Monitor 10s too harsh
twistngrip
Posts: 11
I just purchased a set of monitor 10s (SL1000 tweeter) that are in really nice shape. I am powering them with a Carver 6200 (100w/ch) receiver. If you are in the perfect listening position the detail of the highs is quite amazing. They are too harsh though. It lacks that smooth relaxing sound quality. It is kind of tiring to listen to. The speakers are positioned in the center of the long wall in a 16X28 room about 12 feet apart. Is this possibly a problem with the speakers being so old? Could it be the receiver that is causing the issue? The receiver was bought the same time as the speakers so I haven't tried it with other speakers. If there is some way to tone these things down a little for a warmer sound I'd love to know what to try. 
Post edited by twistngrip on
Comments
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twistngrip,
What kind of music do you listen to ? Is it CD's , Vinyl ?
I find that some CD's are mastered so Loudly , that I fatigue fairly fast from listening from them . . . another benefit of the " Loudness Wars " . Just a thought. -
I think Polk makes a new tweeter to replace those SL-1000
s that is supposed to be really good. -
Certainly gear choice and placement have a little bit to do with the forwardness/harshness. If you are going to keep them for awhile it might be worth it to invest in the silk dome replacement tweeters from Polk.
Model #RD0194-1 as Polk designed silk dome drop in replacements are much smoother and more laid back sounding. Call cutomers service and ask for them by model # and tell them you are a CLub Polk member for a discount. They are around $102/pr shipped to your door 2day shipping.
Other than that you can try to mess with placement but it will probably only help a little bit, if at all.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I listen to all kinds of music but mostly a variety of rock on CDs, no vinyl. I have read that some people like the old tweeter better than the new. If the new tweeters are more laid back and they are less bright, that is probably the answer that I was looking for. I have messed around with placement some and it doesn't make enough difference to matter much (plus there is the wife factor. They have to fit in with her decorating plans...I'm already pushing the limit on that). Before I cough up the dough for more tweets, will it make a huge difference? How different are the new ones?
Thanks for all the help -
Certainly gear choice and placement have a little bit to do with the forwardness/harshness. If you are going to keep them for awhile it might be worth it to invest in the silk dome replacement tweeters from Polk.
Model #RD0194-1 as Polk designed silk dome drop in replacements are much smoother and more laid back sounding. Call cutomers service and ask for them by model # and tell them you are a CLub Polk member for a discount. They are around $102/pr shipped to your door 2day shipping.
Other than that you can try to mess with placement but it will probably only help a little bit, if at all.
H9
I can't stand the SL1000 tweeter, or its sibling the SL2000. They both sound awful.
The RD-0194 is not a drop-in replacement for the SL1000. The frame is larger than the old one and requires modification to the cabinet, a spacer or more depedning on the model.
I believe its a great suggestion but a drop-in option would be the Peerless style tweeter. Unfortunately, it's not common but I believe there is a pair for sale, or was, in the Flea Market.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
Are using a DVD palyer for the source? I find them to be a real pain.
There is a setting in many that acts like loudness did on old receivers.
Here is an example for a Sony.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2028561_change-audio-dvpf41ms.html
Don't change the tweets yet. If this still doesn't help, look for a real
cd player. Many quality older CDPs kill the 2 channel playback of new DVD
players."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
I can't stand the SL1000 tweeter, or its sibling the SL2000. They both sound awful.
The RD-0194 is not a drop-in replacement for the SL1000. The frame is larger than the old one and requires modification to the cabinet, a spacer or more depedning on the model.
I believe its a great suggestion but a drop-in option would be the Peerless style tweeter. Unfortunately, it's not common but I believe there is a pair for sale, or was, in the Flea Market.
I thought the RD0 was NOT a drop-in replacement for the Peerless. I thought the Peerless was slighly smaller frame."Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
The Peerless and SL1000 are pretty much the same size. They are both smaller than the RD0194.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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I do a little woodwork so I don't mind having to route out the speaker opening a little bit. If I go to the trouble of doing this will I see a huge improvement with the RD0194s?
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Yes.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
twistngrip wrote: »I do a little woodwork so I don't mind having to route out the speaker opening a little bit. If I go to the trouble of doing this will I see a huge improvement with the RD0194s?
Night and day. I was skeptical before I bought and installed RD0's in my Monitor 5B's. I wish I would have done it years ago to some other vintage Polks I had. Swap them and you will be very happy.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Awesome! Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.
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Just installed my new RD-0194s. A definite improvement. It seems to me it even has a little more midrange and a better balance of frequencies overall. I don't understand that but it seems that way.
I was going to route out the recessed area to accomodate the RD-0194s which are slightly larger than the originals. For those who are still wondering, the new tweets will not just drop into place. The screw holes are a spaced a tiny bit different also. It was looking like I would need to remove the midrange drivers to be able to do the routing job, so I went a different route. I put two layers of two-sided mounting tape (padded type) fitted into the recessed area, then used one more layer on the outside to act as a gasket for a surface mount. Then I trimmed off the excess with a razor knife. There is plenty of room for the tweeter dome inside the grills. I ended up with a nice clean looking air tight seal. I am happy with the result of the installation.
Thanks to those who provided information. This stuff is all new to me. -
Looks like I'll be calling Polk Monday a.m. for some RD-0194's. Doh!"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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Face, These really sound like different speakers. I'm sure you'll agree it was $102 well spent.
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Wait until they fully break in, they sound even better.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Cool....I have an off subject question. My CD/DVD player is connected to my TV via a HDMI cable then through analog audio RCA jacks to my receiver. When I play a CD, for whatever reason, the TV will not send a signal to the receiver with no video present. Therefore I have the CD player also hooked directly to the receiver via RCA cable. The music in movies sounds noticably better than just playing music from a CD through the RCA connectors only. Does anyone know why this may be? I do have the function on the DVD player that increases the volume of the dialog turned off. When playing a CD the band sounds a little more like it is on a stage with the curtain still drawn. Any ideas would be appreciated.
