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My system's high frequencies hurt my ears

Well, to be perfectly clear it doesn't always hurt my ears but I've been getting a little fatigued at times and I'm trying to diagnose the problem. A few nights ago I was listening to a new 24/96 The Doors first album release and had to stop playback. I switched over to The Eagles Greatest Hits, 16/44, and found some happiness there but I wasn't completely satisfied. Perhaps some of this is psychological, maybe I was feeling a little extra sensitive, but I'm sure I've had some issues with high frequencies in the past.

Here's my setup:

Serving all music, ripped to WAV by Exact Audio Copy or downloaded via high rez sites, via Windows 7 computer running J River set to WASAPI output. Sending signal via USB to Audiophilleo USB/SPDIF converter to PS Audio Digital Link III DAC. From DAC using Nordost Baldur unbalanced RCA interconnects to PS Audio C-100 Control Amp. Speaker wires are Nordost Blue Heaven. Power cables are PS Audio Lab Cable from wall to PS Audio Duet Power Conditioner. From there I use another Lab Cable for the amp and a PS Jewel cable for the DAC. The wall plug is on its own circuit with nothing else connected. Speakers are my old but good Mirage 1090i's.

Aside from perhaps the age of the speakers do you guys see anything that stands out? I spoke to a technician from Mirage and he suggested I'm doing too much signal processing which could be a cause of uncomfortable high frequencies.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
robpriore
jdoris
852 posts
 
That's great news, Robpriore. Dramatic evidence for the importance of placement.

I humbly eat crow, courtesy of Mapman and Newbee.
wilsynet's avatar
wilsynet
264 posts
 
Likely speaker and/or room. I'd replace those cables with regular Blue Jeans cable too.
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,515 posts
 
Quit worrying about degrees and types of angles!!!! Find a position that you like and leave them there. You'll drive yourself crazy playing the numbers game. Just my opinion.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
4,637 posts
 
Some acoustic panels look fine to good even to our spouses. I will say it one more time. This is your issue. GIK makes all sort of colors and art panels and they will tame your highs and greatly improve your sound.

Speaker placement and room treatment are a must. I just need to know more about your room and set up. If this is simply not possible, then please let me know. I am most sensitive to highs and cannot stand even a hint of etched or glaring highs. I have always owned very "tame" speakers like the Silverline Bolero and Dali Grand speakers, but it wasn't until I treated my room with GIK panels that I learned what a properly treated room can do.

I have tried making my own panels and buying other brands, they never did what the GIK's do. Go to the site and look at the 242 and 244 panels. Look at the colors and note the reasonable prices. I purchased all mine used here on the Gon for about $30 - $45 a panel.

They will transform your music and absolutely put the highs, mids and lows into proper balance and focus. All smearing will be gone, Alison Krauss's voice finally lost its hard edge on her live album with all the life still there!

I used to read about folks going on and on about "the room" and based on some past experiences I would yawn and move on. Well the GIK stuff smacked me awake and has gained my full attention. Don't dismiss this if you want a wonderful solution that will work with your current and future gear.
fleib
1,124 posts
 
I'm not exactly sure what the problem is, but it might be ultrasonic noise making the high frequencies sound bad. This is a more common problem than realized, especially with electronics that have wide bandwidth. I don't know if this will be a fix, but it could save you a ton of grief, if it works. What I'm suggesting is a zobel network at your speaker input to possibly tame the ultrasonic noise. There's no guarantee, but I think it's worth a try.

If your speakers are 4 ohm (?), get a 10 watt 6 ohm resistor and twist the end to a 0.3 uF speaker capacitor. Put one end in the + speaker terminal and the other in the - terminal. These parts are relatively inexpensive at Madisound or Parts Express. I'm not familiar with your speakers, but the Mirage I've heard weren't harsh and one could listen on-axis. If it works, you could replace the resistors with non-inductive types - still cheap compared with alternatives, and if it works, any speaker hooked up to this system will benefit.
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