Speakers sound best facing wall????


Should I complain? - After months of tweaking and testing various components, I found my perfect sound. It really sounds beautiful and genuine (I listen only to classical; and authenticity is paramount), and the stereo image is there, when speakers are turned away from me, facing the wall at 135 degrees. I am looking at their backs when listening,

So, I am really happy. Or should I? With that very odd speaker position, something must be very wrong somewhere???

Ever since I took on my old hobby again (it had been in neglect for 30 years), bought 2 different solid state amplifiers (a powerful and very well balanced Sony TA-FA3ES, and a lower quality Technics), 2 different cd players (Arcam and Cyrus), 2 different sets of loudspeakers (Heybrook Heylo and Tannoy Revolution), a Velodyne subwoofer, a power conditioner (Belkin) and 2 sets of shielded IEC power cables and interconnects, I have been battling a problem:

*****an ear-piercing treble*****

No matter how low I would adjust the treble on my amplifier, and no matter the combination of amps, cd players, speakers etc., their position, my armchair's position, that problem was still there... until I turned the speakers away from me.

Room acoustics? - Well, all my equipment is in my living room, which has a normal height, and an odd, asymetrical shape. See plan. The house is made of timber, and the walls are painted plaster panels, with 2 dozens glass covered pictures in wooden frames. The room is carpeted, and slightly emptier than an average living room (3 armchairs, 2 wooden cabinets and audio rack). The wall which the speakers are facing has a curtain. The speakers are 130cm / 4ft away from the wall.

If not the room acoustics, what may be causing the ear-piercing treble when speakers are turned towards me? - Dirty power that the power conditioner cannot cope with? Faulty tweeters (on 2 different sets of speakers???)? Should I worry, since I have my perfect sound with the speakers facing the wall? - Any advice appreciated!
waryn
Waryn

I think the fact is that most speakers I have heard would sound better turned away from the listener. Many systems actually sound best when they are turned off. A disclaimer here. I am a dealer and have heard lots of systems..
Does anyone else do this? My ears are also strange-the last sytem that didn,t sound way to bright was in the seventies with a Grado cartridge and Advents.
You could try a pair of original (not newer mk2 or series 3) Ohm Walsh 2s. These pseudo-omni's roll off at ~ 17Khz, have a very unoffensive top end and have a more omnidimensional dispersion pattern as well that might be less finicky to place for good results your room than conventional box designs.

These can be had for a couple hundred or less regularly on Ebay.

If these worked, as an upgrade Ohm might be able to custom tweak the more extended top end on a newer pair as an upgrade (they regularly tweak their speakers to customers specific needs as I understand it).

Just an idea for something inexpensive that might work.
Trelja Thanks I actually heard that from a salesman for B&O in Scottsdale a few weeks ago. He said Amar cupped his hands over his mouth and asked Paul Klipsch how he was doing and Paul turned toward the wall and said he was doing ok.. Good story but not sure it was true.