Assistance with bright system

**sugarmedia** · 09 February 2005, 15:15 Wednesday

I auditioned the 703's and the 804's yesterday and definitley noticed the 703's as sounding bright. When I switched over to the 804's it wasn't there.

I also had the Rep switch amps from Rotel to Classe and everything was very, very good.

**Jason R** · 09 February 2005, 15:44 Wednesday

Have recently upgraded to 804's from 704's and i must admit that in my opinion the 700 series is exceptionally bright and i personally did not enjoy that and no amount of positioning etc got them to sound just right. 804's same place same system, so smooth and airy,exactly what i wanted. Even the HTM 7 is to much for me nd i have advertised so that i can get an htm1.

I have for the first time in ages been able to sit down and enjoy my cd collection without constantly turning the volume down to avoid the harshness.

gd · 09 February 2005, 15:56 Wednesday

Sounds like you've got a 'hard' room.

I hate to re-decorate anyone's home, but the first thing I'd try is to throw a big cushy rug directly in front of your system... or consider installing acoustic room treatments, if you can stomach the degradation in appearance... they're not pretty if you value the way your home is styled / furnished.

After that, I'd say audition alternate makes of speakers... that's generally where you will find the greatest varience in sonic characteristics... you might consider speakers with silk dome tweeters (dunno what the B&Ws feature).

Also remember that sound quality is subjective... it's a sure bet that we don't hear what you hear... and our assessments / recommendations in writing here won't necessarily instantly direct you to the sound you seek... you have to experiment a little when you have a difficult room.

**bimmer528** · 09 February 2005, 16:40 Wednesday

I'll be happy to take those 704's off your hand if thier cherry and you do plan to sell :P.

**Lex** · 09 February 2005, 16:46 Wednesday

and the vultures move in, caaw caaw.

It does sound like their could be something to the brightness issue, and while this is maybe the wrong forum for this topic now, the one thing I'd always heard about B & W is, they can be up front sounding, accurate sounding (don't sugar coat anything).

You may be a candidate for the warmth of a Sonus faber speaker perhaps. cables? I can help there when you are ready. But you probably need to make your hardware decisions first, if any.

Lex

**ds22030** · 09 February 2005, 17:10 Wednesday

gd makes a good point...I breifly auditioned many speakers prior to purchasing mine and there were only a handful of metallic tweeters I enjoyed..I dont know if 704s are metallic or not but try a different material...

**roundmound** · 09 February 2005, 19:19 Wednesday

The speakers are 705s and in walnut, a beautiful finish but not the most popular.

I may be wrong, but I believe all the B&W's tweeters are metallic, which could be the problem. As suggested, I will have to audition other speakers of different materials along with making the room softer.

Are Sonus fabers available nationwide or through mail order (I can't find any information on local distributors in DC)? Any there any other "softer" speakers that may be more readily available?

I apologize for the location of the post, but 4 topics were covered and I thought I would start with the equipment forum.

Thanks for the help.

**basementjack** · 09 February 2005, 20:56 Wednesday

Tough call,

If your room is bright, and echoy (is that a word?), then all speakers are going to sound brighter than they are.

The trouble you face is where to put your dollars.

Is conversation in the room difficult to understand?

If so it might make sense to acoustically treat the room.

You haven't complained about bass response, so you could probably treat your room with minimal expense - Start with a thick throw rug as mentioned by GD ($100 for a home depot scrap?) Insulation on the side walls covered by fabric is another cheap way to kill some excessive high frequency. If you want to try this, send me a note or put a post under the "spaced out" section and I'll hook you up with the cheap stuff I've found.

If the conversation in the room is easily understood, then I would seek out new speakers. I can personally say that I did not care for the B&W 600 or 700 sereies, yet I thought the 800 series was just fantastic in so many ways. Another speaker I found that I thought did things right without being to bright was the Paradigm reference studio line, (though I heard that with the anthem avm30pre and the matching amp, the B&W800 series I heard with a rotel 1068/1075 combo) I'd also agree with GD that you might seek out some reviews of speakers and find the ones with silk tweeters and audition those.

Good luck!
- Jack

**Mitchell** · 09 February 2005, 21:07 Wednesday

After break in my 703s do not sound bright at all.

**dpolmann** · 10 February 2005, 01:03 Thursday

In B&W line, 805 is much better sound than 705. Then, 804 is warmer and fuller than 805. My room is tile floor, no rug, two sofa, no wall treatments. I have 804 with HTM2. Does not sound bright or forward to me.

**roundmound** · 10 February 2005, 11:35 Thursday

Thanks for the responses. I guess my strategy to address the brightness will be to upgrade to the 805s or 804s first then update room treatments and cables. If this does not resolve the problem, at least the 805s have a better resale market, especially with the limited finishes.

Basement Jack,
Thanks for the insight and offer and I may contact you when I install room treatments.

Last questions: Is anyone familair with Usher Audio or Green Mountain?

**Aussie Geoff** · 10 February 2005, 19:29 Thursday

Roundmound,

I'd do the room treatments first. Try carpets or a rung and some soft furnishings. That should get the room better. Then you can see if you want to go to a 804. I don't think the 804 on it's own will help - yes it's a better speaker - but if the room bounces the sound arround too much - you will still find the sound bright etc and need to do the room anyway!

Geoff

**aud19** · 10 February 2005, 20:13 Thursday

Originally posted by Aussie Geoff

Roundmound,

I'd do the room treatments first. Try carpets or a rung and some soft furnishings. That should get the room better. Then you can see if you want to go to a 804. I don't think the 804 on it's own will help - yes it's a better speaker - but if the room bounces the sound arround too much - you will still find the sound bright etc and need to do the room anyway!

Geoff

Totally agree :yesnod: The room treatments will bennefit any speakers you have in the room and at a lower expense. If you still want to upgrade the speakers later, have at'er

**roundmound** · 11 February 2005, 09:29 Friday

Jason, Geoff and Jack,

Thanks for the guidance. I will add room treatments to the harsh environment known as my basement. In the near future, I plan to replace the sheetrock in the room and will solicit input (of course in a different forum) on any acoustical treatment behind the wall , if such a thing exists. Thanks again.

Darin

**Andrew Pratt** · 11 February 2005, 10:51 Friday

The issue is very likely your room. Most people think that rooms influence the sound they hear by some factor but few realize just how big an influence it is. What I'd suggest you do before spending a penny is to treat your room with some quilts, blankets, pillows and other soft items in various places and just see how much of a difference it makes. Assuming that the results are positive (which I'm sure they will be) we can then make suggestions on what might work on a more long term wife friendly approach. For now though toss down a thick blanket over the hard woods between your chair and the front speakers and cover up the first reflection point between you and the fronts on the side walls (a mirror is hand at finding those spots) and I bet you'll be stunned at the difference.

Assistance with bright system

Assistance with bright system

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