My stereo system sounds awful

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by MichaelXX2, Aug 13, 2016.

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  1. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    Recently I came to the realization that I do not enjoy listening to my stereo system. It seems like it would sound good, but during listening, there are certain things that really destroy my enjoyment of the music. I'm in a relatively small square room with wood walls and carpet. I have a pair of Acoustic Research AR3a speakers raised about 1.5 feet off the ground. These speakers are powered by an old, unserviced Sansui AU-999 amplifier.

    When I'm listening to certain things, especially the human voice and the flute, I'll notice that during volume swells or certain notes, the sound will sort of... lose control, I guess, and hurt my ears in a sharp piercing sensation. I don't get this sensation when listening to headphones and it's definitely speaker-related. My question is, does this have something to do with my amp, or would my room benefit from acoustic treatment? Is a square room shape completely unserviceable for music?

    It really does sound unacceptably bad. It hurts me to listen to it. Please help.
     
    DK Pete likes this.
  2. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    Hard to say without more information, however, those were fantastic speakers, the state of the art--50 years ago. They need a fair amount of power. Have your amp checked for worn-out caps or other issues. It may need servicing. or, the crossovers or even the driver surrounds in the speakers may be worn out. Those are sealed acoustic-suspension, so very tough to get inside them, unfortunately. I had a pair of AR-2a's that gave up the ghost when the crossover in one died, so I only got sound out of the woofer.

    Make sure you are using heavy enough speaker cable. You don't need anything fancy, but I would recommend 12AWG cable from Furez or Belden at a $1-$2 per foot.
     
    ashlee5, SandAndGlass and The FRiNgE like this.
  3. RonW

    RonW Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Your amp most likely needs service. The symptoms you mention are common to distortion probably due to bad caps in the power supply and driver board. I'd check the net for service suggestions as there are some good Sansui forums out there. Those are some beautiful speakers you have. Their crossovers may need new caps as well.
     
    The FRiNgE likes this.
  4. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    After doing some more looking, it looks like my problems involve room modes and I need to invest in some acoustic treatment. What fun!
     
  5. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    How in love are you with your speakers and amp? You might want to think about upgrading both. Those are both pretty old designs. Find out what the true problem(s) is before you sink money into acoustic treatment.
     
    CrazyCatz likes this.
  6. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    I plan on ditching the Sansui for a McIntosh power amp as soon as I get enough money, but I couldn't imagine parting with these AR3as.
     
    The Pinhead and Grant like this.
  7. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    Speaker design has advanced in the past 50 years. Have tried another pair speakers to see if the problem is truly the ARs?
     
    gingerly likes this.
  8. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Your situation sounds somewhat similar to mine.
     
  9. Dentdog

    Dentdog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Until you get out of the square room get some good headphones. A small square room really isn't conductive to listening.
    I once visited a guy with a 50K setup in a small square room, no treatments. BOOM!
     
  10. BuddhaBob

    BuddhaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Erie, PA, USA
    Do you do any headphone listening and, if so, how does it sound then?
     
  11. Dentdog

    Dentdog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Knock out a wall somewhere.
     
  12. G E

    G E Senior Member

    Put up some acoustic paneling. My room is 13x15x9 ft ceilings and sounded awful. Truly unlistenable.

    One product if you are reasonably handy is Owens Corning 703 rigid fiberglass. It's easy to build a frame, glue on the panels, wrap them in muslin or other acoustically transparent material and hang them like pictures.

    Some companies make covers kinda like pillowcases that slip over the panels. Lots of different colors and designs. And you hang them like pictures.

    Try this first before addressing electronics/speaker changes.

    It makes a big difference
     
    stay crunchy and SandAndGlass like this.
  13. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    Headphone listening is pretty much flawless as far as that goes.

    You're saying the acoustic treatment worked well for you?
     
  14. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    I have another room I could set my stuff up in. It's 20x10 feet with an 8.5 foot ceiling. Would that work better?
     
  15. CrazyCatz

    CrazyCatz Great shot kid. Don't get cocky!

    Try tha whole system in a different environment IF you can? Then after careful setup up if sound is still crap, then is possibly tha Gear! Any Pics :D

    atb
     
  16. G E

    G E Senior Member

    The acoustic panels transformed my listening experience. It is a very quiet room. One hears the silence upon entering.

    Slap echo is gone. The weird suck out at 40-45hz is lessened. And most importantly, time alignment of of the sound is restored.

    Sit in your listening chair and clap hands loudly once. What do you hear?

    And yes, move to the larger room. Immediately if not sooner.

    And you still need to add acoustic treatment. This is by far the most cost effective positive impact on your sound. It is a big deal.
     
  17. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Have it professionally serviced. It's a darn good but very old unit. Not the warmest-sounding like the Pioneers of that era also, but if you dig it through headphones it should be OK. Same with speakers. A friend of mine has one, unserviced, and not yet a problem. Not even a dirty pot ! Very reliable units.

    Wood on walls is way better than bare walls for sure but still may resonate in unpleasant manners.
     
  18. Dentdog

    Dentdog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Hugely. Gik Tri Trap the corners to the ceiling if possible. This is the best bang for the buck. Speakers 4' from the front wall, listeners 9-11 feet away and buy some Owens Corning 703m maybe 2-3 packages of 6 that are 24 by 48 and buy some nice throws to cover them with. Speaker cloth is cheap or go to Youtube to step your game up. It's largely about lowering the decay time to get the boominess out of the room. A nice room can be had at 10 by 20.
    People waste thousands of dollars upgrading equipment when the room is undermining them. I have the same equipment originally purchased but the performance changed dramatically with appropriate treatment. You can get too much but most people don't, and they buy new equipment to such a small improvement. Have fun!
     
    G E, Manimal and Dave like this.
  19. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    I just finished a couple hours listening in my 12x12x8 room. It sounds fantastic in there with a diagonal speaker setup and treatments.
    I see these recommendations for DIY treatments all the time. I've built a couple absorption panels and have purchased a few more. Unless you love DIY, I highly recommend buying the panels. I purchased my panels from ATS Acoustics; very well made, fairly priced and quick service. And get 4 inch thick panels, don't waste time on the 2 inch panels.
     
    Dentdog, 33na3rd and The FRiNgE like this.
  20. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    I would REALLY upgrade both your amp and those speakers. Try to find a pair of Tannoy Saturns...they sound FANTASTIC and dont need gobs of power.
     
    KT88 likes this.
  21. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Get the speakers up to ear level . . . in case no one else has already said this.
     
  22. gd0

    gd0 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

    Location:
    Golden Gate
    ^ Also try simple repositioning of the speakers. A little can do a lot.
     
  23. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    Does your turntable sound bad or are you just talking about your digital play back?
     
  24. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo Thread Starter

    Location:
    United States
    Analog and digital both sound awful in the same ways, so I'm assuming it's the room. I ran some frequencies through it and I definitely noticed some being emphasized more than others. It's standing nodes and I need to get some treatments.
     
    Dave and The FRiNgE like this.
  25. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    What Carl and gd0 said first, looking before you turn your living space into a studio. Basics first. Address the speakers positioning and height, get the amp serviced, then try again. If the speakers can be serviced easily then maybe that too.

    If you've only just noticed it, then it might not be what you think.
     
    gslasor and highway chile like this.
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