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Sssss...sibilance?

I am a music lover who has appreciated good quality two-channel audio for over 30 years. While not a technical expert, I have some familiarity with the concepts and equipment involved. I listen to a broad range of classical music (90%) and various other stuff like jazz (10%).

I recently revised my system by replacing vintage SAE amplicication with new ARC gear, as detailed below. This has provided wonderful results overall, with clear detailed and musical sound on a broad range of the music I listen to. I am generally very pleased with these results.

However, one thing that is a bit of an annoyance is that on vocals (mostly female) I now hear a definite and pronounced sibilance that seems to be over-emphasized. This does not appear to be related to any overall edginess or harshness in the system, as other music sounds quite natural and smooth, including higher frequency stuff like violins and piccolos.

In reviewing some previous threads on this subject, I did not get a very clear picture of this issue: in particular, it seemed that a number of observers were suggesting that this type of sibilance is caused by problems in the recording process and might even be expected as natural with improved playback system quality.

This explanation seems strange to me, as I am experiencing this phenomenon with a considerable variety of source material, including many recordings where there would not be close-miking of singers.

I would very much appreciate any advice or observations that might help me better understand this problem of sibilance, and possible approaches for improving the situation.

System:

ARC CD-1 player
ARC LS 25 Mk. II preamp
ARC 150.2 amp
KEF 105.2 speakers
Cardas cross ICs (xlr)
heavy-gauge stranded copper speaker cables
Powerpack II conditioner
Room: 14'w/20'l/10'h wood panneled with carpeting

northernfox
sean
6,231 posts
 
You need to look into your AC system, your cabling and room acoustics / treatments. I also agree with Dave aka Sogood51. That is, my past experiences with SAE gear was anything but musical". I would categorize most of that gear as being "sterile" and / or much higher in potential for a sibilance based problem. Sean
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northernfox OP
26 posts
 
Thanks to everyone for the useful responses. I will see what I can do.

Sogood 51: Yes, the new system is generally providing far superior sound to the old SAE. As for the recordings in quesiton, some of them are remastered mid-60s to late-70s performacnces, though there are also a number made in the last 15-20 years.
b_y
1 posts
 
i believe tubes near the end of their life may be suspect to sibiliance, too. try tube rolling.

i hear sibilance on a pair of magnepans mg-iiia with my dad's mid fi gear, so i put some resistors in the tweeter (which magnepan has a provision for in the back terminals). however, this was not a problem with my own gear. though, he does not use tubes, so i attribute this to his all digital mid fi gear and not to the speakers. have you resolved this yet?
warnerwh
539 posts
 
The sibilance region is 3-6khz. Try different positioning of your speakers and/or listening position. Room treatment can help most any system without it. Go learn about room acoustics at realtraps and rives audio.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Without changing speakers or their placement, I have lost any concern about sibilance problems. I guess I would say that ac filtering, a quality frontend, and a good stylus cleaner have done the job.
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