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Why do Speakers Sound Brighter As Volume Gets Louder?

tlite

tlite

Active Member
Beyond a 'normal' listening level (maybe 75dB?) music start sto sound brighter and harsher with more volume.

Theories so far include:
  1. - The speakers need more power to balance frequency range at higher volumes
  2. - The human ear (or at least my ear) is more sensitive to high frequencies and perceives a lopsided high to low frequency balance even if it's technically still where it was at lower volumes
Any thoughts or ideas as to this?

For reference, I am listening to Triangle BR08's (8 ohms rated, but which can briefly dip to 3 Ohms with lower frequency sounds) powered by a Marantz 2235 receiver.

Thanks!

EDIT 11-15-2021: Corrected Ohm dip to 3 Ohms instead of 2 which I had mistakenly written in the original post.
 
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Get what you are saying but this response to the "response curve".. :naughty: pardon the pun, is mostly to do with the design of the speakers (specifically crossover design). I have found a good equalizer can soften speakers that get brilliant with volume increase.

Try it.. you'll like it :thumbsup:
 
rothwellaudio said:
Loudspeaker distortion increases as the cone excursion increases (ie as it gets louder) and the distortion gives the perception of added brightness.
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Interesting. This could be it. I found I had to dial the treble knob on the Marantz 2235 down to 8 o'clock or so with it that loud. That said, I rarely crank up the volume like that, but the speakers' tone profile really sounds much brighter at high volume. Generally the speakers (to me) are on the warm side of neutral.
 
I am assuming crossover design should prevent this, but I wonder if, because tweeters are often much more efficient than woofers, if there's only so much compensation that can occur, as the watts increase?
 
Sam08861 said:
I am assuming crossover design should prevent this, but I wonder if, because tweeters are often much more efficient than woofers, if there's only so much compensation that can occur, as the watts increase?
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That was a better phrased version of what I was thinking in the original post. If I can get hold of a more powerful amp I’ll A/B.
 
Crossovers are pretty stupid things really. They just divvy up input signal by frequency. The only thing in a crossover that *might* shift response as input level changes is the inductors. If they happen to be really wimpy, give it enough signal and it could saturate the core and significantly reduce inductance. That would tend to shove more midrange out of the woofer than it would get normally.
 
tlite said:
  1. - The human ear (or at least my ear) is more sensitive to high frequencies and perceives a lopsided high to low frequency balance even if it's technically still where it was at lower volumes
Any thoughts or ideas as to this?


Thanks!
Click to expand...


Yeah they do sound brighter as you turn up the volume. And if the power or speakers are "lacking" they will also sound more distorted.

https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/fletcher-munson-curve/
 
nj pheonix said:
I was thinking maybe ears sensitivity to different frequencies and different spls. ( the reason loudness contours were created) .
Perhaps that plays into it as well.
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That's my thought too. I can crank the bass to window shaking volume and not be disturbed, but a loud treble can be painful. Clipping bass is ugly, but clipping treble is painful.
 
I share Scott75's "problem" in that, even with my serious HF loss, too much treble (as opposed to bass) bothers me more. I think others may be right in that crossover, amp, or driver distortion might be the problem.

Wouldn't the Fletcher Munsen curve indicate that bass is actually "louder" to our ears at higher volumes? Unless the bass is more compressed as dBs increase, shouldn't the top-to-bottom balance get more even as the SPL goes up?
 
tlite said:
Beyond a 'normal' listening level (maybe 75dB?) music start sto sound brighter and harsher with more volume.

Theories so far include:
  1. - The speakers need more power to balance frequency range at higher volumes
  2. - The human ear (or at least my ear) is more sensitive to high frequencies and perceives a lopsided high to low frequency balance even if it's technically still where it was at lower volumes
Any thoughts or ideas as to this?

For reference, I am listening to Triangle BR08's (8 ohms rated, but which can briefly dip to 2 Ohms with lower frequency sounds) powered by a Marantz 2235 receiver.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Clipping is my first guess if the speaker is really that reactive. Triangles tend to be a little bright, making the resulting distortions readily apparent. Kind of interesting since the Marantz is pretty rolled off on the top.
 
tlite said:
Beyond a 'normal' listening level (maybe 75dB?) music start sto sound brighter and harsher with more volume.

Theories so far include:
  1. - The speakers need more power to balance frequency range at higher volumes
  2. - The human ear (or at least my ear) is more sensitive to high frequencies and perceives a lopsided high to low frequency balance even if it's technically still where it was at lower volumes
Any thoughts or ideas as to this?

For reference, I am listening to Triangle BR08's (8 ohms rated, but which can briefly dip to 2 Ohms with lower frequency sounds) powered by a Marantz 2235 receiver.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

it's your room, I have no such issues with any of the 5 systems set up here.
 
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