mission m73 dodgy treble

adox

Ex Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2002
Messages
688
Reaction score
0
Points
133
Age
57
Location
dublin
does anyone else find the m73`s have the treble too mush to the front of the sound? on my pair when listening to music the sound sounds unbalanced with vocals and cymbals pushed right to the front and guitars etc. taking a back seat.
the hithat sound can become quite irratating,seemingly at a different volume to the rest of the sound and dominating the soundstage. of course i coould be accusing the m73`s wrongly. maybe it is my receiver, it`s a sony str de475. i have`nt had any problems with it before though.
i have checked all cables etc and are all conected fine.i am a bit fussy when it comes to music sound, but surely mission spekers shouldn`t have a sound so unbalanced and treble that nearly distorts it`s so mush to the front.
 
Are they broken in? As in have you given them 20-30hrs of playing yet? Sometimes a sign...
 
yeah, should be broken in at this stage. have them about three weeks to a month. also have them on spikes and mass loaded with sand to try and help the sound.
 
I also have the sony str de475, and have no problem with music from it. What are you using to play the CD's?
 
i`m using my dvd player a pioneer dv 350 with a coax cable, the same as i use for watching dvd`s. i`ve also tried cd`s on my ps2 with optical cable,but sounds the same. should i but some analog cables and try that?
i have the missions biwired,so its a bit a tight fit for the cables going to the receiver as it only has clips. i have to twist the cables together at the receiver end and then they barely fit into the speakers clips. but i`ve checked to make sure there were no loose or touching cable etc. at the back of receiver and all seems ok.
actually now that i think back i had the same treble problem with an old pair of floorstanders i had briefly, but didn`t have them long enough to run rhwm in properly.
the bass and treble settings on my receiver are as follows:
bass +2
treble 0
i also changed my biwire cable back to some old bell wire i had to see if the cable was producing excessive treble, but the bell wire was the same but with less clarity obviously. i`m begining to wonder if it is the acoustics of my room. it`s rectangular, but with a potruding fireplace and wall on one length of it. my hcc is set in the corner(not idael but only place it can go) on the same side as the firplace.
 
Mission do generally tend to have a "house sound" which is a bit like that. Some love it, while others are not so keen.

That said however, the speakers are just one part of the chain - if you also use a source and amp with similar characteristics, then the cumulative effect may be " not nice" :)

There are several problems with trying to advise on issues like this.

Nobody else has actually heard your system, hence it's difficult to even guess at the source of your issues.
You may be right in that it could well be your speakers, but equally it could be several other things too, or even all of them combined.

It's often a case of using one piece of equipment to mask the deficiencies of another. Not great, granted, but unless you have budget for a total system upgrade, there's little else you can do, given that you dislike the sound you have at the moment.
As the speakers are at the end of the chain, most people start with those, in the hope that they can use a certain model which can hide/mask (the speakers can't really correct them) these problems.
You may drop lucky, but it's really a bit of a hit&miss affair, often trading one set of issues for another.

There is always the "heresy" :) of the treble control as well - not usually recomended, but given that you simply aren't happy with the sound at the moment..... well you never know!


If you have a limited budget and are handy with a soldering iron, you may be able to "tweak" the sound of your current speakers, or at least tame the treble excesses a bit.
Be warned at the outset though, that this can also be a bit of a hit and miss affair - luckily it's fairly cheap to do though - and while it may offer some improvments, what it can't do really, is give huge increases in sound quality - it's a tweak, not a wholesale sound transformation. It also requires at least some knowledge of crossover design before you start.
In fact, if the speakers are biwirable (I think they are), you could try placing a resistor (use a power unit, at least 10W I'd suggest) onto the HF+ terminal and connecting the HF+ speaker wire to the other end of the resistor - you'd have to try different values - I'd suggest starting at 4ohms or so. Basically this will reduce the level of the signal to the tweeter, and will alter the "balance" of the sound. The advantage is that it really requires no real crossover knowledge and needs no internal intrusion onto the speakers (hence no warranty issues etc).
If the speakers aren't actually biwired, just replace the "LF+ to HF+ links" with a resistor (don't do it to the negative terminals - leave them as they are), and ensure that the speaker cable is connected to the LF terminals, NOT the HF ones.


Otherwise, it's probably a speaker swap for a smoother sounding set. Try Tannoy, Wharfedale or Yamaha - but whatever, you really need to listen to them on your system in your room so that you can judge whether they will offer what you want (ie don't take my word for it).
Possibly also a receiver and DVD/CD player upgrade.
 
the resistor option sounds feasable. can i pick one up at a hifi store?
i don`t fancy the soldering option. as for upgrading, i only have the speakers a month and the dvd player about 6 weeks. i know all my equipment is budget stuff but that is as far as i can stretch.
but even with it being "entry level" equipment, i wouldnt expect such imbalances. i have bought hifi systems in the past that cost less than the speakers and not had the same problem. also i just bought a pair of m70`s as rear speakers so i`d have to change them too. watching movies is fine,it`s just the music that sounds that little bit "off".also i used the ps2 in the past as a music source and although the sound was nothing special at least it was balanced.
 
Unlikely - you'll get them from an electronics shop or supplier, something like Maplin (don't know if Maplin operate in Ireland though).

Cost should be about half a Euro each (in your new fangled money system :p :), or is that 50 cents :confused: )

I'm not saying that this will definitely cure your problems, but for one or two Euros, it's worth a try, especially as it seems you can't really live with the sound as it is at the moment.


Let us know how you get on.
 
I have mission M73 the trebble on the M73 is great for movies and Films.

A lot do do with how things sound is the room, if you room is very under damped and relecting like a mirror trebble can sound pritty bad.

I also think it could well be your amplification at its limits, you could try and see if you can get hold of a nice two channel (borrow from a friend?) or a use power amp and see if it makes a difference to the high end.

I have run my M73's of a Denon integrated and my Denon Avr1802 and had good results.
 
i dont think it`s an amp or power problem. as i said the sound is fine on films, it`s the music where the imbalance is apparent. my receiver is 80 watts per channel which should be fine to drive the m73`s. and it`s not that it occurs if i turn it up too high, it`s consistent at any voume.
there are alot of bare walls alright that might be exasperting the problem, but then again i`ve had old hifi systems in that room before with no real problem.
i`m going to try and find a resistor to see if i can limit the treble outputs. thanks for the advice. i`ll keep you informed. anymore feedback would be welcome.

thanks again.
 
Hi,

Sorry for replying to such an old post but I was searching the archives because I have a very similar problem with a pair of Mission 702e front speakers and a Sony STR-DB830 Av amp.

With certain music the treble sounds annoyingly bright. It seems out of sync with the rest of the music and really stands out, exactly like the description above.

I know my set up is far from ideal for music but I expected much better. My old JVC compact system sounded much better and it was a fraction of the price.

Did you ever find the source of your problem?

Does anyone have any idea why my set up sounds like this?

Cheers Kenny
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom