Any way to tame sibilance?

MSkeezer

Hi everyone. A couple of months ago, my speakers started sounding really harsh when it came to reproducing "s" sounds. I thought maybe the tweeter in my CSi40 had blown, so I sent it in, and got the new one a few days ago. Well, I still have the same problem. It's been annoying the %#&^#% out of me, and I don't know what's wrong? Could it be a problem with my hearing? Is there anything at all I can do about this?

Airplay355

i have the same problem but only when i turn it up very loudly. you might want to consider getting a better power source for your speakers.

or you can try and put a little piece of tissue paperunderneath the grill over the tweeter, that might help.

PolkThug

Do you have your treble setting on '0', or do you have it on a higher setting?

Regards,
PolkThug

MSkeezer

I'll try that, Airplay. Thug, the trebel is set at "0".

steveinaz

Does this happen when using high-grade recordings? Have you changed interconnects or speaker cable lately?

MSkeezer

I haven't changed interconnects for a while, but I did change speaker wire. And then I went back to the speaker wire I was using, then another type of wire, then I tried bi-wiring, and nothing. It's still there...

dave shepard

Is it possable your speakers have been fully broken-in when this happened? Just a wild stab.

Dave

MSkeezer

I'd think so. I listen to them all the time, never at high volume levels, though. The sibilance is there no matter how low the volume is. Is this something I'm going to have to live with?

dave shepard

I would think so. The Yammy's and the Onkyo have a closer sound to each other then the Denon does. The Onkyo's have a brighter sound then the Yamaha, IMO. I did notice that when I changed from 16ga (Wal-Mart spool wire) to 12ga Monster the sound became brighter and more detailed, which is what I needed, you might want to try the oppisit and see if that helps, it is cheeper then getting anotherr reciever whech is my last option I would suggest.

Dave

VR3

I have used 20 layers of toilet paper on my RTi70 to 'tame' the sibilance.....

Honestly, it did absolutely no good, and the paper is seen through the grill cloth easily.

Since I have my speakers stacked (RT5 and RTi70) - I just unplugged the RTi70 tweeter and let the RT5 handle the highs...

I wouldnt dream of plugging the RTi70 tweet back up.

I recomend effin with the treble controls......

or possibly get an EQ to plug up to the Center and screw around with it.....

or a rag......

or getting a new speaker.....

Heck lots of options

Just my 2 cents

pjdami

Mskeezer,

Man I don't know how to tell you this but the combo of your receiver and speakers can be very sibilant to some folks. I had the RX-V1300 on RT35i's for a while. At first I thought is was brilliantly detailed but fatiguing over the long haul. Also a function of how "lively" your room acoustics are. Is your room carpeted and with plenty of soft furniture, curtains etc?

I wish I could tell you to get a dedicated cd player like a NAD or something and that would cure the problem but only your ears will determine what is best.

You might want to try the tissue paper trick first and perhaps tone down the treble to -2 db. Put some curtains up if you have just blinds on the windows (try some blankets first to see if it helps any).

Many people here enjoy the Denon receiver RT series sound. That would be worth a shot but not the easiest / most affordable solution either.

Good luck dude on your quest.

pjdami

Another thing worth a shot and relatively inexpensive. If you currently have the RTi70s biwired, just run a single run of wire and use the same wire to make some jumpers. This may help to tone them down a little if biwiring made a difference to you. You aren't still using the brass jumpers are you (if not biwired)? Try all of the inexpensive possible solutions first.

gidrah

While your receiver may be "bright" over-all, sibilance is a different animal IMHO. Does this sibilance appear with FM?

Things that might calm ssssibilance:
1. Different ICs. I've built some that cost about $.75/pair that replaced my (ooh scary thing) store bought that had a capitol SSSS.
2. Replace the jumper. Gold doesn't conduct worth a damn. Cheaper copper works better and you can get a better connection.
3. Vibration isolation/absorbtion. A snug source is a happy source.
4. Tisssue paper. It's already been suggested, but this will unfortunately deteriorate your high end detail.
5. Room treatments. Yep, here you go. Then again a bright room is just that and shouldn't add any sibilance.

My suggestions are in order of effectthat I've come across. Your milage may vary.

Good luck.

steveinaz

If none of the above work, and you've tried the speakers with a different set-up to verify the speakers are the problem, I would contact Polk. You might have a faulty component in the crossover.

LuSh

Ummm how can I put this without being a jerk. That line of Polk has alot of compression in the tweeter. There really is nothing you can do other then changing the speaker.

Some speakers I could suggest, LSi Polks, PSB's, Energy's.

That sibliance you hear is the dynamics within the speaker. You can try and hide it, but it will always be there. I personally could always hear high compression with any polk other then the LSi's.

gmorris

I have a CSi30 & 2 RTi70's, which use the same tweeter as the CSi40. I have no sibilance problems, and I like the sound of all 3.

I would suggest you play with speaker placement. I have found that these speakers sound best when NOT listening to them straight on. I use very little toe-in on the 70's. Off axis is better, I've found. Placement could solve the brightness issue, but I agree, sibilance is something else.

I don't experience any sibilance with my speakers, so I'd agree with those who said you may have a faulty component somewhere.


One other question. You say you have the sibilance problem with a CSi40, which is a center channel. Are you using it for movies or music? If you are using it for DVD's, maybe there is a problem with the DVD player.

steveinaz

I don't think its an "Rti" issue either. I've owned Polk's since 1983 and never experienced a sibilance problem in the 3 models I had.

HBombToo

agreed Steve

HBomb

shack

I expeienced sibilance in my RT25i speakers ONCE...but it was caused by the cables I was testing at the time. They were not a good fit with the gear. I swapped out the cables and the sibilance was gone.

danger boy

i used to have the same problem with my RT800i's. it began when i bi wired them with Monster Cable Z3.

things i did that helped get rid of it... were to un-bi wire them till the Monster cable wire had plenty of time to burn in. During that time i replaced the jumpers and kept the bi wires in place. it will not harm your speakers to have the jumpers in place while you are running them in a bi wire hook up.

Another thing that added to the sibilance problem with the interconnects. A while back I demoed a Signal Cable 2 1m pair of these. While they sounded good.. it instantly brought back the sibilance problem i had just gotten rid of.

Like gmorris said, i don't think the speaker needs much toe in. I have mine ever so slightly toed in, and it sounds pretty good to me. By toeing in anymore.. i lose some of the soundstage.

good luck man.. i know how annoying sibilance is.

steveinaz

I too, have noticed that sometimes "stranded" speaker cables will do this, especially the cheaper stuff. I now use solid-core copper only.

gmorris

Originally posted by steveinaz
I too, have noticed that sometimes "stranded" speaker cables will do this, especially the cheaper stuff. I now use solid-core copper only.

What speaker cable are you using, Steveo?

steveinaz

Audioquest Granite.

MSkeezer

Thanks a lot everyone. I really, really appreciate all of the help. Earlier on, I seem to remember using Home Depot 12 ga wire, and I never had a problem, so it's possible the problem started after I began using Monster wire. I'll switch back to Home Depot wire, and see if that has any effect. If not, I'll try every single suggestion on here, and, if none of those work, I'll be giving away the Polks, just kidding. I'll try switching out the DVD player, too, since I've got an extra one laying around. If everything fails, I guess I'll have to sell the Yamaha on the cheap, get a low end Denon, or HK. Again, thank you, everyone.

Thomas

gregure

I, too, have had some problems with sibiliance with my Polk centers, although no problems with my RTi 10's. I first had a CSi 3, which had harsh S sounds, making me nervous at first, thinking they were blown. However, when this wasn't a problem with music, I stopped worrying about that. The harshness was mainly the case with DVD dialogue, however I usually minimize the center output for CD playback, if I use surround mode at all. I replaced the CSi 3 with a CSi 5, thinking the problem would go away, and it isn't any better with the bigger speaker. I use the standard monster cable they sell at Circuit City with the pink shielding. I've just ordered some Better Cables Premium II cable, with bi-wire termination for my mains and center, so I'm hoping that will help alleviate the problem. It's not too bad, but it bugs sometimes. I'll let you know how it works out. I don't think it's the receiver (Onkyo 701), or the DVD player (Denon 1815), so we'll see.

dave shepard

Any luck yet?

MSkeezer

Not yet. I switched wires, no luck. Switched interconnects, no luck. Used tissue, no luck. I used 12 ga wire for my jumpers, again, no luck. I'll switch out DVD players tonight, or tomorrow. If that doesn't work, then I'll unhook the receiver, and take it to the bedroom, see if it does the same thing in there. I'm thinking this is something that I'm going to have to live with...

MSkeezer

I believe I may have found the source of the problem....

The banana plugs

I took all of them off this morning, the ones connected to the receiver, and the speakers. I changed speaker wire again, this time using 14 ga Radio Shack flat wire, used the Polk jumpers, popped in "The Two Towers" Ex. Ed., and the sibilance was pretty much gone. There was only a slight trace of it, but I'm confident that if I biwire, instead of using the jumpers, it will completely disappear. After removing the plugs, I also noticed the sound was definitely cleaner sounding, dialogue was clearer. Of course, it could also be the speaker wire contributing to the better sound. And, please, guys, don't take this as a bashing to banana plugs. I know it's stupid to say this, but I don't want someone accusing me of saying banana plugs are crap, they're not. They just didn't quite get along with my speakers, and, or receiver. Anyways. I'd like to thank everyone for their help, I really, really appreciate it. Thanks!

gmorris

Bravo MSkeezer!!!

Superb troubshooting. I don't think I'd of ever thought to take the naner plugs out of the loop.

Nice work.

ascienzo

I love reading through these threads--I'm learning a lot from you guys--I think you're all great!...

Recently I started reading about the "source"--meaning the "power source" that drives all of our gear, and I'm surprised how no one mentions anything about electrical interference/fluctuations and using a high-quality surge protector that will produce "clean and even power" to drive all of our gear...

I work on a computer for 10 hours a day and in the warmer months I get interference on my screens, most likely due to atmospheric changes (humidity, heat) as well as the fact that people are running AC units that "pull" a lot of juice--this happens even if you live in a house--not just an apartment building...switching to a high-quality surge protector has made a noticible difference on my computer screens and I imagine it would have the same effect on my other electronics...

I'm not saying that the toilet paper and other remedies won't work, but you may want to consider upgrading your power source to something worthy of your investment--this may get rid of the problem and give you extra protection...

just MHO

dave shepard

I didn't know you had bannana plugs, you might want to try putting just the wire with the standard connects back on (the ones that came with the speakers), that should also tame some of the sound issues you are getting, basicaly put everything back to the day you got it and see if the sound isn't more to our likeing now that your speakers are broken-in.

Dave