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I have NOVA V's and I am not happy

I have a Mark Levinson 585 and a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica Nova V's and although I admittedly have some room acoustic issues that I am working on I am not happy with the sound. 

I listen to music LOUD. This Pairing thru a pair of Kimber Cable 8TC's gets bright in what I think is the 2 to 4 khz range and the sonus faber nova's seem to mute the lower end of female vocals, artist like Macy Gray or Tina Turner dont seem to have the same drive in the lower octaves. At the same time the upper end of vocals like Sheryl Crow can get too bright and cause fatigue (I am assuming this is in the 2 to 4khz range) I have tried every speaker placement you can think of, toe in, toe out. distance from front wall and I am adding acoustic treatments as fast as they can be shipped. 

Here is my question, I had Mark Levinson 436 Mono Blocks in the past connected to a pair of B&W Nautilus 802's thru a pair of MIT Shotgun bi-wire speaker cables and I never noticed that system to be bright. Granted that system was in a different room in a different house. Everyone is telling me that B&W is a brighter sounding  speaker by far over Sonus Faber. If I decide after all my room treatments that I am not a fan of the Sonus Faber sound where should I turn for my replacement speaker? Or is it Mark Levinson's Fault? I want Rich Lush Loud Musical sound. I like a decent sound stage, I also really love it when when you hear decay from the instruments. I don't really care if that's what is neutral or not that's what I like :) 

Where did I go wrong and what can I do to fix it?

Thanks Lee

Ag insider logo xs@2xrlross3
larabee
7 posts
 

 

Looking at some in room and quasi anechoic FR measurements for the Nova it seems that the FR, dispersion characteristics and variation in output vs environment is highly variable.

There is no way that some effort in room placement would not duplicate exactly the differences in sound that others associate with amp/cable changes at no cost to you.

The Nova and B&Ws are both geared toward a non-neutral reproduction-voiced for a particular attractive sound that audiophiles favor. Nothing wrong with that. I think that the voicing makes speakers such as these highly room dependent, that's why asking 6 people what they sound like gets you 6 different answers.

You could lessen or redistribute the room treatment you have to address the problem or try the SF Lumina which has a better FR (@30 degrees) than the Nova.

It's a shame that you aren't satisfied for the price you paid.

wturkey's avatar
wturkey
733 posts
 

The speakers appear to be 90db sensitivity at 4 ohm. The 585, from my quick research, fails to provide specifications into a 4 ohm load. Odds are this combination is a less than a great match. An amplifier is needed that can haul the mail into a 4 ohm, possibly lower impedance at times, load. 

snapoli2
98 posts
 

Sonus faber contrary to reviews are indeed a bit agressive in the higher registers. Even worse with mcintosh. Your room could be playing a role for sure BUT Ive experienced the same thing with fabers. 

dill
2,461 posts
 

The Audioholic's site has the power rating into 4ohms @ 350 watts. 

  • 200 watts per channel power output (into 8 ohms, 350 watts into 4 ohms)

 

bigkidz
3,325 posts
 

Stop using cables as tone controls.  The Sonus are in no way bright sounding speakers.  It is not the room either.  It is the equipment you are using.  We have Vivid speakers in our Listening Room with a brick wall behind them.  No room treatments.  Brightness comes from you equipment as the speakers are only communicating what is feed to them. Someone mentioned Mac components.  Now they are warm and musical.  The ML will never offer a "lush" sound.  It is not how they are designed.

Happy Listening.   

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