Tweeter type and brightness

Somehow I don't think magnet type has anything to do with frequency reproduction, and I agree that it can be painful to stick cables in your ears.

Many metal tweeters are harsh and bright...one particular major speaker manufacturer has been an example for years.

But, some metal tweeters have their resonances very well controlled, the Revel Salons being a great example: smooth, sweet, low distortion, non-irritating highs. Go for a low distortion speaker like that.

You may like the Brodmann VC 2 or VC7 depending on budget, worth trying if there is a possibility near you.. They are quite natural in the upper registers, and I'd imagine would suit acoustic guitar very well..

Best Regards,
Paul.

Thanks, all of you for your responses; they've been helpful but I jumped the gun a bit. To have speakers in the system while I'm trying to decide what to do about the Odysseys, I ordered a used pair of Monitor Audio Silver eights from eBay. They actually sounded quite good in the showroom.

Going back to what I said earlier though, speakers that incorporated ribbon tweeters sounded best to me but, based on what I am reminded of on this forum, it could be for reasons not necessarily related to speaker construction. I say this because, in the store, the silver series Monitor Audio speakers are in a demo area where an A/V receiver with a speaker switching device is used to demonstrate speakers. On the other hand, the speakers with the ribbons are demonstrated in another room using more expensive separates with direct connections between the speakers done manually.

Anyway, it crossed my mind that, if one is very satisfied with a speaker except for the HF harshness, how reasonable might it be to consider replacement of its domed tweeter with a ribbon tweeter? I know that the considerations are many, the most obvious being redesign of crossover frequency points and slopes and physical modification of the cabinet to accommodate the different shape and size tweeter frame.

This may seem an outrageous concept but in my very early years I did do some of my own cabinet and x-over design and construction but that goes back to my youth when sound systems were monaural and relatively unsophisticated. Because I've been retired for a long time, though, my monetary resources are more limited than in the past but I do have more time to devote to interesting projects.

I know this sounds like little more than mental calisthenics but I really do want some input on this. I can no longer justify spending a lot of money on audio components but I haven't lost any desire for quality sound.

Current components are Shanling solid state CD player, CAL DAC, Rogue Audio 100W Sphinx hybrid stereo amp and 10 year old ML Odyssey speakers, one needing a power supply circuit board. These speakers will probably be sold after I install a new board.

Electrostats and ML in general will be hard to better for your purposes I suspect.

I'd give careful scrutiny to the digital source, the DAC, and any potential issues iwth higher levels of jitter than might be possible otherwise.

JItter is usually the prime culprit when modern digital becomes outright irritating. High frequencies are where most of the nastiness occurs!

How old is the CAL DAC?

DAC technology has improved significantly over the last 10 years or so. I do not know for sure but you might be able to improve their.

AN inexpensive test would be to try a good quality used tube DAC with the current MLs, if still needed once they are in good working order.

I'd like an mhdt Paradisea DAC for your application. Very musical and no harshness ever that I have experienced over several years and various system configurations. It uses a single inexpensive tube that can be rolled to tweak the sound to your hearts content. I'd recommmend any mhdt DAC you can land though. They are inexpensive and quite top notch from my experience. I also have a SS Constantine which is also top notch but delivers a more typical SS presentation albeit not harsh at all in a good setup.

If that fails and you can attribute any treble issues to the MLs (I find that hard to accept) then perhaps try a change there, even newer MLs perhaps. Treble in modern MLs I have heard in good working order in a good setup are absolute top notch as one would expect with a good quality ES speaker.

IF a good ML based system causes listening fatigue, that might be an indicator of very sensitive hearing. Best solution might be a speaker that has limited high end extension period. Or maybe some kind of low pass filter in teh circuit somewhere, although most audiophiles would probably scoff at such a thing. Each of us hear differently though so hard to say what works best in each case.

When I was younger and could hear clearly up to 20Khz, my ears were very easily offended, even with good sound reproduction. Not as much anymore at age 50+.

Another thing: do what you can to physically and electronically isolate components from each other. More distance between components and from external devices that emit EM fields usually helps keep noise that may be irritating even at a subconscious level to a minimum. Also power conditioning to help clean the electricity up at the source for any digital source gear and also pre-amp (not power amp) could probably only help. A good power conditioner/supply strip for that application should not cost more than a few hundred max. That could be a good insurance policy at a minimum, depending on how "clean" your wall power is (varies greatly case to case).