Just fired up my first ever Hifi set-up. It's OK?

[MidnightCarouselRider]

What kind of music/recordings do you listen to?

 

[fpitas]

When it's expected that the majority of listeners are going to prefere a flat anechoic response - I think they are just dumb. Or don't care.

Or, they farmed it out from lack of internal concern, and it came back screwed up. Would not be the first time that happened.

 

[Nybto]

Interesting comment about the discomfort, not heard much discussion of this before, but I tend to get a bit as well, and I have Focals.. I suspect there might be a bit of hearing damage with perhaps a sensitive frequency range, which is possibly in that 5-6khz zone. I have eq’d my set up so it is a lot better in this respect, but still the feeling is there. None the less, I would suggest to change the speakers, I have recently trialed the Wharfedale Lintons, which have a gorgeous rich balance without a prominent top end, could be just the job for you.
The other comment is about being blown away by the system, you need a good recording for that, if you haven’t put one on yet then that might be the reason, possibly..

 

[tonycollinet]

Or, they farmed it out from lack of internal concern, and it came back screwed up. Would not be the first time that happened.

That fits well into the "don't care" category.

"Don't worry - we'll fix it with flowery marketing."

 

[fpitas]

That fits well into the "don't care" category.

"Don't worry - we'll fix it with flowery marketing."

Yes. The guy in charge of the project didn't want to admit he lost control. So, it's good enough!

 

[DMill]

I think the Focals are your issue, or maybe just a really weird room. The previous posters are right. I’ll add, when hearing a new system I believe there is a bias to what you were listening to before also. Sometimes the more time you spend with your new system the more you can “unlearn” what you thought was good. I’ve always felt the “burn-in” effect people talk about, which has no objective leg to stand on, was a result of unlearning a listening bias and has nothing to do with a mechanical break in period. The only way to know is to measure in room and tweak from there.

 

[tonycollinet]

Yes. The guy in charge of the project didn't want to admit he lost control. So, it's good enough!

"Box it, Ship it"

 

[ash87]

Been listening to all kinds of stuff: Nina Simone, Mariah Carey, Daft Punk, Vivo movie soundtrack, Devendra Banhart, oldies soul, Bob Dylan, Hot Chip, and now some classical. I can tell when a recording is less high fidelity (older Bob Dylan) vs something like Daft Punk Random Access Memories or even Vivo soundtrack.

With the preamp out and listening for a while, I still feel the brightness that kind of hurts my ears. I've never really heard or had a good system before, so I don't have any preconceived ideas other than what I invented in my imagination.

The room is a bit weird, it's a rectangle and the speakers are in the middle on the long wall, but the opposite sitting wall is only half a wall, with the other half opening to a dining area.

I'm leaning toward a different speaker based on the feedback I'm seeing that the Focals can be bright.

If I spend less on DAC/Pre-amp, that gets me closer to $3k range for speaker pairs. Any thoughts on Revel F206 or JBL HDI-3600. They're on sale and seem to be going out of stock fast. There's a lot of options going to this price range, so I would love to hear some suggestions. Need to be floorstanders per WAF.

Thanks again for the insight.

 

[Triliza]

Yes. The guy in charge of the project didn't want to admit he lost control. So, it's good enough!

We are getting way of topic, but see this post for an interesting perspective on the matter from a speaker designer. I am all for flat response, but can understand the reasoning offered.

To the op, I can't offer any insight in the situation, but if you tried all the advice offered and still don't like them, you should consider returning them and getting something else.

 

[NiagaraPete]

Been listening to all kinds of stuff: Nina Simone, Mariah Carey, Daft Punk, Vivo movie soundtrack, Devendra Banhart, oldies soul, Bob Dylan, Hot Chip, and now some classical. I can tell when a recording is less high fidelity (older Bob Dylan) vs something like Daft Punk Random Access Memories or even Vivo soundtrack.

With the preamp out and listening for a while, I still feel the brightness that kind of hurts my ears. I've never really heard or had a good system before, so I don't have any preconceived ideas other than what I invented in my imagination.

The room is a bit weird, it's a rectangle and the speakers are in the middle on the long wall, but the opposite sitting wall is only half a wall, with the other half opening to a dining area.

I'm leaning toward a different speaker based on the feedback I'm seeing that the Focals can be bright.

If I spend less on DAC/Pre-amp, that gets me closer to $3k range for speaker pairs. Any thoughts on Revel F206 or JBL HDI-3600. They're on sale and seem to be going out of stock fast. There's a lot of options going to this price range, so I would love to hear some suggestions. Need to be floorstanders per WAF.

Thanks again for the insight.

I can suggest a Topping D30 pro (has volume control) and Genelec 8050. You won’t likely need a sub. If you can stretch the budget the Genelec 8340 or 50. The GLM is worth the extra. I think your source is fine.

 

[MidnightCarouselRider]

Been listening to all kinds of stuff: Nina Simone, Mariah Carey, Daft Punk, Vivo movie soundtrack, Devendra Banhart, oldies soul, Bob Dylan, Hot Chip, and now some classical. I can tell when a recording is less high fidelity (older Bob Dylan) vs something like Daft Punk Random Access Memories or even Vivo soundtrack.

With the preamp out and listening for a while, I still feel the brightness that kind of hurts my ears. I've never really heard or had a good system before, so I don't have any preconceived ideas other than what I invented in my imagination.

The room is a bit weird, it's a rectangle and the speakers are in the middle on the long wall, but the opposite sitting wall is only half a wall, with the other half opening to a dining area.

I'm leaning toward a different speaker based on the feedback I'm seeing that the Focals can be bright.

If I spend less on DAC/Pre-amp, that gets me closer to $3k range for speaker pairs. Any thoughts on Revel F206 or JBL HDI-3600. They're on sale and seem to be going out of stock fast. There's a lot of options going to this price range, so I would love to hear some suggestions. Need to be floorstanders per WAF.

Thanks again for the insight.

My ears always hurt when listening to music as well and then I got a giant pair of 1965 bozak Symphonies and it was never a problem again. I used to use a tube amp and now I use an aiyima a07

 

[ash87]

I started my journey in incremental steps and eventually ended up with my current system:

Revel M126Be bookshelf speakers (shop around and ask dealers for discounts)
MiniDSP SHD (the Flex didn't exist yet)
Purifi EVAL1 kit in Ghent case
Tidal as my usual music source via the SHD's built-in streamer, or a CD player

After much playing, I've turned off room correction in my small/medium listening space. I had tried a sub but found it was perfectly fine to my tastes without one. Opening the windows seems to do more to improve the sound in the room than digital room correction in my space.

Your mileage will vary.

Did you try other DACS before the SHD?

 

[Mart68]

Been listening to all kinds of stuff: Nina Simone, Mariah Carey, Daft Punk, Vivo movie soundtrack, Devendra Banhart, oldies soul, Bob Dylan, Hot Chip, and now some classical. I can tell when a recording is less high fidelity (older Bob Dylan) vs something like Daft Punk Random Access Memories or even Vivo soundtrack.

With the preamp out and listening for a while, I still feel the brightness that kind of hurts my ears. I've never really heard or had a good system before, so I don't have any preconceived ideas other than what I invented in my imagination.

The room is a bit weird, it's a rectangle and the speakers are in the middle on the long wall, but the opposite sitting wall is only half a wall, with the other half opening to a dining area.

I'm leaning toward a different speaker based on the feedback I'm seeing that the Focals can be bright.

If I spend less on DAC/Pre-amp, that gets me closer to $3k range for speaker pairs. Any thoughts on Revel F206 or JBL HDI-3600. They're on sale and seem to be going out of stock fast. There's a lot of options going to this price range, so I would love to hear some suggestions. Need to be floorstanders per WAF.

Thanks again for the insight.

you could try the speakers on the short wall, put a bit more distance between you and them. Also don't angle them in towards you, have then facing straight ahead.

On the wall behind you use something soft - curtain, cushions, whatever, to absorb high frequency bounce,

If none of that works then change the speakers. Don't expect it to burn in or for you to get used to it, that won't happen. Accept it isn't working and change it.

Both the Revel and JBL look good in measurements (although the F208 is better than the F206 if you can find the extra).

On a sorted system the vast majority of recordings will sound good and showcase recordings should blow you away. Don't settle for less!

 

[Sokel]

Accurate and studio gear are accused by the audiophilia for years,even stuff like ATC or PCM apart from Genelec's,Adam's,etc.

And they describe it the exact same way,bright,fatiguing,chain-saws,etc.They say that is the reason sound engineers are paid for,to bear with it.
Of course all this is to laugh with,all this stuff are made to work in certain environments,treated rooms and placed by people that now exactly what to do.

I don't think Focal is amongst these.There must be something very wrong in the setup,even the FR doesn't indicate brightness.
Defective device somewhere (static????),VERY wrong placement?Electric mismatch?

Really strange.

 

[Mart68]

Accurate and studio gear are accused by the audiophilia for years,even stuff like ATC or PCM apart from Genelec's,Adam's,etc.

And they describe it the exact same way,bright,fatiguing,chain-saws,etc.They say that is the reason sound engineers are paid for,to bear with it.
Of course all this is to laugh with,all this stuff are made to work in certain environments,treated rooms and placed by people that now exactly what to do.

I don't think Focal is amongst these.There must be something very wrong in the setup,even the FR doesn't indicate brightness.
Defective device somewhere (static????),VERY wrong placement?Electric mismatch?

Really strange.

I think the FR does indicate brightness, there is a peak of 2.5dB at around 4Khz, a 3dB peak would be twice the loudness of the surrounding frequencies, so 2.5dB - that's going to be audible. If the room is not well-damped that won't help either.

I also use Focal but a much older and more expensive model, they are explicit but there is no brightness since they don't have that peak in the presence band like the 826. Also my room is treated for HF absorption/diffusion.

 

[Sokel]

I think the FR does indicate brightness, there is a peak of 2.5dB at around 4Khz, a 3dB peak would be twice the loudness of the surrounding frequencies, so 2.5dB - that's going to be audible. If the room is not well-damped that won't help either.

I also use Focal but a much older and more expensive model, they are explicit but there is no brightness since they don't have that peak in the presence band like the 826. Also my room is treated for HF absorption/diffusion.

What i see is a dip between 1-4KHz,that's not brightness,and the peak up to 14KHz,is insignificant,takes a few degrees to eliminate it.
I think there must be another kind of problem there,something electric,mains maybe?

If he lives in a country where he can put the plug either way you want believe what I have seen in analyzer,mains harmonic going up to 60db if put the wrong way.

 

[Triliza]

If he lives in a country where he can put the plug either way you want believe what I have seen in analyzer,mains harmonic going up to 60db if put the wrong way.

Can you please elaborate a little more on that? What devices are affected by this, how can we tell which way to plug them, I have never consider that there is a right way to plug a device.

 

[Sokel]

Can you please elaborate a little more on that? What devices are affected by this, how can we tell which way to plug them, I have never consider that there is a right way to plug a device.

I think is covered multiple times,with graphs too,I'm surprised none has come to that.
There's only one right way to plug a device and apart from "sound" there are safety issues too sometimes,some devices have their fuse on the Live line for example and if you connect them the wrong way it's the Neutral that goes there.
I don't have my measring stuff connected now,but I have measured probably a thousand times my house and friends houses the last month and the difference with the plug the wrong way is more than 20db on the mains distortion (where it exists).

Generally,the right way is this:

It's easy to test with a tester with a lot of caution of course.

Edit:I have seen and I owned devices that indicate the right way with a little light for example,usually at the back,right next to the plug.

 

[tonycollinet]

What i see is a dip between 1-4KHz,that's not brightness,and the peak up to 14KHz,is insignificant,takes a few degrees to eliminate it.
I think there must be another kind of problem there,something electric,mains maybe?

If he lives in a country where he can put the plug either way you want believe what I have seen in analyzer,mains harmonic going up to 60db if put the wrong way.

I don't think brightness will ever be caused by harmonics of 50 or 60 Hz.

 

[Sokel]

I don't think brightness will ever be caused by harmonics of 50 or 60 Hz.

I was not talking about the brightness there,I was talking about the evident electrical problems he hears (static,crackles,etc)