Hey there, I’ve been relying on this thread a bunch for setting up my system, and I figured I’ll ask you for advice this time.

After long research and bit of a challenging process, I finally completed my new Hi-Fi setup. I’m a hardcore record collector who just wanted to step up his audio game a little bit, so I had to learn on the fly. This is where I am right now with my fully analog setup:

  1. Klipsch Heresy IV (new)
  2. Unison Research Simply Italy (new)
  3. EAR 834P Deluxe edition
  4. Meticulously serviced Technics 1210
  5. Audio Technica VM 520ML
  6. Some decent cables, just so I won’t feel too guilty about them not matching with the rest the system

I’m almost totally stoked with how everything sounds, but there’s a little problem. High frequencies can be a bit much, especially when I’m listening to jazz. Any kind of high pitch instrument is just fatiguing and hard to listen to. Now, I get it - Klipsch has reputation for being bright and potentially fatiguing. But I tested this exact system with different sources, and the problem was not there.

Now, I’m trying to figure out if the hiccup is because A) My gear is still new and needs some time to break in B) There’s a mismatch between my cartridge and the phono preamp path. Both the EAR and Audio Technica have high gain. Could swapping out the cartridge be the magic fix? Else?

Anyone advice on how to tweak this so I can just listen to my records without the high-pitched headache?

  • ozorfis@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    If the 520ML cartridge is anything like the 520EB or 540ML, it has a 4-5 dB bump above 5kHz in the frequency response. I’d try a flat catrdige like the AT-VM95ML or a digital source for comparison.

  • bigbura@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Our Heresy IIIs did not sound anywhere as nice as the demo units at the store upon unboxing. Same complaints about the highs and the bass was very restrained.

    I came to understand why all the photos of Heresy speakers in-rooms showed the tweeters firing right and left of the main seat, minimal toe in if any at all, because those tweeters beam like mad. Mix in brand new, i.e. tight, drivers and this is all so much worse.

    So toe out the speakers for now, so you are listening some 15-20 degrees off axis and then heat them up with some highish volume listening, say low 90s dB in the seat. Nothing out of their capability but get the drivers moving and heat driven into the voice coils/spiders, and do so for about an hour. Turn the rig off and come back the next day and give her a listen, then report back what you found.

    I figure you’ll be pleased at how things changed. ;)

    After the above we ended up having to EQ the highs down to a level more in line with the mids and lows. In the end, our AVR’s EQ couldn’t do enough so we resorted to Audyssey which man-handled the irregularities in the mids/highs enough to get the rig more like what I heard in-store.

    But then I noticed the 160Hz peak/resonance, which I hope the IVs do not have. Audyssey didn’t really address that as the old version we have doesn’t touch the bass.

    After some 7 years with these things I’m looking to move them on. The JBL Studio 580s are so much more clear sounding/invisible, but have their own issues with being overly bright up top. But these respond well to minor EQ adjustments. I hope the updated drivers in the IVs do not present enough problems that you feel the need to sell them after the break-in is complete.

  • Schnite@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    You’ve got some very nice stuff, good for you buddy. I skimmed through the replies, your hours are low. Capacitors in your components still haven’t formed, the speaker will take even longer 2-3 months typically from my experience. how technical are you? It seems like your cartridge is good enough. I get into my gear a fair bit and enjoy upgrading electronics as a hobby, I fully understand people who don’t. FWIW, if it were my gear, I would - upgrade the Klipsch crossovers, remove those yellow (bennic.Chinese my guess) capacitors and put something a lot nicer, with particular focus on high frequency but especially mid range, Miflex and Mundorf are a few of my favorites. Second, I would upgrade your interconnects and make my own to keep costs in check, make them out of pure silver wire and solder them up with good terminations (RCA or XLR made of copper conductors). Last, I would address the speaker cable, this is a silly area, or people make it silly I find - North American made pure copper of a thick gauge is all that needed and NONE of that “speaker wire” stuff, you cut it and can see it’s copper clad aluminum. Do all that, and leave the equipment on for extended periods even when not listening, it will all mellow nicely and give you what you want. Smaller things could help alleviate, I like your cartridge idea, but won’t address the underlying core improvement areas.

    • Schnite@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      EAR 834P Deluxe

      A few have recommended an EQ, in my opinion you do NOT want to do that, introduce more electrolytic capacitors, very likely you’ll kill the sparkle of your nice equipment. On the EAR, I’ve seen some examples of people replacing the electrolytic caps with film on the stage board itself. If it were my phono stage, I would likely bypass all electlytics with Polypropylene MKP on the underside of the board, only maybe considering a straight replacement if the values were small enough where creative size placement would be elegantly done. Some pictures I’ve seen of the ear have though hole film caps, this is better, but still would go with something nice. This would make a profound impact to everything…

  • audioen@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    So, this is the frequency response realized by a Klipsch Heresy IV: https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Klipsch%20Heresy%20IV/ErinsAudioCorner/eac-v2-20210926/On%20Axis.html and the in-room tonality is here: https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Klipsch%20Heresy%20IV/ErinsAudioCorner/eac-v2-20210926/Estimated%20In-Room%20Response.html

    I’d say you would benefit from some equalization. A simple 5-band equalizer, or even just a treble tone knob, could be used to turn the treble down some 4 dB, which should create the roughly expected slope and reduce the harshness you experience.

    Even after correcting the tonality, the measurements do not indicate that the speaker is capable of objective, faithful representation of the source material. I would sell them at earliest convenience and get something else.