Not sure where to ask questions regarding issues with speakers; hope this sub-forum works.
I'm experiencing an issue where a piece of audio sounds distorted through my speakers (Pre-Sonus Eris E3.5), but sounds fine through other sources such as my headphones (DT 770 Pro), car speakers, etc. The distortion is subtle at moderate volumes, but becomes much more pronounced at higher ones. At lower volumes, it seems pretty much absent.
So my main question here is, is the problem with my speakers? Are they faulty/broken? Could the problem possibly be with the audio file itself? Are there any ways to confirm that the issue is indeed with the speakers, and not with the audio?
Regarding the audio file, it was rendered with a master limiter set to 0 dB ceiling. However, the signal was clipping before going into the limiter, and many parts of it were clipping while going through various plugins beforehand. Could this possibly be part of the problem? If the problem is with the audio itself, how come it sounds fine on everything other than these particular speakers? And why does the distortion get worse at higher volumes, while being nearly absent at lower ones?
I have uploaded the 0:04 audio file here, and would appreciate if anyone could take a listen and let me know if they are experiencing any distortion. It happens right after the initial strummed chords, just before the synth stabs come in. And it is much more pronounced at higher volumes on my speakers.
Any help would be much appreciated!
(UPDATE: I have found that the audio actually distorts more at moderately loud levels than at super loud levels. In fact, there's almost no distortion at super loud levels. It's only at a certain loudness range (~moderately loud) that there's distortion.)
Audio sounds distorted on speakers at high volumes, but not on headphones & other sources
-
- addled muppet weed
- 111292 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
does other audio distort the speakers at high volume?
how high?
how high?
-
- addled muppet weed
- 111292 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
they all will if you over cook emchk071 wrote: Mon Sep 25, 2023 7:56 pm Some speakers distort at high volume. Some headphones as well.
some will pop and smoke too.
-
- addled muppet weed
- 111292 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
sometimes a few odd frequencies might not translate well on some speakers.
there's a couple of aphex twin tracks that really mess with my otherwise perfectly clear speakers. unless i turn it down so low i can barely hear it across the room.
there's a couple of aphex twin tracks that really mess with my otherwise perfectly clear speakers. unless i turn it down so low i can barely hear it across the room.
-
- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 27 posts since 28 Nov, 2021
Just tested with a sine wave in my DAW - the audio didn't distort until reaching very high volumes - much louder than it takes for distortion to occur in the audio file in question.vurt wrote: Mon Sep 25, 2023 7:51 pm does other audio distort the speakers at high volume?
how high?
Ah so it might just be the limitation of the speakers themselves rather than them being faulty.chk071 wrote: Mon Sep 25, 2023 7:56 pm Some speakers distort at high volume. Some headphones as well.
Could it be a problem with the audio file though? I'm not sure if I should be trying to adjust my mix / project, or if it's purely a problem with the speakers.
Ohh I see... so it might be beneficial to address this issue in the mix, after all, as to prevent certain speakers from inaccurate translations. Hmm...vurt wrote: Mon Sep 25, 2023 8:01 pm sometimes a few odd frequencies might not translate well on some speakers.
there's a couple of aphex twin tracks that really mess with my otherwise perfectly clear speakers. unless i turn it down so low i can barely hear it across the room.
-
- KVRAF
- 35675 posts since 11 Apr, 2010 from Germany
Googling for distortion issues with these speakers, I don't find anything unusual. But, that might not be a surprise, as there natural aren't really many reports about anything regarding these speakers...
I also wouldn't trust most reviews, as they often don't do such more extreme tests (and they probably also don't want to bad mouth products from companies which feed them).
Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if these speakers distort on higher volumes. They're small, they're low budget...
As vurt suggested, I would try other audio, of course.
I also wouldn't trust most reviews, as they often don't do such more extreme tests (and they probably also don't want to bad mouth products from companies which feed them).
Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if these speakers distort on higher volumes. They're small, they're low budget...
As vurt suggested, I would try other audio, of course.
-
- addled muppet weed
- 111292 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
ah if they're small (thanks chk) they are going to distort if pushed.
-
- KVRAF
- 16818 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
I found no other useful info than 25W, class AB power amp. No idea whether they are made for +4dBV professional or -10dBu consumer level...
What if you put volume of the monitors at max and reduce volume of your interface / DAW? To rule out you're not overdriving its inputs.
What if you put volume of the monitors at max and reduce volume of your interface / DAW? To rule out you're not overdriving its inputs.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. 
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
-
- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 27 posts since 28 Nov, 2021
I tried this and the result seems similar to the normal volume levels (monitors at ~50% and the interface at whatever).BertKoor wrote: Mon Sep 25, 2023 8:50 pm What if you put volume of the monitors at max and reduce volume of your interface / DAW? To rule out you're not overdriving its inputs.
However, I have discovered something very strange! It seems that the audio distorts more at moderately-loud levels, than at super loud levels. In fact, at super loud levels, there's almost no distortion, much like at quieter levels. It's only at a certain range of loudness (~moderately loud) where there is distortion. What could be the reason for this? o.O
-
- KVRAF
- 16818 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_amplifier_classes section AB
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
-
- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 27 posts since 28 Nov, 2021
Apologies for being very inexperienced with the technical side of audio hardware; I went over the article but I'm not sure how it relates to my issue. It seems that class AB power amps are not very power-efficient, which can make them easily begin to distort if they are pushed to their limits? Given that I'm getting distortion at medium volumes rather than at very loud ones, it doesn't seem like the speaker getting pushed too far is the problem? Or maybe I am not understanding something correctly.BertKoor wrote: Mon Sep 25, 2023 9:33 pm See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_amplifier_classes section AB
-
- KVRAF
- 16818 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
No, I'm sorry for only giving a link without further explanation. Had to go to bed...
Class AB means it works like a class A amp at low volume and as class B at high volume. It sounds like you get the distortion while it's at the top volume of it's class A behaviour, and it goes away when you put it louder.
What I suspect is that the amp is driven into mild distortion before it switches from class A to B behaviour. That could be a compromise by design. Perhaps if this distortion had to be avoided, then the output were only 5W instead of 25W.
That's just guessing, but I'm sure that "you get what you pay for". The cheap hifi amp in my living room is 3x the price of these monitors, and my passive budget monitors were twice the price. So in total you have paid one-fifth of what a decent budget setup costs. Then compromises must be made somewhere
Class AB means it works like a class A amp at low volume and as class B at high volume. It sounds like you get the distortion while it's at the top volume of it's class A behaviour, and it goes away when you put it louder.
What I suspect is that the amp is driven into mild distortion before it switches from class A to B behaviour. That could be a compromise by design. Perhaps if this distortion had to be avoided, then the output were only 5W instead of 25W.
That's just guessing, but I'm sure that "you get what you pay for". The cheap hifi amp in my living room is 3x the price of these monitors, and my passive budget monitors were twice the price. So in total you have paid one-fifth of what a decent budget setup costs. Then compromises must be made somewhere
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
-
- KVRAF
- 14166 posts since 20 Nov, 2003 from Lost and Spaced
Are your speaker cones cracked? You should open the covers and check. If they're old sometimes the rubber they use around the cone will just dry out and you get crackle.