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Do not underestimate the importance of custom tuning to your ears

Many audiophiles will reject a high end speaker even very expensive ones all because it was too bright, too harsh, not enough bass, imaging problems etc. 

What we must remember is that many of these rejects may in actual fact be great speakers if only they were retuned to the persons ears. 

Custom tuning the crossover can change the brightness, the tweeter level, image depth, and more.

It would not be right to reject a speaker design that is fundamentally correct apart from the way its tuned. 

Some speakers are fundamentally wrong and no amount of retuning will fix them. These are the real rejects and we must not lump good speakers in with these. 

The difficulty is that its not easy to tell which speakers can be retuned and which ones cannot. 

All of this applies when buying a speaker for the first time or upgrading. Many speakers end up being sold all because of retuning issues and room acoustics. 

Custom tuning to your ears is the key. 
kenjit

Showing 10 responses by kenjit

kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
Aside from that, my opinion is that custom tuning the speakers is overrated.
In which case you arent an audiophile. 
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
Speakers are much like pianos. They require tuning. Retuning may be required when moving the speakers to another location. 
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
@dill

How does one know?Is there a handbook, a website or an app?
By listening obviously. The whole point of retuning is to do it by ear to your satisfaction. Of course theres no handbook. If there was a handbook there would be no need for custom tuning.

The whole problem with existing speakers is that theyve been tuned according to the textbook rather than by ear. Even if it was done by ear it would still be wrong because your ears are different than theirs.

kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
Would I have to un-tune or detune them if I wanted to sell them? 

yes. The tuning process is customized to your ears so it would defeat the purpose if you sold them to another user after they had been tuned to your ears. 
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
I am assuming by the same way that nelson pass retuned the L300 so brilliantly .
that was tuned to HIS ears. Why should you expect his modification to suit everybody elses ears? Do we all wear the same size trousers? Are we not all different from each other? Or are you one of those people that think a one size fits all is ok?
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
@djones51 

The alternative to custom tuning is mass produced junk. 

If thats what you want then fine. But you will never be satisfied. Why do you think audiophiles keep ugprading speakers? 

Do you upgrade your toilet every six months? Unless its broken no you dont. 

There you go. 


kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
mass produced can be cheap(er) and much better than custom-tuned.
mass production is done to appeal to the maximum number of people to maximize profit. Custom tuning is all about maximizing performance rather than profit. 
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
Why don’t you come up with a way that the audiophile masses can "tune" their speakers to suit their needs. Up until now, you are all talk and no action.
There doesnt have to be any action from me. This is a discussion forum and Im sharing information. Many audiophiles havent even understood my point about custom tuning. 

The fact is crossover tuning is real. Its done by the manufacturers themselves before it goes on the market.
If you want to retune your crossovers you will need to learn how to modify crossovers. I never said it would be feasible for most audiophiles. All I am saying is, you have two choices. Either custom tuned optimized speakers or mass produced junk. 

The toilet analogy is perfectly relevant. Either a speaker does its job or it doesnt. Its either good or bad. Audiophiles cant even decide when a speaker is good or bad. Theres no room for ambivalence. 
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
Under your premise that speakers need to be custom tuned to our ears
you seem to be disagreeing with the idea of custom tuning. Do you realize that every designer already tunes the speaker by ear before it goes on the market? Tuning is not optional. All I am saying is, rather than tune it to their ears it should be tuned to your ears. 
kenjit OP
1,771 posts
 
@bryhifi 

What source do I deem reference and begin tuning from there when each source presents a different sonic portrait?  

If your speakers are "out of tune" it wont matter what source or cables you use. It will never sound right. That is why audiophiles who try to blame their cables and source for poor sound quality can never achieve the sound quality they want. 
You use any or all of the sources and tracks you like to help you tune the speakers. Once its done, you will hear the differences in quality between sources and tracks much more clearly than before.

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