I finally bought and it sounds.....kinda bad.

[pressa]

Hello audio legends.

I researched and read and finally built what i thought was a good quality budget system.

Yamaha v661 recieiver.
Klipsch quartet III
PSW 10 subwoofer.
Yamaha ipod dock.

I'm moving into my new place so I just hooked up the L,R and center speakers, as well as the sub.

I used the auto setup feature using the included micro phone....then I played my ipod. Technically it worked just fine... You could hear the music, no real hissing etc. THe problem is it sounds kind of.....muddy. Frankly just not audibly pleasant in a fine music kind of way. Someone else who heard it said it sounded kind of like a concert.

My current GUESSES are that it kind of sounds like the sub is not doing its job properly. You hear it "beating" when necessary but it just doesnt feel blended....


The other problem, perhaps related is the volume. I have been told that -28 decibals should be LOUD. I can go to that level reasonably comfortably. It is quite loud but no where near LOUD.

Anyone know what my problem is or are my speakers just poop?

Thanks.

 

[chadnliz]

With 97db it should jump to life quickly but I dont know exactly what -28db relates to on your volume knob. Do you have a cd or dvd unit around or one you can borrow to try and see how it sounds? I would not put much faith into the use of a cheap microphone for set-up, they sometimes get you in the ballpark but almost always need adjustment to properly dial in. I dont think I would go so far as to say you bought "crap" and think you should atleast be much happier than you are. Try a CD/DVD unit for music, and see if it sounds better to verify if its the Ipod set-up or outout issue.

 

[Seth=L]

I would have chosen different speakers myself. The low end Klipsch are not great subwoofers. The satallite and subwoofers don't integrate well from what I have read either, the subwoofer's upper limits don't meet the lower end limits of the satallite speakers if I remember correctly. Try adjusting the x-over on the subwoofer as well as the level, sometimes the auto calibrating programs don't get that right. How big is the room, are the floors carpeted?

Remember that children do have access to these forums. Please refrain from using obscene words.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Well, I'd try to dial it in before I gave up on it. First off, if I understand you correctly you just moved into a new place. Well, everything will sound different in a new room. You may just have to get used to it. Of course, you may need to do a bit of work. The room may have some serious issues; modes, standing waves, etc. All rooms have them. You can start by moving the sub around and seeing if it makes a difference. Even moving it a few inches can sometimes make a big difference in bass response.* Next, check the phase control on the sub. It should either have a switch (probably labed with "0" and "180") or a continuously variable knob. Adjusting this can help the sub get into "lock-step rhythm" with the mains.

Next, don't put too much faith in the ability of the reciever to calibrate itself. The auto cal may get you in the ballpark, but in all likelihood more tweaking will be necessary.

Lastly, you may need to treat your room with acoustic treatments.

If none of those things work, then you may want to rethink your purchase.

Best of luck, and welcome to AH!


*Here's one old trick that often will work in placing your sub correctly. Place the sub where you plan to have your primary listening chair. While playing test tones (ideally) or music, walk & crawl around the room until you find the spot where the bass is "best." That could mean subjectively tightest or simply loudest. Then, move your subwoofer onto that spot! Then you can calibrate it knowing you're not fighting your room.

 

[Rob Babcock]

My current GUESSES are that it kind of sounds like the sub is not doing its job properly. You hear it "beating" when necessary but it just doesnt feel blended...

Rereading your post it definately sounds like a placement and/or calibration issue. I don't know that sub at all, but it doesn't sound like it's integrated very well. I'd definately recommend following the steps I outlined above.

 

[fmw]

Is it possible that the new equipment performs well enough that it is really revealing how bad the compressed music files on your iPod are?

 

[davo]

Is it possible that the new equipment performs well enough that it is really revealing how bad the compressed music files on your iPod are?

That was my first thought.

What's the bit-rate that you rip your music at?

Also what music are you listening to? Some studio's don't put much effort into the quality of the mastering because "most people only listen to it on their I-pod"

 

[corey]

Pressa - The Klipsch web site shows the Quartet is a floor stander with a 10" woofer. I think you have the Quintets.

Audioholics gave the Quintet III package a pretty good review, but that's within the context of small satellite speakers. You should have your crossover up around 120 or 150.

 

[pressa]

Thanks for the responses.

First I don't believe it's my ipod as I always get good bit rates. I used to plug it into my Logitech 2.1 $80 computer speaker system and it sounded surprisingly good.

The room is a reasonably large loft. 12 foot ceilings, no carpet.

Your right I do have the quintets rather than the quartets. My fault.


My biggest reason for thinking it cant just be the "quality" of the speakers is because as mentioned above my logitech cheap x-230 system sounded so rich. These Klipsch quintet speakers might not be the "best" but they should at least create harmonics better than those.

The subwooder is the
Polk PSW 10 Subwoofer.

The subwoofer goes up to 160hz and the speakers go down to 100hz so I think they should blend?

My brother thinks I should be changing more in the reciever as the ipod it docked through to that.

Worst case scenerio any other speakers in the same size and price that sound good for music?

 

[Futurephile]

Dude, its not your speakers its def in the set up.
Read your owners manual and ask these guys some more questions but don't blame the speakers.

 

[davidtwotrees]

Do you own a cd player you could try hooking up to the rig to try playing some real uncompressed music? I listen at 320kbps on my music server......I did a cd at 128kbps and it sounded terrible in my system, but ok in my computer's speakers. Unlistenable, frankly. I don't own an ipod. What is the highest bitrate you can get on there?

 

[Kolia]

Do you own a cd player you could try hooking up to the rig to try playing some real uncompressed music? I listen at 320kbps on my music server......I did a cd at 128kbps and it sounded terrible in my system, but ok in my computer's speakers. Unlistenable, frankly. I don't own an ipod. What is the highest bitrate you can get on there?

+1

Odds are, your system is of high enough quality that it's reproducing the compressed music's chopiness that the computer speaker couldn't.

 

[davidtwotrees]

+1

Odds are, your system is of high enough quality that it's reproducing the compressed music's chopiness that the computer speaker couldn't.

Precisely. I was hoping the op might see that his ipod was the weak link in the sound, not his stereo rig.

 

[Guiria]

It could be the ipod but I would think highly unlikely, and I mean highly. I use an ipod with my setup occasionally and the sound doesn't go to complete crap just because I'm playing from a compressed source

Take the suggestion and hook up a cd player and play a cd that you ripped into itunes. Then play the same cd from your ipod. I can notice a difference when I've done that on my system but it's not like what these people are suggesting.

IMO...your sub is bringing down the rest of your system. It will be critical for you to place that sub in the absolute best location you can. Spend some time researching from this site to get the most out of your sub.

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/

Just curious can you return your sub for a refund and get something else? If so what would be your budget? If not, definitely apply the placement techniques discussed around here.

 

[Kolia]

These people are still waiting to hear what bit rate the OP is using on is iPod.

Using the Apple Lossless format vs 128k space saving compression will sound very differently.

The fact we haven't had an answer on this one suggest the OP has now idea what we're talking about and such, the bit rate could be anything...

 

[PHANofPHUNK]

It is your speakers

I would suggest some book shelf speakers with at least a 75hz response level. alson on that recevier you can adjust the crossover frequency for the sub. so your speakers (fronts) have a low frequency response of 125hz, witch is no low freq. at all. trying seting the sub crossover as close to 125 as possible. and finally tune the recevier with your ears not the auto calibration. oh yeah If your playing mp3's , there compressed music files, so they sound like garbage to begin with, or as you put it muddy. So find a cd that youve heard a hundred times, and tune your recevier to it.

 

[Antus]

if you are using iPod as ur source, it will sound bad no matter how good ur speakers are.

i found that after bought B&W Zappin speakers. when connect with the build in iPod dock, it sounds muddy, no high, no bass. however, when i connect with Optical in at the back, it sounds much more clear.

it is only a $599 system with speaker/amp/DAC all in one, and i can immidiately tell the difference.. on the better model, i would think the difference would be huge.

btw, although apple lossless sounds better, but the DAC in iPod is just not good enough for $500 and above system.

 

[gus6464]

if you are using iPod as ur source, it will sound bad no matter how good ur speakers are.

i found that after bought B&W Zappin speakers. when connect with the build in iPod dock, it sounds muddy, no high, no bass. however, when i connect with Optical in at the back, it sounds much more clear.

it is only a $599 system with speaker/amp/DAC all in one, and i can immidiately tell the difference.. on the better model, i would think the difference would be huge.

btw, although apple lossless sounds better, but the DAC in iPod is just not good enough for $500 and above system.

Are you kidding me? The DAC on the ipod is a very capable Wolfson DAC so to say that it's not enough for a $500+ system is just a pretty ignorant statement. The ipod can do all the way up to apple lossless and wav so if he using either of those it's definitely not the ipod.

 

[3db]

Are you kidding me? The DAC on the ipod is a very capable Wolfson DAC so to say that it's not enough for a $500+ system is just a pretty ignorant statement. The ipod can do all the way up to apple lossless and wav so if he using either of those it's definitely not the ipod.

That maybe but of the MP3s have the life compressed out of them wityh all that music information missing, then a $20000. DAC ain't gonna so squat.

 

[Kolia]

Are we still arguing about the iPod playback performance?

This is like debating who makes the best chocolate cake with out knowing what the recipies are or event tasting them! Lol!

Nothing better to do in the real life?