My system's high frequencies hurt my ears


Well, to be perfectly clear it doesn't always hurt my ears but I've been getting a little fatigued at times and I'm trying to diagnose the problem. A few nights ago I was listening to a new 24/96 The Doors first album release and had to stop playback. I switched over to The Eagles Greatest Hits, 16/44, and found some happiness there but I wasn't completely satisfied. Perhaps some of this is psychological, maybe I was feeling a little extra sensitive, but I'm sure I've had some issues with high frequencies in the past.

Here's my setup:

Serving all music, ripped to WAV by Exact Audio Copy or downloaded via high rez sites, via Windows 7 computer running J River set to WASAPI output. Sending signal via USB to Audiophilleo USB/SPDIF converter to PS Audio Digital Link III DAC. From DAC using Nordost Baldur unbalanced RCA interconnects to PS Audio C-100 Control Amp. Speaker wires are Nordost Blue Heaven. Power cables are PS Audio Lab Cable from wall to PS Audio Duet Power Conditioner. From there I use another Lab Cable for the amp and a PS Jewel cable for the DAC. The wall plug is on its own circuit with nothing else connected. Speakers are my old but good Mirage 1090i's.

Aside from perhaps the age of the speakers do you guys see anything that stands out? I spoke to a technician from Mirage and he suggested I'm doing too much signal processing which could be a cause of uncomfortable high frequencies.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
robpriore

Showing 10 responses by robpriore

I thought the speakers could be to blame but I called Mirage and they suggested the idea of too much signal processing being the culprit. Anyone out there have a sense that too much processing makes things worse?
I have them setup so the tweeters do in fact point directly at the listeners ears, but for imaging this is pretty key. The mirages have to be placed with precision for the bipolar effects to work as designed, at least according to the manual.
Just based on the comments it really seems like this is a speaker issue. I'm planning to audition some new equipment and I was going to start with a DAC, possibly the Hegel HD20. However, it seems the right thing to do is start with some modern speakers in the $2500 range or so and basically listen. Of course I would like to spend less, the Kef q900's seem to have gotten some pretty good reviews. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Before toeing out the speakers I listened to the Doors Soul Kitchen in 24/96 and Adele's Rolling In The Deep 16/44. The highs are uncomfortable. I toed out the speakers several degrees and played the tracks again. There was an improvement. I continued to test and called up ELO's Nightrider and Poker 16/44. The imaging was smeared on these and was not right. I returned to the original speaker angles and restored the imaging but again the highs are uncomfortable.

Is this a fairly straightforward speaker issue?
So I toed in the speakers a few degrees and now have the tweeters crossing about two feet in front of my nose. I played the same tracks and sure enough the difference is substantial. I have better bass response, the soundstage and imaging are intact, and the highs are far more comfortable. For the final test I served up Dire Straights Money For Nothing in 24/192 and took the volume way up so i could feel the drums in the beginning sequence. When Mark Knopfler rips into his guitar it's just as I wanted to hear it.

Does it make sense for me to increase the toe in angle any more? At some point the soundstage will collapse, at least that's my understanding. I think it's prudent for me to demo different speakers to compare. I have to say though that were it not for forum members I would have dropped a few thousand without a real sense of what was wrong with my setup. Thank you for that.
I'm having a bit of trouble with this. I have an isosceles triangle with two angles being 64.6 degrees and the angle of my listening chair being 50.8 degrees. The triangle sides are 120 by 120 by 103 inches. When I draw the perpendicular line from the right speaker I get another isosceles triangle. I'm missing a line somewhere.
So i take the two resistors, twist together, and then connect one side to the + terminal and the other to the - terminal. If i did that with a wire it would short out right? The resistors won't cause a short?
The tweeters are vapor deposited titanium dome, so i'm thinking they're soft as well. For the cost of the resistors i have nothing to lose and might be able to toe out the speakers to widen the sound stage.
Update:

Thanks to an Audiogon thread I had the pleasure to be introduced to the Metrum Octave DAC. I have less than 24 hours of break in but let me say the harshness i was experiencing is gone. I've fully toed out the speakers, my original placement, and played my test files. It's astounding, this machine is truly different than what I'm used to. I'll add more as i continue the break in process - two weeks of 24/7 playback with daily genre and bit/sampling rate changes.