Bright and not so beautiful speakers

[crankedup]

Mentioned before in here that I have recently purchased a good pair of Quad 21L floor standers. First impressions very pleased with performance from them hooked up to my NAD 3130 AND Marantz CD--65DX player.
After a few weeks now 'getting used' to the sound I find myself thinking the sound is to bright and 'metallic' for my taste. I dial in some extra base but all this seems to do is 'muffle' the high notes of the music. I am not wholly happy with the sound overall and adopt a 'its not so bad' mindset when enjoying the music.
Any suggestions as to which speakers (used will be fine) will deliver a softer more melodic sound. I was always happy with my old Tannoy Gold MK2 until they bit the dust.
Thanks for comment/advise.

[StuH]

crankedup said:

Mentioned before in here that I have recently purchased a good pair of Quad 21L floor standers. First impressions very pleased with performance from them hooked up to my NAD 3130 AND Marantz CD--65DX player.
After a few weeks now 'getting used' to the sound I find myself thinking the sound is to bright and 'metallic' for my taste. I dial in some extra base but all this seems to do is 'muffle' the high notes of the music. I am not wholly happy with the sound overall and adopt a 'its not so bad' mindset when enjoying the music.
Any suggestions as to which speakers (used will be fine) will deliver a softer more melodic sound. I was always happy with my old Tannoy Gold MK2 until they bit the dust.
Thanks for comment/advise.

Sounds like something from Spendor might float your boat.

[clived]

Just as an idea, try instead of dialing in more bass, dialing out a little treble?

[VinceFox]

I thought this was a thread about Farage.

[crankedup]

VinceFox said:

I thought this was a thread about Farage.

I have tried dialling out some treble, adding bass and then, well I have played around and yet to find something that I like the sound of. At the moment I haven't bi-wired yet - I live more in hope than expectation TBH.

I will have a look at spendor.

[The_Burg]

TBH i wouldn't blame the speakers here. 80s budget and CD are more likely the issue.
Mid range modern speakers will not be suitable.

Without a good source and amp it just won't work properly.

[jontysafe]

I know horses for courses but I always found marantz to be bright. In the past found myself gravitating towards arcam players, much more warmth.

[crankedup]

The_Burg said:

TBH i wouldn't blame the speakers here. 80s budget and CD are more likely the issue.
Mid range modern speakers will not be suitable.

Without a good source and amp it just won't work properly.

In short I'm expecting too much from my 25 year old player and amp Do I feel a feeling of the dreaded upgraditus coming on, feels that way.
The previous owner of the Quad 21 told be he had been using an Arcam amp and was happy with the sound.

[StuH]

crankedup said:

The_Burg said:

TBH i wouldn't blame the speakers here. 80s budget and CD are more likely the issue.
Mid range modern speakers will not be suitable.

Without a good source and amp it just won't work properly.

In short I'm expecting too much from my 25 year old player and amp Do I feel a feeling of the dreaded upgraditus coming on, feels that way.
The previous owner of the Quad 21 told be he had been using an Arcam amp and was happy with the sound.

I don't really agree with this. Your amp is certainly up the job and given the fairly warm NAD sound I wouldn't have that as the culprit.

Your CD player is likely typical of the period in being somewhat forward and bright.

If you do want to upgrade, a good combo that can be had for reasonable cost on eBay would be an Arcam Alpha 9CD player (very highly regarded and circa 1k new - this uses the DcS "Ring" DAC), pair this with an Alpha 10 amp (similar sonic signature to the NAD but with more grunt) and you'd be good to go

[crankedup]

StuH said:

crankedup said:

The_Burg said:

TBH i wouldn't blame the speakers here. 80s budget and CD are more likely the issue.
Mid range modern speakers will not be suitable.

Without a good source and amp it just won't work properly.

In short I'm expecting too much from my 25 year old player and amp Do I feel a feeling of the dreaded upgraditus coming on, feels that way.
The previous owner of the Quad 21 told be he had been using an Arcam amp and was happy with the sound.

I don't really agree with this. Your amp is certainly up the job and given the fairly warm NAD sound I wouldn't have that as the culprit.

Your CD player is likely typical of the period in being somewhat forward and bright.

If you do want to upgrade, a good combo that can be had for reasonable cost on eBay would be an Arcam Alpha 9CD player (very highly regarded and circa 1k new - this uses the DcS "Ring" DAC), pair this with an Alpha 10 amp (similar sonic signature to the NAD but with more grunt) and you'd be good to go

Thanks StuH I value your advise, along with others of course. I recall back in the day when I auditioned my then new amp NAD 3130 how mellow and warm it sounded as against the other two amps, one must have been a Marantz but I cannot remember. The other two amps were, as you put it, bright and forward. So I'm a more laid back listening sound enthusiast and will certainly be looking for the arcam's that you mention. Thanks again.

[telecat]

Hi Cranked. I think much of what has been said is quite accurate. However you have to be careful not to "lose" the detail in the attempt to curb the brightness. Firstly the Speakers are probably still in the Process of "Running in". I'd keep at the Speakers while looking at alternatives to the Amp and CD. They may well remain bright but lose the "edginess" or Sibilance.

Also have a word with the dealer and see if they recommend a different cable. Whether another cable is "better" than yours or not isn't the point here it's the "character" of the sound. Another cable could take off that "edginess". Most real Hi-Fi Dealers will allow you to borrow cable or you could listen in the demo room to see if you can hear the difference and if it works for you.

You can also try things like more cushions or longer curtains or even some fabric on the back wall. It's a cheap and easy fix and if it does not work you can take them down.

[crankedup]

telecat said:

Hi Cranked. I think much of what has been said is quite accurate. However you have to be careful not to "lose" the detail in the attempt to curb the brightness. Firstly the Speakers are probably still in the Process of "Running in". I'd keep at the Speakers while looking at alternatives to the Amp and CD. They may well remain bright but lose the "edginess" or Sibilance.

Also have a word with the dealer and see if they recommend a different cable. Whether another cable is "better" than yours or not isn't the point here it's the "character" of the sound. Another cable could take off that "edginess". Most real Hi-Fi Dealers will allow you to borrow cable or you could listen in the demo room to see if you can hear the difference and if it works for you.

You can also try things like more cushions or longer curtains or even some fabric on the back wall. It's a cheap and easy fix and if it does not work you can take them down.

Thanks telecat, some good advise. The speakers are run in as I have just purchased them previously enjoyed (as any good salesman might say!)My system is set up in our deep bay window, the speakers positioned at the front of the bay at either side. As a matter of interest I have also found the speakers to be very sensitive to positioning in relation to listening position, moving my head just a few inches either side makes a big difference to the 'sound-stage effect'. All this is new to me so I ask for others forbearance in what may be old hat to them.
So I have lots to learn and try out in my quest for 'my perfect' sound. All this starting from a speaker that went wayward after 26 years of solid reliability! Nice to be back in this involving hobby/interest.

[telecat]

Hi Cranked, Are the Speakers "toed in" to your listening Position at all? I'd try just a few degrees if not. I'd also just try moving them Back and Forward a bit in the bays. Bay's are known for changing the tone of a speaker.

Have you got the "covers" on as well. If they are just mesh and you haven't tried them that way I'd give it a go. My current Speakers I leave the cover on but I took them off on the Snell Type K's I had Previously.

Personally I don't like messing around so much so can sympathise. It's usually worth the effort just to gently fiddle with the details though.

[Riff Raff]

As others have said, I'd be playing around with the speaker positioning before trying anything else. You could then experiment with cables. I know lots of people say cables=foo, but I was surprised at the difference speaker cable made to my system.

Another thing you could try if you have a DVD player is to try that as a CD transport, just to see what difference that makes.

[crankedup]

telecat said:

Hi Cranked, Are the Speakers "toed in" to your listening Position at all? I'd try just a few degrees if not. I'd also just try moving them Back and Forward a bit in the bays. Bay's are known for changing the tone of a speaker.

Have you got the "covers" on as well. If they are just mesh and you haven't tried them that way I'd give it a go. My current Speakers I leave the cover on but I took them off on the Snell Type K's I had Previously.

Personally I don't like messing around so much so can sympathise. It's usually worth the effort just to gently fiddle with the details though.

Again thanks telecat. I have 'toed in' the speakers but I did set them into position and not moved them around at all as you suggest, I will give this a go. The covers I do take off ready for action, the previous owner of the speakers did advise this for 'better sound'.
I will post up the outcome, just for interest.

[crankedup]

Thanks Riff Raff, at the moment I am using QED silver anniversary as supplied with speakers. I have kept my old speaker cable from 26 years back. Its copper strand and really quite heavy gauge, no phone plugs though. The gauge must be 3mm thick stuff.

[Roadster25]

I would avoid that particular cable. I had some for a while and found it to be exactly as you describe, albeit with different kit. A change to Chord Silverscreen, a copper cable, sorted things out nicely.

Give the old stuff a go. It's free to try and might well be what you are looking for.

Edited by Roadster25 on Monday 3rd December 21:34

[crankedup]

I will post up how I get on with a change of cable Roadster.

[Some Gump]

Is your room lacking in soft furnishings? If so, it can make any system bright. Add a few cuddly bears, some vewlour drapes and some scatter cusions, job jobbed.

[anonymous-user]

Just a suggestion, but look on eBay for a Musical Fidelity X10-D and put it between the CD player and the amp, I've seen this resolve the over bright issue many times at much less cost than the dreaded upgrade route.