Harsh highs at high levels. Common?

CH46E

Now that I've got my Parasound amp broken in a bit I've was play some high volumes today and notice the highs just seem to be pretty harsh on the ears. I pulled the treble back to -2 dB and the bass -4 dB because I was using the subwoofers today. 2 ten inch 300 watt each Infinity CMMD drivers.

Is this a common traight for the SL2000 in the SDA2? I tried 2 different sources.

Could this be a sign the caps need replacing? Or am I just asking to much from the srs2?


I am new to the vintage Polk gear. Not sure what I should be expecting.

F1nut

The SL2000's have a 5dB spike around 12-13kHz, which can result in a ice pick in ears type sound.

However, that may only be part of your problem.
How many wpc is your amp?
How many hours do you have on the amp?
What are you using for a pre amp?
What cables are you using?
Do you have a dedicated line? If not, what else is on that line?
At what position on the volume knob are you experiencing the issue?

CH46E

Ok, the amp is 400 wpc at 4 ohms. What my SRS2 are I think. Parasound 2250 v2. 275 at 8 ohms.

Pre is a 2015 Yamaha RXA 1050 Aventage. Not your everyday run of the mill HTR. I very much like this HTR. It's no slouch.

The amp has about 200 hours on it now.

I have a dedicated 10 awg 10-3 line on its own 15 amp breaker. 2 of the 4 lines are grounds. Had an electrician install it all. The decision to go 10-3 with a second ground was based on some info I read from PS Audio. The only thing plugged into the 10 awg line is my Belkin PureAV PF60 conditioner and surge suppressor.

My RCA between the Yamaha AVR and the Parasound amp is AudioQuest Diamondbacks. The rca, and HDMI from my source, a Denon DVD-2910 to the AVR are RCA AudioQuest King Cobra and Emotiva HDMI.

I don't have any power lines running online with signal cables. They all cross at 90 degrees.

With the Yamaha HTR, I have the ability to pull back at just about any frequency and I think I can control the slope also. Should I go in there and pull back 12k to 13k? If so, how many dB should I pull for that range?

And yes, it was like a ice pic in the ear. I was pretty shocked.

Thanks for the info guys.

F1nut

Ok, your amp should be fine and has enough hours on it to be broken in.

Using an AVR (don't call it an HTR) as your pre amp is not the best idea as they aren't known for their sound quality.

Having a dedicated line is great, but replace the 15 amp breaker with a 20 amp.

Remove the amp from the Belkin PureAV PF60. Plug it in directly.

Your Denon DVD-2910 doesn't sound bad playing SACD's, but I found the CD playback basically unlistenable as it was way too harsh.

With the Yamaha HTR, I have the ability to pull back at just about any frequency and I think I can control the slope also. Should I go in there and pull back 12k to 13k? If so, how many dB should I pull for that range?

Might as well try it, but I think it would be a band-aid fix. Try 5dB.

Regardless of all the above, swapping the SL2000's for the RD0194-1 would be a good idea.

F1nut

I didn't see an answer to this question. At what position on the volume knob are you experiencing the issue?

Nightfall

F1nut wrote: »

I didn't see an answer to this question. At what position on the volume knob are you experiencing the issue?

It's a digital volume knob, just keeps spinning and spinning. Of course I'm splitting hairs here, we all know what you mean.

F1nut

Yeah, yeah.....but that does beg the question, do you have any hair to split?

cnh

Also, how old are you? If you're an old boy, you probably can't hear that SL-2000 spike. But if you're not ready for the nursing home quite yet, yeah, get you some RD-0194 (learned that from Doro-not RDO-194. Polk likes its 4 digit ID numbers!).

CH46E

I will up the breaker tomorrow. Volume position about 0.0 to+ 2-4. I think max volume is set at +16.

I dropped 3.5 dB from the 12.7khz. At normal volume it seems to help smooth everything out. 2:20 am here. Can play it as loud as I want !

F1nut

nbrowser wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Yeah, yeah.....but that does beg the question, do you have any hair to split?

Couldn't the same be asked of...you?

Full head of hair.

F1nut

CH46E wrote: »

I will up the breaker tomorrow. Volume position about 0.0 to+ 2-4. I think max volume is set at +16.

I dropped 3.5 dB from the 12.7khz. At normal volume it seems to help smooth everything out. 2:20 am here. Can play it as loud as I want !

That's really pushing it. -10 should be about the max.

Nightfall

+2-4db is some serious volume.

CH46E

cnh wrote: »

Also, how old are you? If you're an old boy, you probably can't hear that SL-2000 spike. But if you're not ready for the nursing home quite yet, yeah, get you some RD-0194 (learned that from Doro-not RDO-194. Polk likes its 4 digit ID numbers!).

Hahaha, only 38, but spend 5 years in the Marines flying in the CH46E Sea knight Helicopter and shooting big guns. So I'd imagine my ears are more the the 70 tob80 year old range.

Now that I have pulled the 12.7k down 3.5 dB I can tell a big difference when going through the YPAO volume settings in the EQ. The Manual setting is for sure more pleasing to my ears. I'll crank it up tomorrow to see if it's the same story . As I click through them I can see how bright they were on the other settings vs manual. I'll be on manual for a awhile lol.

cnh

nbrowser wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

nbrowser wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Yeah, yeah.....but that does beg the question, do you have any hair to split?

Couldn't the same be asked of...you?

Full head of hair.

Damn....was gonna ask if you wanted to buy a follicle.

Careful! Hair is one of Jesse's BEST features. Impeccable, I'd dare say!

tonyb

Like the others have said, change out those tweets first thing. Second, you are playing at pretty high volumes and as Dirty Harry used to say, " A man has got to know his limitations".

Third....those AQ cables aren't doing you any favors in the higher frequencies. Harmonic tech, Acoustic Zen, MIT, just to name a few will all work well with those SDA's.

Fourth....placement. Move them just a bit away from a wall or side wall. SDA's really shouldn't be toed in either . If your room is very reflective, drop a throw rug down or get yourself some room treatments.

lightman1

F1nut wrote: »

nbrowser wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Yeah, yeah.....but that does beg the question, do you have any hair to split?

Couldn't the same be asked of...you?

Full head of hair.

And it is a sight to behold. Captivating to say the least!

K_M

CH46E wrote: »

cnh wrote: »

Also, how old are you? If you're an old boy, you probably can't hear that SL-2000 spike. But if you're not ready for the nursing home quite yet, yeah, get you some RD-0194 (learned that from Doro-not RDO-194. Polk likes its 4 digit ID numbers!).

Hahaha, only 38, but spend 5 years in the Marines flying in the CH46E Sea knight Helicopter and shooting big guns. So I'd imagine my ears are more the the 70 tob80 year old range.

Now that I have pulled the 12.7k down 3.5 dB I can tell a big difference when going through the YPAO volume settings in the EQ. The Manual setting is for sure more pleasing to my ears. I'll crank it up tomorrow to see if it's the same story . As I click through them I can see how bright they were on the other settings vs manual. I'll be on manual for a awhile lol.

That is truly a fantastic sounding receiver!

VERY familiar with it, and it has great set up options!

RandyCroissant

You might consider fresh caps and resistors, also get rid of the poly switch while your at it rock on.

[Deleted User]

Swap out the SL 2000s for RDO 194s. Huge difference. I wouldn't have kept mine if I had to use the 2000s.

CH46E

So I tweak the Parametric EQ some more and I think I've found the sweet spot for my ears. Ended up with the 12k to 13 k down 4.0 dB and 16 down 2db.. I put a slight bump in the 40 hz and a slight bump around 200.

Thank you guys and gals for the advice, it certainly helped. And yes, I will be looking at some 194s soon. Just want to do the caps at the same time.

BB King sounds great!

CH46E

RandyCroissant wrote: »

You might consider fresh caps and resistors, also get rid of the poly switch while your at it rock on.

Yes, and if I recall I should replace the poly with a .5 ohm resistor????

Nightfall

Pandora? You're streaming 128kbps AAC files if you're using a free ad supported account, there's a part of the issue.

CH46E

Nightfall wrote: »

Pandora? You're streaming 128kbps AAC files if you're using a free ad supported account, there's a part of the issue.

For casual listening Pandora yes. I would not steam anything that loud. Be afraid of an interruption or something. Usually if I playing something really loud it would be a CD, SACD or DVD-Audio.

I'll will say though, this Yamaha HTR AVR or what ever you want to call it has a great "Enhanced" and "Hi-res" mode for playing lower resolutions like mp3. It does a pretty darn good job with even my blandest recordings I know don't sound great.

CH46E

Sure, I understand. And since most my listening is casual most processing is turned off. Only with this new Yamaha have I actually enjoyed the Pure Direct. If I have a SACD in I will put the Denon source into pure direct as well as the Yamaha.

With my previous Denon HTR I did not like the Pure Direct at all. But then again there was not much if anything I did like with the Denon HTR. I could not wait to get rid of it. My 15 year old Pioneer I have in the living room running TV duty to a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7 v2 bested the Denon in everything except the HDMI capability.

Nightfall

I find the "enhancer" option to sound a lot like just a loudness switch on an old piece of equipment. Boosts the treble and bass a bunch.

Do you ever trip your polyswitches?

CH46E

No, or at least as far as I kmnow I have never tripped the poly switch. I did loose the lower right sl2000. FAUSTIN was nice enough to send me a replacment.

Zoe, my Belgium Malinois seems to be enjoying the music. Anytime Im in here playing music she is at my feet.

pkquat

You can get the RD-0194's before caps. Putting RD-0198's in my M5B's and 5Jr's made a huge difference. The digital EQ may work well enough for now. I'd be curious if you feel that helps them sound less fatiguing. I still have the SL2000's in my 1C's (I'm trying to iron out an RD-0198 swap... longer story) and have gotten a little used to them at average volumes, but after some time, I find I don't enjoy listening as much (fatiguing).

Another interesting note is a friend who can't hear past ~10KHz still heard differences in the SL2000 compared to the peerless tweeter. He found the SL2000's more harsh, especially for music not friendly to the SL2000. Although in his opinion it was not that bad.

K_M

The SL200O tweeter thing, depends on the listener a good bit.

Someone with rolled off hearing up high, it is not such a big deal. But someone with decent higher range hearing combined with music that is already boosted a bit up high in frequency, it can be quite a bit annoying.

heiney9

The sl2000 tweeter is a poor sounding tweeter at higher levels it tend to really ramp up as the output increases. The RD0 replacement is a far superior tweeter. Get them and don't look back.

It's a no brainer, really

H9

pitdogg2

Let me just toss out my .02

In my bedroom rig I use a Carver TFM25 and Denon 3805 as a pre. On the TFM25 meters i must push the Denon to +15 on volume to get the meters bouncing up above 100watts on the meters. If i went with -10 the Carver meters wouldn't even be bouncing above 10 watts.

I run the Denon straight no processing at all just stereo. My theory is the the numbers on the Denon are set to the receiver power when you toss in an external amp those numbers get wonkey. At +15 with no Carver in the mix yes I'd have MAJOR distortion and tweeter dust coming at me.