my klipsch speakers are annoying

[mr flapper]

Three and a half months ago I bought a pair of SB 3's. I liked the way they sounded in the shop. Then I got them home. And guess what.

I bought a Harmon Karmon receiver and cd player. Well now, in order not to feel as if i'm listening to the sound of splintering glass I have to turn the treble on the amp down to almost nothing. The Klipsch, due to their horns it seems, are so out of balance in the top end that when someone speaks or sings an s sound, the speakers pick up every bit of sibilance and blast it through the bass. The same thing happens when there is the tiniest bit of cow bell on the drums.

For the price I paid the SB 3's are very disappointing. I didn't want anything more than a nice sounding speaker. I feel like an idiot and probably am for believing what I heard in the shop.

The speakers are fatiguing to listen to and are very very annoying in their tinniness. I understand this is a common problem with the Klipsch, so I am wondering whether there is anything I can do about it? Apart from selling them that is.

[djk]

The problem is crummy elecronics and bad recordings.Actually it is just crummy electronics because the bad recordings are made with crummy electronics.Virtually all top 40 program material and mass market electronics are going to suffer from this to a large degree.Good sounding recordings and electronics are often found under obscure names.

[T2K]

mrflapper,IMOP-bad combo of AVR and speakers.

Do you have a friend or dealer that has Denon

that you could borrow? Or maybe take your speakers to a local dealer that sells both and give them a try.Just an idea.

Keith

[rhawki]

I semi agree with the above. When i got my Denon 4800, it was ear piercing, no bass, painfull to listen to my KLF-30's, but Onkyo and Yamaha sounded fantastic on them! I returned the Denon and got a Yamaha and now my KLF's sound clear and warm, and i could listen all day.

My point is try another receiver before blaming the speakers. Also try different speaker cable - my parents have an HK that sounds pretty darn good for the price, but then again, the Denon should have sounded great on my KLF's...

What kinda speaker wire and hardware did the audio shop have driving the SB's?

-Rich

[forresthump]

NOT to restart the great speaker wire debate again but unless you're using 100 guage wire purchased from 7-11 for a 50 yard run, wire's not going to make that drastic a dif.

rich makes a great point on the receiver though - just wanted to say the 2 have no where near an equal importance imho.

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go forth & hump the world

[Guest BobG]

Mr. Flapper, while the suggestions above are possible, I doubt any relate to your problem. For your sound to be as bad as you say (is it really really bad?) there is more going on than choice of amp, wire, recording. Also, you should trust your hearing more than you do. If the speakers were that bad, you would not have liked them in the store, would you?

Here is what I think. You either have a defective woofer (but that still wouldn't do it cause then you'd only be missing half the bass -3 dB which would not be as bad as you describe) or, you have the speakers wired out of phase in which case you are missing almost all the bass and the resulting sound is just as you describe.

I apologize in advance if I am assuming you do not know about phasing (others here will tell you I'm a jerk) but here goes: Try reversing the wire runnning to ONE of the two speakers (do this with the amp OFF). At one end only, change the wire going to ONE speaker + for -. That is, put the wire going into the red binding post into the black and the one going into the black into the red instead. If the speakers were wired wrong in the first place, you will suddenly have bass.

Let me know the outcome so we can get you going.

[dougdrake]

Mr Flapper - I agree with Bob G. Trust your ears. If they sounded good to you in the store, what equipment were they using? And, as Bob also advises, check the phasing of the speakers.

We tend to think that speakers and electronics are totally unrelated items. Yet, they are very dependent on each other. There is another thread on this board that talks about the idea of a speaker with built-in electronics, that would allow the designers to control the total package.

What people call "tinniness" and the "horn effect" of Klipsch speakers is actually accurate reproduction. Because they are so sensitive (lots of volume with low power into them), they reproduce everything. As you have probably seen, many concert sound systems use horns. Klipsch's goal, I believe, is to recreate the "live music" experience as much as possible. OTOH, not everyone likes that sound.

[huub Hierck]

I presume that you have bought the same combination that you tested in the shop before you bought the speakers and the amp.

I had once the same experience with my amp/speaker combination. There was a total loss of bass. In my case the problem was solved by changing to another amplifier.

I suggest that you try another amplifier/receiver with the SB-3 speakers.

Try Yamaha or Denon they as you may notice have a lot of followers on this BB.

My set consist of a Yamaha DSP-A1 and the reference serie speakers. And it is still party time for me when I turn on my set either for movie or for music.

[Lone Palm]

Mr. Flapper, After spending more than two decades with and around Klipsch speakers I can only add that if you don't like what comes out of Klipsch speakers then you wouldn't like what goes in. The sound is not changed or colored at all. Try experimenting with speaker placement and room acoustics and see if you don't grow to love your new tresures.

[baghead]

Along with all the other excellent suggestions, you also need to consider speaker angle and position. Are they pointed directly at your ears and far from the wall?

Additionally, is your room much bigger than the audition room??

Obviously, neither of these alone will create the problem you are describing, but it may be a contributing factor.

[soundog]

Room accoustics as well as electronics and speaker positioning can make a significant difference in how a speaker sounds. Of course, correct phasing is essential.