placement, and tone controls will help attenuate hard sounds in reflective rooms, but thror rugs and window treatments can be our friends. |
I didn’t read all 90 something replies, but you somehow you need to get them farther from the front wall. Pull your listening chair closer and make sure the speakers are about the same distance from the side walls as the back. I had a pair of Logan Monoliths. Look up how to do the flashlight trick on your side walls and they probably need at least 100 hours of break in time. When you get everything set up, the sound should almost envelope you. The light trick will help you tow them in and leaning slightly back will also help. Good luck. |
@rwalsh07 "What did you have before the Lintons?" Let’s see: Bose 901 Series I and IV, Infinity 1001a, Infinity Column II, Infinity Monitor 2A, Infinity RS 2.5, Infinity Renaissance 80, Triangle Celius, Triangle Antals, Magnepan MMG, Magnepan .7, Tekton Perfect Set 2-12, Tekton Perfect Set 15, Moth Audio Cicadas, KEF LS-50s, Klipsch Heresy, M-L Electro Motion ESL, and some others |
I know purists would shudder to think that anyone serious about sound quality would stoop so low as to do this but this could be dealt with via EQ. turn down the treble and see if it solves the problem. Its a cheap and easy fix. If you cannot eq out the harshness you are hearing then its time to box em up and get something different. |
