Sound Quality

[Solex]

I currently have a Teac agd200 connected to a pair of Wharfedale 9.1 but they sound really dull, the bass sounds heavy, the mids and the high’s sound like someone put a thick curtain over them. Am trying to figure out how to improve it; do I need another amp (integrated?) or/and better sound card or even a dac since the source is from the pc (connected optically). I’ve tried replacing the audio cables with 4mm Van Damme ones, put them on stands and adjusted the speaker placement in respect of the rectangular room space. Also I mainly listen to flac sometimes mp3 and watch an odd movie or two.

So would another amp or dac improve the sound quality of the sound or will I end up needing to ditch the speakers and look for another one like the MA BX2?

Thxs

Solex

[Lowe]

Sounds like the tweeter isn't working. By any chance are your speakers bi-wireable and the joining connection piece between the rear terminals is missing?

[Solex]

The tweeters are working fine, i've tried bi-wiring them, still the same sound but not very clear at the mids and highs.

[kalniel]

Unlikely to be sound card - if you're connecting optically then your amp is largely responsible for the quality. Check you haven't got any odd equalisation modes active on the PC however.

Otherwise I'd suggest it's the amp - some combinations of amp and speakers just match so well, and that looks like it's a pretty budget amp.

[g8ina]

May also depend on placement of the wharfedales, check to see if they prefer close or away from a wall...

[Saracen]

I know it's audio 101, but just checking ... you haven't got the speakers wired out of phase, have you?

[Lowe]

I know it's audio 101, but just checking ... you haven't got the speakers wired out of phase, have you?

That'd leave the low end missing primarily, kinda the opposite of the situation we've got.

[Saracen]

Probably so, yeah, but it's extremely easy to check and correct, if it were so.

[Solex]

May also depend on placement of the wharfedales, check to see if they prefer close or away from a wall...

Putting the speakers near the walls or the corners of the walls didn't work well as it increase the bass even more.

I know it's audio 101, but just checking ... you haven't got the speakers wired out of phase, have you?

I've checked the back of the speakers/receiver if they are connected in the right polarity (red to positive, black to negative). Also tried to connect one of the speakers out of phase, all it did was it made the overall sound quieter (Destructive Interference?).




But the weird thing I found out by forcing DTS rather PCM to the receiver, the speakers comes alive with better tighter bass but ok in the mids/highs; I have to turn the volume up really high to hear the mids/highs but the bass will be soo loud that it drowns the mids/highs out. Also tried connecting the pc to amp via rca connection from the creative xi-fi soundcard, all that did was reduced the volume by half, and when connected through hdmi the sound is the same as connecting through optical.

[Lowe]

Yeah for sure Saracen.

OP - Has the amp got any kind of room EQ or anything added? Have you definitely checked to ensure there's no EQ or DSP being carried out by the source? Have you tried another source via a different kind of input to rule out the PC a being the issue?

[Solex]

Yeah for sure Saracen.

OP - Has the amp got any kind of room EQ or anything added? Have you definitely checked to ensure there's no EQ or DSP being carried out by the source? Have you tried another source via a different kind of input to rule out the PC a being the issue?

The EQ from soundcard and receiver have been already set to flat. I dont think theres any DSP being processed from the source unless i force it the output to DTS, all the audio is being sent through PCM. I've just tried to connect the receiver to a tv via optical and the sound coming from it is ok but the bass is abit heavy.

[Zak33]

What decodes a FLAC file then, if it's an optical output to an amp?

Is it the CPU, or the sound card?

Cos lets face it... something is?

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree.

In which case.. unplug PC.. plug in old fashioned CD player.. and play a CD through a set of old fashioned Phone leads to the amp

If it sounds like heaven... your speakers and amp are all fine!

[Solex]

What decodes a FLAC file then, if it's an optical output to an amp?

Is it the CPU, or the sound card?

Cos lets face it... something is?

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree.

In which case.. unplug PC.. plug in old fashioned CD player.. and play a CD through a set of old fashioned Phone leads to the amp

If it sounds like heaven... your speakers and amp are all fine!

The cpu decodes the flac, dont think the soundcard can do that.

I tried plugging them in a hi-fi cd player, pre-out them through phonos made them sound good in lows but not good resolution in the mids & highs. Since this TEAC AG-D200 only cost me under £100, i guess what you paid is what you get...

Looking at the datasheet of the Receiver the rms output is: 120W/Ch (6 Ω, 1kHz, 1% THD, 1 Channel Driven, IEC). What catched my eye was that they only tested one channel at 1kHz rather than the full range (20Hz-20kHz). So does that mean when i connect 2 speakers will the rms drop dramatically and rapidly fluctuate as it tried to play out the specific frequencies or does that have to do with the Dynamic Power?

[peterb]

No, it means that at !KHz, into a 6 ohm load, the Total Harmonic Distortion was 1%. Not brilliant, but average. You need to do what Zak suggested - connect a CD player (or MP3 player, or any source other than your computer) and see what that sounds like. You need to do some systematic fault finding. We can't second guess the problem!

You've had some suggestions for common errors - they haven't solved the problem. Now you need to start narrowing down the problem area. If you have another digital optical audio source (like a minidisc player for example) test that with the amp.

[Lowe]

Also it's worth remembering AV receivers are generally useless unless spending thousands. The power supplies are never up to the job and introduce all kinds of nasties into the sound with two channels active, let alone 5 or 7. Think about what they have to squeeze into the budget:

ADC's
DAC's (up to 8 channels!)
DSP
5x or 7x power amps
A whopping great PSU.

Now, for something that costs a 100 quid, with all of the above in it... There's going to be a few corners cut. I think you'd do well to look on eBay and find yourself a nice cheap integrated stereo amp, forget about digital connectivity and see how that sounds.

[peterb]

Also it's worth remembering AV receivers are generally useless unless spending thousands. The power supplies are never up to the job and introduce all kinds of nasties into the sound with two channels active, let alone 5 or 7. Think about what they have to squeeze into the budget:

ADC's
DAC's (up to 8 channels!)
DSP
5x or 7x power amps
A whopping great PSU.

Now, for something that costs a 100 quid, with all of the above in it... There's going to be a few corners cut. I think you'd do well to look on eBay and find yourself a nice cheap integrated stereo amp, forget about digital connectivity and see how that sounds.

Yup - and its the PSU that is one of the big problem areas - which is why they quote the spec driving only one channel at a time. Don't expect to drive an inexpensive amplifier at anything near full output and expect to get good sound.

That said, (unless you are driving the amp hard) that is unlikely account for the problems you are reporting - that is just going to take a bit of methodical detective work - we are... er.. all ears!