View Single Post
  #17   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
Trevor Wilson[_3_] Trevor Wilson[_3_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 139
Default Attenuate highest highs?

On 18/02/2020 3:28 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:
On 15/02/2020 7:32 am, Peter Wieck wrote:
I think you are missing the point. If too much energy is being
dissipated by the speakers in the high range, then too much energy is
being dissipated in the high range. And, the brute fact of the matter
is that there is not a whole lot going on above 15 kHz anyway. So if
the OP perceives that his speakers are overly bright, we should start
there.


A lot of the material I listen to is 'full range' and does have a
reasonable amount of high frequency content.

(I was listening to the Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie album the
other day and there were 'tinkling' noises in one track that I could
hear but not clearly. It made me wonder why two 70 y/o plus musicians
were using sounds that they likely couldn't hear!)


**Those "tinkling noises" you hear are somewhere around 3kHz. You need
to employ some room treatments to deal with the problem.


I agree that attenuating the high range is not the answer. But neither
is tweaking room acoustics. We need to work with the Human Ear and how
we perceive sound at various volumes.

Which is why balancing the speaker output does seem to be an answer,
especially given that one does not normally blast music in an office.
At low volumes, in general, not enough energy gets to the bass
driver(s) to balance the treble, especially as speaker efficiency
drops. These are 88 dB speakers, not horrible, but not great either.


I do generally listen to music with a wide dynamic range so the volume
is set higher than it would be if I were listening to compressed pop or
rock music. I sometimes listen to music while computer gaming and it can
be louder than you'd expect in an 'office'.


**Is the amplifier being allowed to enter Voltage limiting (aka:
Clipping)? If so, then all bets are off. You may need an amplifier with
more output Voltage capability.


I use the term 'office' loosely to mean the area of the house where my
computer and desk are. It's a habit I picked up when I owned a small
business and did my stocktaking and accounts etc. from a home office.

Eschew needless complexity. If the electronics have a "Loudness"
function, start there. If they have tone-controls try *BOOSTING* the
bass - again that nasty issue of low-volume weak bass is more at-issue
than excess treble (at low volume). Failing both these things, is it
possible to relocate the speakers, moving them more towards room
corners, or closer to the floor, or similar so as to help 'boost' the
bass response. However, this might sacrifice sound-stage.


The bass is good. I'm using a small kitset pre-amp with no tone controls
which goes through a crossover in a second-hand kitset subwoofer
amplifier. (Playmaster 300W Subwoofer Amplifier.) The crossover takes
away all of signal below a certain point, sums it and feeds it to the
300W MOSFET amp. It has three selectable crossover points and a level
control.


**You're an Aussie then?


I've got it set to the lowest of the crossover points (which are 70, 90
and 120Hz) as I want to preserve as much directional information from
low frequencies as possible. The Sony SS-K30EDs seem to handle
frequencies down to 70Hz just fine with minimal drop-off.

The subwoofer is a very inefficient thing that I built braced 25mm MDF a
couple of decades ago. It's a 10" driver in a ~40l internally-braced
sealed box and as such is very 'musical' when compared to ported
subwoofers that I've heard. It's response tails off below about 26Hz but
I'm fine with that.

Only after the obvious fixes have failed should we push towards more
heroic measures.


Cheers,



**Room damping treatments and ensuring your amp is not clipping should
go a long way to solving your problems. Give me a call. I'm in the book.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au