I hate the sound of my new stereo sound system

[Grx]

Hi. I recently upgrade my sound system to Klipsch Rp 8000f + Klipsch sw115r running on Yamaha as 801 from pc. I just hate sound of it it hurts my ears, i stoped enjoying listening to music anymore. I covered glass surfaces, door and ceiling with accoustic panels got courtains for windows evan tried Schiit loki eq but still cant get the sound i want. My room is 3,5 m x 5m with big window on left and bookshelfs and fireplace on right on short wall and big leather couch and desk with pc monitor and tv on wall on longer wall. could it b that leather couch and tv on wall r problem? im losing ideas evan considering buying new amp with room correction or mini dsp 2x4 hd and mic and try to work with Yamaha amp. Any ideas?

 

[bigkrazy155]

It could be those speakers just aren't for you. Give something else a listen in that space.

 

[shadyJ]

What don't you like about the sound exactly? The speakers themselves are on the neutral side. I would guess its a setup issue.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Few questions:

Are you connected to the PC through USB or an analog cable?

What system did you have before?

How far are you from the speakers (Klipsch are high sensitivity and not the best for near-field listening)

 

[highfigh]

Hi. I recently upgrade my sound system to Klipsch Rp 8000f + Klipsch sw115r running on Yamaha as 801 from pc. I just hate sound of it it hurts my ears, i stoped enjoying listening to music anymore. I covered glass surfaces, door and ceiling with accoustic panels got courtains for windows evan tried Schiit loki eq but still cant get the sound i want. My room is 3,5 m x 5m with big window on left and bookshelfs and fireplace on right on short wall and big leather couch and desk with pc monitor and tv on wall on longer wall. could it b that leather couch and tv on wall r problem? im losing ideas evan considering buying new amp with room correction or mini dsp 2x4 hd and mic and try to work with Yamaha amp. Any ideas?

Have you tried using different sources? Some computer sound cards aren't great and if your music is low rez MP3 files, you're not going to hear angels sing.

BTW- horn tweeters may be a problem in a small-ish room. Try something with textile dome tweeters- you may like the sound. The amp won't help on its own, but the ability to EQ may- I would try different speakers first.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Have you tried using different sources? Some computer sound cards aren't great

Yeah that's why I wonder if he's connecting through USB or analog. Using the Yamaha as an external sound card through USB would eliminate any cheap sound card issues, versus a 1/8" cable out of the headphone jack.

Ultimately I think due to the room size that he's sitting too close to his speakers and as you said he needs more laid back highs.

 

[Grx]

Its pluged in via neo oyaide d+ usb cable. Sound is sharp, vocals attacking my ear. I was running jbl e80 and yamaha as500 for long time and like the sound untill i changed few things in the room like add big desk big leather couch bigger tv and new pc and problems started. i was thinking it might b sound card in pc. i decided to upgrade sound setup since my old one was pretty old, and end up here where i cant listen to this poop anymore. i think room is the problem coz after makeover jbls was already playing anoying. play few tunes on klipsch lately and they sound evan weirder thatn before bass sound like paper like someone poking piece of carboard. i only added more acoustic panels and bass traps in corners could b that or maybe they got damaged at some stage when i was playing loud i dont know.

 

[nbk13nw]

I had issues with a new PC build and the quality of sound using the on board sound card. I ended up buying a PreSonus AudioBox iOne and all the raspy, noise and hum all disappeared. Using a pair of JBL 305P mkii's and a JBL LSR310S subwoofer with it .

 

[Paul DS]

Hi. I recently upgrade my sound system to Klipsch Rp 8000f + Klipsch sw115r running on Yamaha as 801 from pc. I just hate sound of it it hurts my ears, i stoped enjoying listening to music anymore. I covered glass surfaces, door and ceiling with accoustic panels got courtains for windows evan tried Schiit loki eq but still cant get the sound i want. My room is 3,5 m x 5m with big window on left and bookshelfs and fireplace on right on short wall and big leather couch and desk with pc monitor and tv on wall on longer wall. could it b that leather couch and tv on wall r problem? im losing ideas evan considering buying new amp with room correction or mini dsp 2x4 hd and mic and try to work with Yamaha amp. Any ideas?

I suspect it's your Klipsch speakers. They definitely aren't for everyone.

 

[highfigh]

Its pluged in via neo oyaide d+ usb cable. Sound is sharp, vocals attacking my ear. I was running jbl e80 and yamaha as500 for long time and like the sound untill i changed few things in the room like add big desk big leather couch bigger tv and new pc and problems started. i was thinking it might b sound card in pc. i decided to upgrade sound setup since my old one was pretty old, and end up here where i cant listen to this poop anymore. i think room is the problem coz after makeover jbls was already playing anoying. play few tunes on klipsch lately and they sound evan weirder thatn before bass sound like paper like someone poking piece of carboard. i only added more acoustic panels and bass traps in corners could b that or maybe they got damaged at some stage when i was playing loud i dont know.

A leather couch won't do anything to help the highs- it may help absorb the bass, though.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

A leather couch won't do anything to help the highs- it may help absorb the bass, though.

Agreed. I will sometimes lay a heavy blanket over the back of my leather couch. Helps a lot with reflections off the back.

 

[KEW]

Its pluged in via neo oyaide d+ usb cable. Sound is sharp, vocals attacking my ear. I was running jbl e80 and yamaha as500 for long time and like the sound untill i changed few things in the room like add big desk big leather couch bigger tv and new pc and problems started. i was thinking it might b sound card in pc. i decided to upgrade sound setup since my old one was pretty old, and end up here where i cant listen to this poop anymore. i think room is the problem coz after makeover jbls was already playing anoying. play few tunes on klipsch lately and they sound evan weirder thatn before bass sound like paper like someone poking piece of carboard. i only added more acoustic panels and bass traps in corners could b that or maybe they got damaged at some stage when i was playing loud i dont know.

That is strange that the problems started when you still used the JBL's. I wouldn't get rid of the Klipsch just yet (unless you have a return period to adhere to).
Try playing a CD in "pure direct" mode through both the analog input and the optical input. That should eliminate anything upstream of the Yamaha as well as the Yamaha's DAC (assuming it sound the same as via the analog inputs).

 

[Grx]

if the klipsch speakers r the problem why then my old jbls sound similar bad after i change things in my room and they sounded fine before? ill try cover couch with blankets and c if that help. if klipsch speakers r the problem should i try with mini dsp 2x4 hd and mic or just sell them and try something else? originaly i wanted to buy jbl 590 but couldnt get them and watch some reviews that they sound similar to klipsch so i got them. so question now is should i keep experimenting klipsch or just buy something else? maybe try jbl stage 190? or whats the options?

 

[Grx]

That is strange that the problems started when you still used the JBL's. I wouldn't get rid of the Klipsch just yet (unless you have a return period to adhere to).
Try playing a CD in "pure direct" mode through both the analog input and the optical input. That should eliminate anything upstream of the Yamaha as well as the Yamaha's DAC (assuming it sound the same as via the analog inputs).

Ya thats the thing, i change things in the room and music start sound like poop. i was thinking was new pc sound card problem but got a dac and nothing change. Got new amp and speakers and still sound bad. ill do some more testing in coming days with difrent amp speakers and dac maybe evan try in diffrent room or move couch out completly.

 

[KEW]

Ya thats the thing, i change things in the room and music start sound like poop. i was thinking was new pc sound card problem but got a dac and nothing change. Got new amp and speakers and still sound bad. ill do some more testing in coming days with difrent amp speakers and dac maybe evan try in diffrent room or move couch out completly.

How about headphones?
That is an easy way to see if something is wrong before and including (the pre-amp section of) your Yamaha amp!

You just need to figure out ways to isolate certain aspects to narrow the possible causes of the problem.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

new pc and problems started.

Which media player are you using to play the music?

Make sure the sound is bitstream, not PCM from the PC to AVR.

 

[KEW]

Looking at more obscure problems, I once had an RCA cable get pulled out such that it was barely making contact. Sounded like total crap!
I doubt that is your issue since it started before you swapped your system and I would assume you remade all of the connections. Also only one channel sucked, the other was clear!
However, it is something to check as you are eliminating possibilities!

 

[lovinthehd]

It seems you're just discovering how big an influence the room can be, especially after similar issues with your old speakers in the same setup. Might need some treatment, maybe better positioning, maybe something else, hard to know....

 

[shadyJ]

if the klipsch speakers r the problem why then my old jbls sound similar bad after i change things in my room and they sounded fine before? ill try cover couch with blankets and c if that help. if klipsch speakers r the problem should i try with mini dsp 2x4 hd and mic or just sell them and try something else? originaly i wanted to buy jbl 590 but couldnt get them and watch some reviews that they sound similar to klipsch so i got them. so question now is should i keep experimenting klipsch or just buy something else? maybe try jbl stage 190? or whats the options?

Agreed, it's unlikely to be the speakers. It sounds like there is something causing some kind of response curve in the signal processing stage. I don't think its the room, especially after the treatments. Try a different source, a different processor, and a different amplifier. The problem sounds like its somewhere in that chain.

 

[TLS Guy]

Agreed, it's unlikely to be the speakers. It sounds like there is something causing some kind of response curve in the signal processing stage. I don't think its the room, especially after the treatments. Try a different source, a different processor, and a different amplifier. The problem sounds like its somewhere in that chain.

I think the problem almost certainly is the speakers. I think that the OP has become a much more critical listener. I think the vast majority of males, but not females become accustomed to the sound of their systems and on the whole satisfied. There are some, and especially women, that become more and more dissatisfied with their systems to the point where they find them very irritating. Since I think this is especially true for women, I think it a definite factor in WAF and a definite reason why this hobby has such a male predominance even with a leveling taking place in so many other spheres.

I know you did an thorough review of those Klipsch speakers Shady, but you did identify what are in my view serious shortcomings.
First the listening window is far too narrow. There is much data to show that narrow dispersion is not a preferred characteristic of speakers. Its relatively narrow dispersion window will not endear them to many listeners.

I think your data shows that there is likely serious issues at crossover. That dip and deep null is I suspect an indication of serious phasing issues at crossover. I know the wisdom in many quarters has been that these issues are not serious. I vehemently, along with quite a few others believe these issues to be serious shortcomings.
This is compounded by the fact that in my view the crossover is at a terrible frequency. At 1750 Hz this is a region where many are highly sensitive to aberrations especially crossover issues. I avoid crossing over in this band at all costs. The crossover would have to be just about 100% perfect not to cause audible problems for many. This crossover as you can see from your data is far from perfect and I strongly suspect an audible issue.

So I suspect this OP is one of those individuals who requires speakers with a very smooth midband response including the off axis response.

Clearly your data show that these speakers are far from the worst, and have a lot of good attributes. However for some, and I think the OP is one, they fall short.

If you think this is a roundabout way is saying that I think the OP has expensive tastes, then I think that is a reasonable conclusion.