High frequency distortion

[Tapkaara]

Hello all!

I am new in the forum. I am not an "audiophile" in the sense that I am attempting to have the biggest and baddest system out there. I am a fan of classical music and am just seeking to have a decent set up with which to enjoy my favorite music.

Anyway...

I am running a H/K 3490 amp with Bose 901 speakers with a CD player from Brookstone (the store in the mall like the Sharper Image). I notice that when certain high frequency sounds come through (high strings, choir and certainly soprano female vocals) there is distortion. It's a low rumbling sound that sounds something like someone blowing into a microphone whenever the higher sounds occur. What is this and how can I fix it?

I listen to music loud, but not at ridiculous levels. I've noticed that the rumbling distortion is still there even if I lower the volume.

It's frustrating because I would not think that high sounds at moderate levels should not be too much for my simple little system to handle.

Is there nothing I can do or can this be fixed? I appreciate your input.

And please have mercy on me. Again, I am not a hard-core audiophile, just someone who wants to enjoy music on a decent system.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello all!

I am new in the forum. I am not an "audiophile" in the sense that I am attempting to have the biggest and baddest system out there. I am a fan of classical music and am just seeking to have a decent set up with which to enjoy my favorite music.

Anyway...

I am running a H/K 3490 amp with Bose 901 speakers with a CD player from Brookstone (the store in the mall like the Sharper Image). I notice that when certain high frequency sounds come through (high strings, choir and certainly soprano female vocals) there is distortion. It's a low rumbling sound that sounds something like someone blowing into a microphone whenever the higher sounds occur. What is this and how can I fix it?

I listen to music loud, but not at ridiculous levels. I've noticed that the rumbling distortion is still there even if I lower the volume.

It's frustrating because I would not think that high sounds at moderate levels should not be too much for my simple little system to handle.

Is there nothing I can do or can this be fixed? I appreciate your input.

And please have mercy on me. Again, I am not a hard-core audiophile, just someone who wants to enjoy music on a decent system.

Your only solution is to take your Bose set up to the recycling center or sell it.

Bose is a con and a fraud pure and simple. You could not possibly listen to classical music on Bose set up, given its huge dynamic range.

If you are interested in Bose free listening report back with a budget and we will try and make some suggestions.

You can't polish a turd, so you will have to make changes.

 

[Tapkaara]

Your only solution is to take your Bose set up to the recycling center or sell it.

Bose is a con and a fraud pure and simple. You could not possibly listen to classical music on Bose set up, given its huge dynamic range.

If you are interested in Bose free listening report back with a budget and we will try and make some suggestions.

You can't polish a turd, so you will have to make changes.

I don't have a budget right now to buy something new. So to anyone else who might be able to help, please kep in mind I am not on the market for new equipment and anything PRODUCTIVE that can be said on what I have will be most appreciated.

 

[highfigh]

Hello all!

I am new in the forum. I am not an "audiophile" in the sense that I am attempting to have the biggest and baddest system out there. I am a fan of classical music and am just seeking to have a decent set up with which to enjoy my favorite music.

Anyway...

I am running a H/K 3490 amp with Bose 901 speakers with a CD player from Brookstone (the store in the mall like the Sharper Image). I notice that when certain high frequency sounds come through (high strings, choir and certainly soprano female vocals) there is distortion. It's a low rumbling sound that sounds something like someone blowing into a microphone whenever the higher sounds occur. What is this and how can I fix it?

I listen to music loud, but not at ridiculous levels. I've noticed that the rumbling distortion is still there even if I lower the volume.

It's frustrating because I would not think that high sounds at moderate levels should not be too much for my simple little system to handle.

Is there nothing I can do or can this be fixed? I appreciate your input.

And please have mercy on me. Again, I am not a hard-core audiophile, just someone who wants to enjoy music on a decent system.

If you haven't removed the grills in a long time, I can almost guarantee that the surrounds are gone, or badly damaged by time, UV, possibly cigarette smoke or something else. They can be repaired but for the price, you can probably buy a decent replacement if you don't mind pre-owned. Or, bide your time and save up for something new. Those speakers are pretty old and they don't last forever. The surrounds are foam and that stuff usually doesn't last more than about ten years, anyway. I would recommend speakers with butyl rubber surround.

Best thing to do right now is remove the grills and inspect them thoroughly, so you'll know what you're dealing with. You have 9 drivers per side, so if the parts are $5/cone, you're looking at $90 just for parts unless a kit is available and then, someone has to replace all of the surrounds, so that will cost more. Only you know what you can afford and if that's zero right now, I guess you'll have to tough it out for a while.

 

[Tapkaara]

If you haven't removed the grills in a long time, I can almost guarantee that the surrounds are gone, or badly damaged by time, UV, possibly cigarette smoke or something else. They can be repaired but for the price, you can probably buy a decent replacement if you don't mind pre-owned. Or, bide your time and save up for something new. Those speakers are pretty old and they don't last forever. The surrounds are foam and that stuff usually doesn't last more than about ten years, anyway. I would recommend speakers with butyl rubber surround.

Best thing to do right now is remove the grills and inspect them thoroughly, so you'll know what you're dealing with. You have 9 drivers per side, so if the parts are $5/cone, you're looking at $90 just for parts unless a kit is available and then, someone has to replace all of the surrounds, so that will cost more. Only you know what you can afford and if that's zero right now, I guess you'll have to tough it out for a while.

I bought the speakers brand new about a year ago. They are not exposed to any direct sun/UV at all and I do not smoke. I took the grills off to look at the cones and everything looks brand new...no damage detected at all.

And by the way, I know Bose is hated by many. To my ears, the speakers really do sound fine. I'm sure there are better speakers out there, but it's what I have so I need to make do with it, at least for the time being. I had a cheaper Sony amp previous to the new HK, and was having the same problem with the Sony. I though the speakers were not receiving enough power in order to produce clear high freq sounds. The HK is an improvement, but the distortion is still there only in the very high frequencies (soprano hitting a high note, for example).

Would better speaker wire be a good idea?

 

[adwilk]

Would better speaker wire be a good idea?

In a word, absolutely not. Ok, maybe two words...

Here's the dealio... You're right, BOSE is hated by many. For good reason. If you listened to another kind of music, say.... gangsta rap, I'm sure the speakers would be fine. Not so much for classical.

If you sincerely have any interest in enjoying your music, do your best to SELL your BLOSE and pick up something different. Take a look at Behringer 2030P. They are fantastic speaker for the money (129 per pair) and will better the bose in almost every category, save paperweight mode.

 

[Tapkaara]

In a word, absolutely not. Ok, maybe two words...

Here's the dealio... You're right, BOSE is hated by many. For good reason. If you listened to another kind of music, say.... gangsta rap, I'm sure the speakers would be fine. Not so much for classical.

If you sincerely have any interest in enjoying your music, do your best to SELL your BLOSE and pick up something different. Take a look at Behringer 2030P. They are fantastic speaker for the money (129 per pair) and will better the bose in almost every category, save paperweight mode.

Are they as lous as the Bose? In other words, will they produce a fairly earth-shattering experience if I listened to the 1812 Overture or something like that?

 

[krzywica]

I don't have a budget right now to buy something new. So to anyone else who might be able to help, please kep in mind I am not on the market for new equipment and anything PRODUCTIVE that can be said on what I have will be most appreciated.

I honestly wish there was something we could do for you, but like everyone else is saying....you can't turn water into wine....well maybe you can but I can't.

 

[krzywica]

Are they as lous as the Bose? In other words, will they produce a fairly earth-shattering experience if I listened to the 1812 Overture or something like that?

I think you are referring to dynamics. And yes those are very dynamicly powerful speakers for the money.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I am running a H/K 3490 amp with Bose 901 speakers with a CD player from Brookstone (the store in the mall like the Sharper Image). I notice that when certain high frequency sounds come through (high strings, choir and certainly soprano female vocals) there is distortion. It's a low rumbling sound that sounds something like someone blowing into a microphone whenever the higher sounds occur. What is this and how can I fix it?

IIR these Bose speakers are unusually inefficient. If that’s the case, it takes way more power to drive them than is needed for other speakers. Since you like music loud, it could well be that you’re simply clipping the amp.

Do you have a friend who could bring over some speakers for a comparison? If not, maybe you could temporarily get something from Best Buy and afterwards carefully pack them up and return them. Either way - if they play much louder at your regular volume setting than the 901s, there’s your answer.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Tapkaara]

IIR these Bose speakers are unusually inefficient. If that’s the case, it takes way more power to drive them than is needed for other speakers. Since you like music loud, it could well be that you’re simply clipping the amp.

Do you have a friend who could bring over some speakers for a comparison? If not, maybe you could temporarily get something from Best Buy and afterwards carefully pack them up and return them. Either way - if they play much louder at your regular volume setting than the 901s, there’s your answer.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

I do like my music loud, but again, I'm not cranking the volume to extremely high levels where some amount of distortion would be expected. The distortion is even audible when listening to these high freq sounds (soprano voice, high violins) when the volume is low. It just seems like the speakers cannot produce clean high freq sounds at any volume.

I now feel really disconcerted! If there are any other recommendations for good classical-listening speakers that can be played loud, I'd love to read them.

 

[krzywica]

I do like my music loud, but again, I'm not cranking the volume to extremely high levels where some amount of distortion would be expected. The distortion is even audible when listening to these high freq sounds (soprano voice, high violins) when the volume is low. It just seems like the speakers cannot produce clean high freq sounds at any volume.

I now feel really disconcerted! If there are any other recommendations for good classical-listening speakers that can be played loud, I'd love to read them.

If thats the case then the speakers are defective.

Why not contact Bose and see if they will replace them?

I would like to see what their customer service is like.

 

[highfigh]

I bought the speakers brand new about a year ago. They are not exposed to any direct sun/UV at all and I do not smoke. I took the grills off to look at the cones and everything looks brand new...no damage detected at all.

And by the way, I know Bose is hated by many. To my ears, the speakers really do sound fine. I'm sure there are better speakers out there, but it's what I have so I need to make do with it, at least for the time being. I had a cheaper Sony amp previous to the new HK, and was having the same problem with the Sony. I though the speakers were not receiving enough power in order to produce clear high freq sounds. The HK is an improvement, but the distortion is still there only in the very high frequencies (soprano hitting a high note, for example).

Would better speaker wire be a good idea?

Wow. I didn't know they still made the 901s. First thing to do is substitute a different speaker and if the distortion is gone, have them repaired- they're under warranty. If it's still there with another speaker, it's the receiver or source. Make sure that any lights with dimmers are off when you do this.

Just curious- if the receivers have a rotary volume control, how high do you turn the control? If it's more than half way, you need to look into more power. Those speakers aren't generally considered to be very sensitive, which means that in order to hear them at a normal level, you need more power output from the amplifier than other speakers. That uses up valuable headroom, which should be available for dynamic peaks. Clipping kills speakers.

 

[TLS Guy]

If thats the case then the speakers are defective.

Why not contact Bose and see if they will replace them?

I would like to see what their customer service is like.

All Bose speakers are basically defective. The 901 is one of their worst and persisting cons. Those drivers a cheap far eastern car speakers. They sell on the OEM market for about $3. I bet Bose are sourcing them from the factory at likely less than a dollar a piece. They throw them in a box with fancy vents, and try and push the hell out of them with an active equalizer. Amar Bose is either too ignorant and or avaricious, to be concerned that it is physically impossible to equalize the bass of a ported box. The driver just overloads and decouples and then you have the mess the OP describes.

This whole scam is marketing. Just look at the mark up. A speaker like that can't possibly reproduce a high soprano at any volume with any amp period. And there is a hell of lot else they won't reproduce either. This scam has always made me very angry. That con artist has separated the unschooled from their hard earned cash for years. The OP is just one of probably millions of his victims now. There ought to be a way to give individuals like Dr Amar Bose a long prison sentence. Unfortunately he was one of an increasing number of business people who have thrown ethics out of the window.

I have had more than a few chances to examine and listen to those speakers up close. I had a colleague come running to me about the same sort of issues with that speaker. He was also a classical fan. Those speakers are perfectly dreadful. I think they are a good contender for the worst speakers ever award.

My colleagues next speakers sported the B & W logo.

 

[Tapkaara]

If thats the case then the speakers are defective.

Why not contact Bose and see if they will replace them?

I would like to see what their customer service is like.

What a good piece of advice.

I called their customer service and got right through to a very friendly human being. I described my problem and he said it sounded like it was digital artifacting from my Brookstone CD player. He guessed that it was not high quality enough to deliver a proper signal into the AMP. So, I switched it out with a 5-disc Sony DVD/CD player that I have and, would you guess, he was right. My problem is completely gone. The distortion of the sopranos, etc., is now history.

So, I guess I'll hang on to my Bose for the time being. They may not be the greatest out there, I suppose, but now that they are no longer distorting, they will do for now.

My thanks to everyone for you insight!!

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Wow. That was going to be my second suggestion, that it might be a cheap CD player. I’ve seen some of those cheap portables that were simply nasty with high-frequency instruments like wind chimes. But you said you were getting it in the mids too, so that threw me off.

Anyway – glad you got to the bottom of it.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[JerryLove]

I called their customer service and got right through to a very friendly human being. I described my problem and he said it sounded like it was digital artifacting from my Brookstone CD player. He guessed that it was not high quality enough to deliver a proper signal into the AMP. So, I switched it out with a 5-disc Sony DVD/CD player that I have and, would you guess, he was right. My problem is completely gone. The distortion of the sopranos, etc., is now history.

Funny story: on certain frequencies (Elton John's voice apparently), my sony PS3 puts out a sound that makes me think there's a piece of paper rattling on my tweeter.

Haven't had the problem in movies. Haven't had the problem with a different CD player on the same system.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Are they as lous as the Bose? In other words, will they produce a fairly earth-shattering experience if I listened to the 1812 Overture or something like that?

I see what your problem is You are over driving your speakers beyond their capability. No wonder changing amps didn't do much for you. As was said, no speaker wire will help either and, unfortunately, nothing will with what you have. I doubt that the other speaker mentioned will help as I think you will over drive them too. You need some serious speakers for such an experience, including some serious subwoofers for that 1812.

 

[highfigh]

I see what your problem is You are over driving your speakers beyond their capability. No wonder changing amps didn't do much for you. As was said, no speaker wire will help either and, unfortunately, nothing will with what you have. I doubt that the other speaker mentioned will help as I think you will over drive them too. You need some serious speakers for such an experience, including some serious subwoofers for that 1812.

Speakers alone won't do it. If the 1812 Overture is being played at more than moderate volume, the cannon blasts will never be reproduced cleanly without a bunch of power. Real power, not mid-grade receiver power. Dynamic headroom is great for short bursts but if the Telarc recording is used, the peaks are close to 30dB.