Any thoughts on reducing too much treble?
In one system I have B&W 805D3 and an SN3, and all sounds pretty good.
In another system I have a Monitor Audio 300 Gold 5G & and SN2, and the treble is just too much. Any suggestions for taming this?
I’ve experimented with positioning, toe in and all the usual adjustments, but nothing is really helping.
I am 49 so perhaps young in this game, but universally for me it’s been the speaker first, then amp, then source. That is to say the total opposite to source first philosophy (because this is nonsense)
Monitor Audio are sort of known for this and aren’t generally considered a good match with Naim.
Unless the room has scope for adding a carpet and curtains etc. Then really changing speakers is the most realistic way forward
Few years back we took a punt on some heavily reduced Bronze range standmount models, thinking they might be suitable for a slightly smaller room.
No, too splashy.
We then returned to a set of Monitor Audio Studio floorstanders in the office, dating from 1996. These small floorstanders are sealed cabinet, mass loaded with sand. Sound lovely on the end of the SuperUniti, no harsh treble.
I think the modern MA speakers are just not tuned in a way which plays too well with naim amps. Having said that, there are other forum members using similar floorstanders so in the right room perhaps they can work together.
Use a different speaker is the obvious solution!
MA has always been a very bright speaker. I’ve never understood their popularity when there are just so many alternatives.
Thanks for your thoughts and experiences with MA.
My two rooms, in different locations, are very similarly sized, 22-25m sq, and similarly apportioned, in terms of sofas, chairs, rugs, curtains et al, so its been instructive to realise how my B&Ws compare to the MAs in such comparable set ups & surroundings.
I’ll not give up on the MA just yet, but I am struggling to not focus on the glare, when it’s apparent on certain types of music.
I spend more or less equal time between the two properties, and the more I compare the two sets of speakers, the more I wish I’d gone for B&W in both. The allure of a “bargain” got the better of me. (And the effusions of praise from my son, who also just bought some MA, same model, for his system, though that’s on another continent and in a very different room - larger, open plan, yet also with a Naim amp!).
What happens if you drape material over the top of the speakers so it hangs in front of the tweeters? ie add something that is not 100% acoustically transparent.
I’ve not tried that, as yet, I don’t think any of my tea towels are an aesthetic match for the black piano gloss finish!
Worth an experimental try, I suppose, though.
Perhaps @NigelB can comment, he has upgraded his system a number of times during which is Monitor speakers remained in use?
Thanks for highlighting this one @Gazza.
I never really suffered from treble glare with my MA 300 Golds, but I had the G1 model, which had beautifully smooth ribbon tweeters. I guess the tweeters would have been modified quite a bit over 5 generations.
Not sure how old the OP’s MAs are, but treble hardness does tend to smooth out with speaker burn in.
Sorry I can’t be of more help.
You could try your SN3 with the MAs and see if that makes any difference.
That was a standard mod in studios for the Yamaha NS10 monitors…it was called the ‘tissue paper mod’ as a sheet of bog-roll was placed over the tweeters to lessen the sting in their tail.
I still have my 1975 MA3s monitor speakers on their original stands - recently serviced x-overs. Bright has never been an issue. Likely more recent examples perhaps.
@Charles64 without full details of your system the question is a touch vague.
There is a significant variety of speaker cable available and it is quite likely that careful selection may address the issue, if you prefer not to make any other changes.
Yes, I’ve pondered a cable change, but no idea which one & to what effect it would have. I currently have NAC A5.
My system, this particular one, is sans vinyl and purely CD & streaming, courtesy of a Marantz SA8005 and a Blusound Vault. The latter into an Arcam irDAC. My KEF KC 62 sub has been removed from this set up and now resides in my other B&W speakered system. So, that’s it as far as the MA are concerned.
Not apropos of the speaker glare exactly, but we had a prolonged power cut today (the streets nearby are being dug up for superfast fibre, so maybe related) and I’ve had little listening time until the last half hour or so, and the glare isn’t there in the same presentation as before. Maybe an auditory trick of the mind, or my ears adjusting, who knows, but I’ll see (listen out for) what happens over the next few days, week or so.
Thanks all for your insights and thoughts.
How are the speakers seated? Would you mind sharing a photo?
Different speaker cables are probably your best option and worth a try, without changing the actual speakers.
Perhaps Chord Company or Tellurium?.
Yes, it’s worth a try. I’ve got Tellurium (Silver II, I think) in my other set up, so that’s a plausible swap and tryout.
Longish runs of some high inductance speaker cable may trim down the top end a bit but if the problem described is severe, speaker cables aren’t going to resolve the issue. I guess only you can know the answer to that.
If there is one thing I’ve learned from the forum is that what 80% of other members describe as “night and day difference” is hardly noticeable. A lot comes down to our subjective comfort with a given presentation. If your “glare” is really just a slight cutting leading edge then a cable change might do the trick. Otherwise, you’re back with changing speakers or room.
The fabric draping the @robert_h suggested is exactly what I do with my ol’ Kef 107s. They are fully refurbished, but I find on many tracks/albums that the tweeters are a tad bright. So, I got my wife to sew a couple of stretch-fabric covers that I pull over the tweeter heads for most of our listening.
I occasionally remove them for specific listening, usually orchestra or quiet listening. Works very well and I was going to suggest it myself.
I’m fortunate that they are barely noticeable in my situation, but some black fabric draped over the top part of yours may not look too bad. You could even attach it to the inside of the speaker covers.
Just some thots … best of luck.