Why do all Mahler recordings seem too bright?

Hi Mapman,

I don’t feel the KEF Reference 3s are small - particularly for my modest listening space.  And, I don’t listen at live symphony levels - even though they’re only about 10 feet away. Plus, they sound lovely on most other things. So, I don’t think it’s the speakers.  It’s true the 100 watts I have could potentially be limiting, but even at peaks, I’m not seeing more than 20 watts and the quality of the amp overall is high. (I do wish I still had the T+A PA 3000HV - it was stellar, but ultimately, too big to properly place in my cabinet.)

My digital front end is quite good - while it can be bettered, I’ve put a good amount of attention and $$$ at it and my network. I’ve auditioned a LOT of similarly and more expensive gear and this is where I’ve ended up.

I suspect what I’m experiencing is threefold : 1) Many Mahler recordings actually are too bright. Thanks to @kr4 - for recommending some that are better. 2) my speaker cables are on the bright and revealing side (they’re new and sound wonderful on most things but they are brighter than what they replaced, and 3) I need to tame some resonances coming through my cabinet and into the components creating some euphoric induced distortion. 

Searching for good music is fun so I am tackling 1 here.  I think I’ll address 3 with a visit to the dealer to try some Nordost sort cones and the like.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Btw I have KEF ls50 metas with a Klipsch sw308 sub in a smaller room running off Bel Canto ref1000m monoblocks amps (class d 500 w/ch). Fronted by Audio Research tube preamp. Does Mahler well at modest volumes. The little Kefs are still the bottleneck in that they are just not big enough to deliver at very high spls over 90 db or so. Then I have same front end driving Big Ohm F5s with 12” Walsh driver in next larger room. That takes the lid off. Mahler can be played and enjoyed easily at concert level volumes. Just for comparison. Have heard kef r3s and believe those to be a step above ls50s in terms of absolute SPL levels.

Thanks @mapman mapman.  Fyi: The Reference 3s are entirely different in size and configuration than the R3s, the latter which are standmount and the former of which are floor standing speakers (about the same size as the largest in the R series. KEF’s naming conventions don’t seem to carry over in their lines. 

I also have LS50s (not the Meta) in another system w/ a REL S3 sub - they’re remarkably good. But, yeah - they couldn’t manage Mahler above modest volumes.  The Reference 3s - can play at volumes much greater than I care to listen - and do so without strain.

Interestingly, back in the 80s, I bought a pair of Ohm Fs - speakers I thoroughly enjoyed but could never properly drive.  At the time, I had a 100 watt (remember Hafler?)  which was laughably too little for the famously inefficient Fs. But, boy did they sound nice at moderate volumes when the amp wasn’t panting.!

Best,

Yes it’s always hard to say where a problem comes from with gear one is unfamiliar with but if brightness is persistent throughout the recording and not just the louder peaks that are the problem could just be a matter of some tweaking. Again hard to say. Power conditioning might help. Hard to say with absolute certainty. Do you have a smartphone? If so download a sound level app like decibel and use that to measure spls during peaks or other times the brightness occurs. That will help establish if the issue correlated to the spl peak levels or not

Adding a sub or two is almost always a strong option to consider with any monitor speakers, especially for large scale classical symphonic recordings. . They do not extend flat down to the lowest octave guaranteed. Filling that in alone adds balance and may helping . Using an active crossover to offload bass from mains to subs allows main amp to not have to work as hard which always lowers distortion.

Smaller monitors alone are never optimal for any large symphonic works. Ok perhaps, but not optimal.

Here is a good read about value of adding subs: https://ohmspeaker.com/news/for-optimum-sound-how-many-subs-and-where-do-you-put-em/

Btw I picked up the entire Bernstein Mahler symphony series on CD about a year back somewhere on eBay new for about $12. Best deal ever! Can vouch for fact that these recordings are not inherently bright. Streaming Symphony #2 now as we speak. This thread reminded me it’s been too long! I do rip all my CDs and stream them only for playback and I find that to be a very robust way to help assure quality at the source with my digital recordings

Yes well that was one of the big things about Ohm Fs ie being able to drive them well on the day. It’s a piece of cake these days with the newer Ohm Walsh models and newer amp technology like Class D.  
 

Oh right those are bigger Kefs right?  Should be up to the task with the right amplification I would think