Question Speaker setup

chris english

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Been moving my main system downstairs with real disastrous results , and I have to admit my ears are gonna bleed !!
I can't find that sweet spot with the speakers , they sound really bright , harsh even and I can't work out why ??
Any suggestions appreciated

Chris .
 
Furnishing or lack of perhaps the problem? Difference in room size? I assume you've moved the whole system and not just placed the speakers on a different set up?
 
Yes only thing I didn't move was the CD players , I've set them up down here before temporarily but this time it's whoa !
could be the size / shape of the room ? It's L shaped . There are some glass furniture items and laminate flooring downstairs so probably interfering with things
 
Look at the size and layout of the rooms? Things like carpets, curtains, general clutter, etc... can effect the Acoustics of the room, and this is likely the problem you are having. The new room is a big hollow echo chamber.

See if you can find ways to soften the new room.

Can you give us the dimension of each room, and tell us specifically what equipment you have? Plus an overall description of the room in term of carpet, curtains, furniture, and so on?

Also, MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE BEYOND ANY SHADOW OF A DOUBT that the speakers are wired properly, and that in all cased the Amp(+) goes to the Speaker(+). Nothing will suck the life out of a speaker like one of them being wired wrong.

Also, if your speakers can be Bi-Wre (4 speaker terminals each), then make sure the Jumper Bars are in place and making contact. Though that's probably not the problem, most often if there is a problem with the Jumper Bars, it is the tweeters you lose. But leave no stone unturned.

Steve/bluewizard
 
It's always difficult to predict how surroundings will change the sound but the general feeling is plenty of curtains, carpets, soft furnishings will help tame a bright sound. I had an issue once with moving a set up from one room to another and I just didn't enjoy listening for long. I quickly realised I was listening at higher levels trying to recreate the sound I was used to in the smaller room which in turn was just giving me headaches. The amp/speakers just weren't so well suited to the bigger room. You may find if there's a lot more space you are discovering the same thing.
 
Well the old room is 11 by 11.5 feet , curtains carpet and usual bedroom furniture .

Moved into living room which is L shaped , 24ft long , widest point 11ft , narrowest 8.5ft , laminate floor , curtains , usual furnishings , some glass some wooden .

Equipment is Arcam A19 amp , Cambridge Audio 651 CD player , Monitor Audio Bronze BX5 speakers .

Everything double checked that it's all wired up correctly
 
So are you listening at similar volumes, as in position on the volume control rather than how it sounds, as you were in the old room? Might be worth throwing some rugs, duvets, blankets etc on the floors just to see if it solves the problem. Not a permanent solution but it might at least tell you if that's the problem.

I've never owned the Bronze range but have had a number of Silver and Gold and they can sound a bit bright under the wrong conditions. In one instance I tried everything I could when it came to room furnishing but in the end it was a change of pre-amp that just tipped the balance between crisp and overly bright treble. Hope you find an easier/cheaper solution though!
 
Yes listening conditions all the same , I've set them up in here before and had decent results , only difference is a new sofa and single chair , before there was more open space as I only had one big sofa .

I agree Monitor Audio speakers do sound bright , I had them partnered to a Cambridge Audio 651A before the arcam and they could get abit harsh at times , that's why I moved to the arcam and they seem to suit each other well .
 
Well that's a bit odd. Maybe try playing with positioning slightly. With any luck there's just something in the room causing issues that a little adjustment may solve.

I use Arcam with a couple of my MA set ups too. The one I had problems with was an Arcam /MA set up but a change from an A22 integrated to an AV8 pre amp solved the problem. It was a borderline case though, just needed the edge taken off slightly and that did the job perfectly.
 
I tried moving them out from the walls , slight improvement but not really practical where they were , and still gave me earache !

I may be changing room round slightly so will have to persevere see if I can find that elusive sweet sound .

For me the A19 tamed the brightness to a more neutral or natural sound , only gripe is it can feel abit gutless at higher volume levels . I'm thinking of upgrading to Arcam A39 but it's over £1000 , and if I can't get it setup right downstairs it's a waste of time .
 
Well at least if you are buying new you should be able to get some sort of try at home before you buy deal. Another option would be take a punt on a used A32 which at a guess would be under £500 these days. The plus side of used is you can always sell on without huge loses if things don't work out. Can't say if that would solve the brightness problem but it should give you more welly!
 
No im not sure it would solve anything , but I've been offered a good price on a new A39 and a no quibble 14 day return .
But I've tried 2 different amps and unfortunately yielded the same result . Probably would work well upstairs though ;)
 
I tried moving them out from the walls , slight improvement but not really practical where they were , and still gave me earache !

...

You have to move them Significantly forward, like 3 feet or more. Of course that's not practical, but the purpose of doing this is not to be practice, but rather to determine if Placement is the problem.

I had QA 3050 that had overwhelming bass due to placement. I moved the 3 feet forward away from every thing, they cleared right up. Once Place was established as the problem, I would work with the speakers, and ultimately was able to find a place where the would work nicely, and it was very close to the original placement.

So, moving the speaker substantially forward is not a solution, it is a Test to determine if placement is the problem. You have to move them forward away from everything, in my case, it was at least 3ft if not closer to 4ft. Admittedly impractical, but it did establish that placement was the issue.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Yeah I understand what your saying , i tried different positions but still sounded harsh no matter what I did .
It must be something to do with the slight changes in the room since I last tested them in there .
In their original place they were never that fussy with placement , so I don't think that placement is the issue .
 
I notice you said there's a bit of glass furniture about. Was it there beforehand?

All hard surfaces are bad news for reflections but glass is a particular bastard. It's very hard indeed and a vigorous reflector.

You might try covering everything that has a glass surface, vertical horizontal or otherwise, with some thick cushions and or pillows and see if that changes anything?

I know it sounds daft, but desperate times... and glass is a ****.
 
Yes the glass was always there , I bought a glass rack dirt cheap off eBay , forget the make but it's stocked in richer sounds for about £99 ? and thinking back that made things worse , it was relegated to the spare room !
So moving forward I've got an old plasma tv bench to try tomorrow , So that will get some more glass out of there . I'm trying to scrounge some large rugs as well get some more wood covered up and try again haha !
What annoys me is I've got some Monitor Audio BX2's on cheap stands that just work in there with the furnishings the way they are .
 

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