[Willie2]

I hesitate to make any comments here as I am a new noobie. When I received my xm5 dac/amp, on some recordings, particularly of some women singers and certain instruments, the effects of sibilance were bad. I tried everything I could think of with no effect. I wrote to the producer of the xm5, Practical Devices, to ask for assistance. They suggested making sure all of the "effects" of WMP i.e. equalizer, "Wow" etc. were turned off. Thirty seconds later, no sibilance! I tried everything that had produce sibilance before and nothing. I want to thank Practical Devices for being so prompt and helpful in solving my problem. I hope this helps some others with this difficulty.

 

[cswann1]

Yes you definitely want to avoid using too much equalization in WMP or Media Monkey or whatever when using headphones.

In my experience faster headphone drivers tend to be less prone to sibilance. My K701's which are relatively bright, rarely show sibilance. My Beyer DT770's OTOH are prone to sibilance.

 

[haloxt]

Learn a language like German to get a better appreciation for sibilance.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I don't think that many recordings are actually sibilant. I think it is usually the gear that is sibilant. I agree that there are some that come closer, but from my experience, truly neutral headphones will take you close, and show you the sharp edge of the note, but rarely pierce your ear drums, or take it so far that you can feel it fill your ears, adn the pain....

 

[Colinzim]

Is there anyway to manage it ?  
I have sibilance harsh on playback of flac 24/192  most/any/all songs thru usb DAC using headphones or speakers.
Tried 2 differant amps cables many many many songs etc - songs play clear as can be but sss - hhh - even ttt's , it's like it's added to the signal somehow.
Please don't say it's in the recording.

 

[OJNeg]

Quote:

Is there anyway to manage it ?  
I have sibilance harsh on playback of flac 24/192  most/any/all songs thru usb DAC using headphones or speakers.
Tried 2 differant amps cables many many many songs etc - songs play clear as can be but sss - hhh - even ttt's , it's like it's added to the signal somehow.
Please don't say it's in the recording.

 
Why not? Sounds like it is.

 

[Vkamicht]

Quote:

you can cut a lot of these by following this guide : http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/how...torial-413900/

This thread was over at this post.

 

[bigshot]

Sibilance is a frequency response imbalance between 5 and 8 kHz. Often the spike can create clipping, distorting it. Balance it out and you get nice smooth treble.

If you have a spike in the treble, odds are your whole response curve needs work.

 

[Colinzim]

Software ?
Hardware ?
Parametric ?
 

 

[bigshot]

EQ should come between your sources and your amp, so the curve is applied to all your sources, not just one. Hardware or software, it makes no difference, but digital EQ is more precise than analogue. Sibilence requires a narrow notch correction. Both parametric and graphic can do this, but the more bands, the more precise your corrections can be. A five band parametric s perfect for carving out an overall response curve, but a 31 band graphic equalizer is better for precisely balancing out multiple narrow bumps and dips.

Does that help?

 

[Colinzim]

Hey Thanks helps for sure.
Would like to try analogue and keep the digital from being reprocessed.
I know good analogue gear is expensive though for sure.
Anything good you can think of in XLR parametric to go between dac and amp ?
 

 

[Colinzim]

or actually a 31 band XLR eq IS even better idea ?
Have it bad on the "ch" "tt" "ss" "cc".
Hi end is a bit bright coming from Calyx DAC but does sound amazing !
HQ Flac>Audivana>Mac>Calyx PS + DAC>temporary amp>speakers and headphones

 

[bigshot]

I use a Rane pro grade dual 31 band equalizer. I think I paid $600 or $700 for it. That's as good of an equalizer as you're going to find. The problem with analogue is though, whether because of weather or whatever, they tend to drift a bit. You might need to adjust it every few weeks. Digital holds rock solid, but it costs more for a standalone hardware equalizer of that quality.

 

[germanium]

Rough silibants is a a sign of loss of low level detail & dynamics. I find that when I improve low level detail & dynamics the the silibants sound more natural & not by a small amount either, less edgy yet with more detail. All my sound cards & CD players that I have modified the power supply the silibants improved dramatically. Sound of cymbals & bells improve as well.There are across the frequency improvements most noticable at the high frequencies. By the way the frequency response still measures the same so it is not a frquency response issue but a transfer function issue that related to power supply impedance which needs to be as low as possible with transistor gear in general at all frequencies.
 
These mods can't do anything if the headphone has a peak in the upper mids in fact these mods may worsen the sibilance due to the improved dynamics, on my speakers though it improves the sound of sibilants as it does on my headphones but more effective on my speakers.

 

[bigshot]

Some PCs must have really crummy sound cards. I don't know what low level detail is, but I'm guessing that means distortion. I'm a Mac guy, and every Apple product I've bought has absolutely perfect sound. Flat response, low noise floor, no distortion.