I can sum it up with one word...thin. lol
Speakers, speaker cables or I’m getting old…
I began listening to my gear as it filtered in from various spots in the US. I bought cheap cables, as I waited for my cabling to arrive. I have a set of Heritage Specials, ran from a Pass X150.8. I noticed right out of the gate at what I would call “moderate” volumes there’s a frequency that “smears.” I’ve never heard this in any of my setups, have just read others reference it. Now, what I’ve noticed is as my gear has arrived and as the chain improved, it reduced, but is not gone and I’m unable to listen at louder volumes due to it.
The one item that’s yet to arrive are the speaker cables, currently on there is what was available at the moment, something very thin and cheap.
My prior setup was Harbeth’s off PL, and am very familiar with that sound. I’ve ran PS Audio BHK Mono’s off a set off Dyn Confidence and loved that too. I tend to believe it’s not the speakers. But rather the cheap speaker cables…Or, I’ve aged 3 years since I’ve had a 2ch setup, and my hearing has changed and I’m just more sensitive to certain frequencies. For the record, I’ve always been rather sensitive to an upper mid/higher freq sound, it pierces my brain. B&W + Mac comes to mind…ran that once as well.
The other oddity is that older recordings, or older remasters like Tom Petty Wildflowers and the off shoot releases from it sound amazing. Dave Matthews sounds amazing, Radiohead, Willie Bobo, so there’s a bunch that doesn’t generate that smear or sheen. I’m using qobuz. Really, anything metal related, Tool, Lamb of God, Metallica is a little harsh to listen to and moderate volumes.
Thoughts?
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- 34 posts total
@toddcowles All you can do is the old "Trial and Error" in your system, because everything effects everything. You have to figure out what's causing the brightness in your system by, I think, first, switching out your cabling. I personally believe that somewhere within your current loom of cabling (interconnects, speaker cables, power cables) is where the brightness issues in your system are coming from. Of course, it could be something else. Happy listening. |
@1971gto455ho yawn. |
@rolox , +1. It does get old after awhile, doesn't it? In any event, @toddcowles , give the new cables a shot and see where it gets you. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised.
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@mijostyn That’s nice to hear, but hasn’t the DEQX been in Beta for about 4 years now? I concur, the bass management, the room and speaker correction is next level. But to still not have EQ curves from them, man. Hard to stay relevant when your product can’t iterate w/n it’s own software stack, or you can’t find devs to assist. @coralkong Yeah, I did not spend much time or money on cabling and don’t fancy an endless pursuit being a cable hobbyist. I can say, there’s a massive difference between super cheap cables and ones that cost $100 - $500, my current experience. I’ve had expensive cables, and wouldn’t say my experience with the less expensive ones has diminished any of my enjoyment. What I will say, there’s a prevailing thought that if you begin w/expensive cables, one must continue along that path of increasing costs to improve a signal chain. This logic I question. |
- 34 posts total