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
Ever thought about donating your ears to medical science?

BTW, I am still listening to my single cone BLH facing the wall with good results to my ears anyway.
Vive Le Difference!
Waryn, I find your observations very interesting . . . I am wondering . . .

- Have you had similar experiences with headphones; that is, do you find most of them harsh and bright?

- How do others find the sound of your system, now that you've reduced the treble to your liking? Do they find it overly warm and dull?

- What impressions did you have about the Tannoys and Heybrooks when you bought them? Did they not seem bright at first?
- Have you had similar experiences with headphones; that is, do you find most of them harsh and bright?

I will need to get a pair, as I never use them.

- How do others find the sound of your system, now that you've reduced the treble to your liking? Do they find it overly warm and dull?

Hmmm... there is only my wife here, and she is not into music at all, but she also seems to prefer the sound with the treble reduced.

- What impressions did you have about the Tannoys and Heybrooks when you bought them? Did they not seem bright at first?

Heybrooks were excellent from the start. Tannoys (at least my model, the Revolution) don't have an equally well balanced sound. I also have a pair of older and smaller Bang & Olufsen S45. All these speakers sounded too bright from the beginning (tested with different amps, cables and CD players), and the brightness becomes unbearable after a few days of listening to one particular speaker.
Hi Waryn . . . what I'm trying to get an idea of is if your perception is based on some combination of the following:

- sensitivity to an ultrasonic peak or diaphragm resonance in the speakers' tweeters - in this case I'd expect a soft-dome tweeter to sound better to you than a metal dome, or metal horn diaphragm

- the relationship between the frequency of sound and the directivity of the tweeter - here, I'd expect you not to have the same issues with headphones

- early room reflections . . . again, headphones would eliminate this

Anyway, your case is an interesting one. At least you're finding some solutions . . .
Waryn

This is really scary. An audiophile who has good hearing!.. This could be unique.

One answer could be that you are hearing distortion which even at a low volume can really make you crazy.