Need help, poor sound quality with Polk tsi500

[Dom QC]

Hi all,

For the last 2 years I was using some small satellite speakers and a Polk PSW10 subwoofer with my Denon AVR 1910.

I recently upgrade my front speakers with a pair of Polk tsi500. Using the tsi500 I can hear that the low and mid range tones sound better now but I have basically lost all the high pitch sounds. All the high notes seems to be tamed and far away. I was comparing by switching between my old speakers and the tsi500 and in some songs there are instruments that I can't ear at all with the Polk(like high guitar and saxophone).

I have done many things so far to try to troubleshoot the problem, here is a summary:
- Audyssey setup on the Denon
- Bi-amp the Tsi500 (almost no improvement as expected)
- Adjust the crossover for the front. Audyssey set it a 40hz. I'd tried from 80hz to 240hz and still no clear\crisp twitter sound.
- Changed the speakers wires.
- Used different audio sources.

I'm out of ideas. Next step is to find a power amp to see if its a power issue.
Is my amplifier not powerful enough to drive these speakers?

Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

Dominic

 

[BlueWizard]

This is not likely, but have you checked the Jumper Bars between the Low frequency and High Frequency terminals?

TSi500 - Floorstanding | Polk Audio®

If those brass bars are not in place and locked down, you will lose the tweeter all together.

If you put your ear near the tweeter, can you hear anything coming from it?

I'm not sure how your Jumper Bars are but they can sometimes look like they are in place, yet not actually make contact. Also, if one or the other comes out of place, even slightly, you lose the tweeter.

The crossover points aren't specified, but I would guess if the Jumper Bars weren't in place you would lose both Midrange and Tweeter, and it sounds like, from what you are saying, that you do have Midrange.

Again verify whether or not something is coming out of the tweeter. If not, then something is wrong with the speaker. Perhaps in internal fuse protecting the tweeters, perhaps a blown tweeter, perhaps a bad connection on the tweeter crossover. It is difficult to tell with so little information.

I think the next step is to verify the tweeter is working, then we can take it from there.

This guy on YouTube has several reasonably well recorded videos demonstrating the TSi500, see if they sound remotely like yours especially in the treble area.



YouTube videos are never great, but these might lend some perspective on your speakers.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Dom QC]

Hello Steve,

Thank you for your reply.
Yes i have double check the jumper bars. I had to remove it when I tied bi-amping the speakers but now it is back in place.

Yes I can hear sounds coming from the tweeters on both speakers but its really low. The low sounds are always way louder then the high and mid.

The video was helpful, it is very clear that my speakers doesn't sound even close to this.

I will try to record a video during the week-end and post it.

Dominic

 

[BlueWizard]

I'm curious if the speakers ever sounded right. Given that they are TSi instead of the new TSx, I have to ask if you bought them new or used. If used, where did you buy them and how much did you pay?

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Dom QC]

I bought them used. Paid 300$ for the pair. The original owner is offering to take them back if the speakers are not working properly. Esthetically they look mint. In few minutes I will connect an old JVC amp that I have. I'll let you know how it went.

 

[BlueWizard]

There isn't a slim crazy chance that the TREBLE Tone Control is turned down is there?

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Dom QC]

The Treble Tone Control? I didn't know about this one. After some google I can confirm that tone control is OFF.

Summary of tonight's tests:
-I connected a pair of small paradigm speakers that I am using in my basement to my JVC amp(my Denon zone 2). They sound great.
- I connected the Polk(using same cables) to the JVC amp and the sound\Music is awesome.

Well it is not the speakers so I guess I must be missing something in the config of the Denon.

Dom

 

[BlueWizard]

So, let me get this straight. You tried other speakers (Paradigm) on the JVC amp to verify that it was working properly. They sounded great.

Then you tried the Polk TSi on the same JVC amp and they also sounded great. So, we have confirmed that the speakers (TSi) are not the problem.

Am I right so far?

So, that leaves us with the Denon 1910 AV Receiver as the problem.

Just going on intuition here -

Maker sure the speakers are connected to the right terminals. That is, that the front Left/Right speakers go to the terminals of the Amp's Front Left/Right. The speaker should be attached to the FRONT "A" speakers; the ones near the bottom. That's not likely the problem, but we have to investigate and verify every possibility.

There are no actual Tone Controls on the Denon amp, and by that I mean no knobs to turn. However, the amps could have Tone Controls in the menus. I don't see it listed in the Product Specs, but I am going to down load the Owner's Manual to be sure. If no Tone Controls, it could be something is off in the EQ Setup.

Yes, page 18 of the Owner's Manual shows that there are Tone Controls in the menus that can be changed. Item #2 in the Parameter Menu.

Next, some times AV Receiver get confused. In that case, they need to be Reset back to factory default settings. It should explain in the Owner's Manual how to Reset the amp.

If you have general confidence that your AV Receiver is working, that is, it is not broken. Then absolutely find a way to Reset it back to Factory Default and Run SETUP again with the new speakers.

If I understand correctly, you have verified that the speakers themselves (TSi) are indeed working, and that has to be a relief. At this point, I don't suspect that the AV Receiver is broken, more likely some setting is off. Again - RESET - then re-run SETUP. Make sure the results you get from SETUP make sense. The program doesn't always get it right.

RESET or Restoring Factory Defaults can be found on page 63 of the Manual under Troubleshooting.

Keep us informed of the progress.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Dom QC]

So, let me get this straight. You tried other speakers (Paradigm) on the JVC amp to verify that it was working properly. They sounded great.

Then you tried the Polk TSi on the same JVC amp and they also sounded great. So, we have confirmed that the speakers (TSi) are not the problem.

Am I right so far?

So, that leaves us with the Denon 1910 AV Receiver as the problem.

Just going on intuition here -

Maker sure the speakers are connected to the right terminals. That is, that the front Left/Right speakers go to the terminals of the Amp's Front Left/Right. The speaker should be attached to the FRONT "A" speakers; the ones near the bottom. That's not likely the problem, but we have to investigate and verify every possibility.

There are no actual Tone Controls on the Denon amp, and by that I mean no knobs to turn. However, the amps could have Tone Controls in the menus. I don't see it listed in the Product Specs, but I am going to down load the Owner's Manual to be sure. If no Tone Controls, it could be something is off in the EQ Setup.

Yes, page 18 of the Owner's Manual shows that there are Tone Controls in the menus that can be changed. Item #2 in the Parameter Menu.

Next, some times AV Receiver get confused. In that case, they need to be Reset back to factory default settings. It should explain in the Owner's Manual how to Reset the amp.

If you have general confidence that your AV Receiver is working, that is, it is not broken. Then absolutely find a way to Reset it back to Factory Default and Run SETUP again with the new speakers.

If I understand correctly, you have verified that the speakers themselves (TSi) are indeed working, and that has to be a relief. At this point, I don't suspect that the AV Receiver is broken, more likely some setting is off. Again - RESET - then re-run SETUP. Make sure the results you get from SETUP make sense. The program doesn't always get it right.

RESET or Restoring Factory Defaults can be found on page 63 of the Manual under Troubleshooting.

Keep us informed of the progress.

Steve/bluewizard

Hi Steve,

You got it right at 100%.
I have reseted the Denon and the sound coming out of the front speakers is a lot better.
Since I was only using the Denon with small speakers I was in the impression that the poor music quality from the front was caused by the speakers. The same small speaker tonight sounds totally different(better).
I will perform more tests tomorrow, my kid is sleeping so I don't want to raise the volume too much or even perform the Audyssey calibration.

Thank you for your help, very appreciated

Regards,

Dominic