Overpronounced/harsh "S" sounds with my B&W 602 S3s (1 Viewer)

[James~P]

Anybody have any insight as to why this might be happening? Everything else, high-hats, stick hits.. all sounds fine, but when a vocalist pronouces the sylable "S" it comes out "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"



ie:



"CloSSSSing wallSSSSS and ticking ClockSSSSS"




Almost a whistling. Suppose thats a fault of the speakers, amplification? What?


thanks for the help.



And i'm not driving the amp hard, its noticable at ~3 on the volume knob.

 

[Robert AG]

This is a common problem with recorded speech and singing voices, but can be aggreviated by speakers that have a response peak in the range from 6-10Khz. In voice recording, devices called De-Essers are sometimes used to minimize this sibilant sound.

If your receiver or preamp has treble controls, you can try lowering this range, but doing this will also dull the sound of cymbals etc. You might find a sweet spot on this control where the vocal sibilants are tamed, yet the other instruments are not dulled too much.

 

[James~P]

Could you provide a link for some "De-Essers" ?

 

[Robert AG]

De-Essers are used during the original recording phase - not during playback. I would try to remedy the problem either with tone controls or speaker placement (in a more sound absorbent area). De-Essers can be purchased at pro-audio outlets and pro-music stores but I wouldn't recommend them as a playback solution.

 

[John Garcia]

What is your other gear? Source, receiver/amp, connection types, wire, interconnects, etc...

You may be able to tame this with interconnects and wires without too much expense.

A lot of people say the 600 series sound laid back or neutral, but I found them to be a bit on the bright side. Very good for music, IMO.

 

[James~P]

I'm using an old Sansui G-3000 stereo reciever I got for free, some very flimsy RCA interconnects that I got with a VCR in 1993. My cables are some no-name biwire cables I got for ~68cents a foot.



I also experience this with my NAD reciever, and my Maranetz SR4200 reciever.



Christmas is coming up, and I'm open to ideas for upgrades.

 

[Mark C.]

How long have you had the speakers?
What type of room (measurements, carpet-no carpet, layout)

Sansui?????....really????

 

[John Garcia]

Sounds like what you really might want to consider is different speakers. Not to lump all British speakers in a category, but B&W is somewhat typical of British speakers, and many have this forward character. I am running Mordaunt Short 902s (also British, all aluminum drivers) with a Marantz PM7000 in my bedroom with Audioquest biwire and Diamondback interconnects. No sibilance at all.

I'd still replace the interconnects. You don't need to get exotic, just a decent stereo pair. It will probably help some with hot Ss, but may not get rid of them completely.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

http://www.audioquest.com/

http://www.bettercables.com/

 

[Robert AG]

Speakers and the acoustic enviornment are the number one determining factors in the final sound coming out of a system. All other factors like cables, component selection etc are secondary in importance. Like the previous poster mentioned, you might simply need to get different speakers. If your speakers are currently in a highly reflective room with hard walls, or large open surfaces of glass, this will aggrreviate the high frequency problem. Making the room more absorbent will effect the brightness to a good degree, but it might not be enough to overcome the basic sonic personality of your current speakers. If your room is already highly absorbent, you probably have the wrong speakers for you.

 

[CharlesD]

I have 602s surrounded on three side with very reflective walls and don't have this problem at all. you may want to experiemnt with speaker lacement. Are the speakers close to a wall? I have mine out about 2 1/2 feet from the walls and don't get this effect.