Just received a pair of Arx A5s -Kind of disappointed. Did I connect something wrong?

[maestro7879]

System -
Receiver Pioneer VSX-1014tx
HP Desktop - Playing Spotify
HifiMe USB Sabre Dac

Hp Desktop ---> USB DAC ---> RCA Out of DAC ---> input on Pioneer VSX-1014tx ----> Arx A5 with decent interconnects.

I was previously using Paradigm 7se mk3's for about 10yrs before trying the A5's. I've had the A5's on for about 20minutes if that helps, tried many different genres of music.

I find the highs shrill on the A5's and a lack of mids and a major lack of bass.
I'm using the same exact settings that I had with the paradigms.
The setting on the receiver is set to Direct which should remove all EQ, settings, etc.

Help ! I feel like I went backwards in SQ.

[Chane M&C]

We recommend lots of break in, maestro. The woofers have relatively high loss suspensions and a lot of travel so think of them like you would a brand new baseball glove. They need a few practices to start working.

Adjust toe so the speaker are square in the room and not aimed at you, and be prepared to locate the best placement in the room for bass. The P 7se MkIII are warm, have more bass extension (but less power), and use an earlier, fairly nondescript dome treble that can't hit 30kHz like the planar so there are going to be significant differences. Ideal locations for each will differ, so experiment.

But mostly this is break in and subtle adjustments in toe. Use the full 30 day in-home trial.

[maestro7879]

We recommend lots of break in, maestro. The woofers have relatively high loss suspensions and a lot of travel so think of them like you would a brand new baseball glove. They need a few practices to start working.

Adjust toe so the speaker are square in the room and not aimed at you, and be prepared to locate the best placement in the room for bass. The P 7se MkIII are warm, have more bass extension (but less power), and use an earlier, fairly nondescript dome treble that can't hit 30kHz like the planar so there are going to be significant differences. Ideal locations for each will differ, so experiment.

But mostly this is break in and subtle adjustments in toe. Use the full 30 day in-home trial.

This makes sense. I hit them with some very bass heavy songs and I could already tell they have loosened up. Thanks for the quick response, it's going to be a music filled holiday weekend.

[marksman]

+1 suggestions above.

What type of music are you listening too? I have found a few albums I really like that do not play/image well on the A5's, but only 2 or 3 so far (two hip-hop and one modern "classical" reference disc).

Regarding treble - I love planars. Had some early wound-coil and planar tweeters in speakers in the 90's but sadly due to finances went back to low and mid-range speakers with soft domes and horns for most of the last decade. I've had bright Bostons before (back when they had a high-end studio monitor line) and the A5's are much more neutral. Horn tweeters (Klipsch) I find shrill to the point of fatiguing on a lot of material as well. However after listening to electrostats and planar tweeters - most low to mid-range speakers with soft domes sound like someone pulled a sock over my speakers when i listen to bright electric-acoustic with powerful female vocals (e.g.-Sarah K "Hell or High Water", Gillian Welch, early Morcheeba, etc.).

I really like Paradigms too! They were the top of my replacement list this time around, but I rolled the dice on the A5's and once broken in am extremely happy with them. They don't reach as low as many speakers in their price/size range (which are increasingly tuned for bass). I was a little disappointed in pure stereo bass extension but appreciate their speed and precision, especially on fast jazz and electronica. The missing link for me was adding the subs:

I run our A5's full-range with subs tuned with Audyssey XT/32 and SubXT. They blend perfectly. Recommend pairing a fast sub and finding the right crossover (the A5's roll off right under 80hz). As for the high end - we all have different tastes - but the imaging is so "on" in our room my SO thought for weeks I was running the center channel on music because the clarity of vocal and imagine position! (our A5's are 8-10' apart)

Perhaps once they get broken in they will sound more balanced? You might also just need some time to adjust to the clarity difference in the high-end? (we run Spotify @300k through ours as well)

Once broken in hit them with some acoustic music, or something with strings. The documentary "Jiro Loves Sushi" has a wonderful string soundtrack that will really make the A5's shine.

Sit down, close your eyes, and see if you can detect more precision in the imaging than with your older Paradigms. Hopefully they break in and blend well with your setup!

[Chane M&C]

+1 suggestions above.

It's this comprehensive knowledge and a willingness to share that always makes us proud of our customers. Nice comments, guys, and thank you.

I run our A5's full-range with subs tuned with Audyssey XT/32 and SubXT. They blend perfectly. Recommend pairing a fast sub and finding the right crossover (the A5's roll off right under 80hz). As for the high end - we all have different tastes - but the imaging is so "on" in our room my SO thought for weeks I was running the center channel on music because the clarity of vocal and imagine position! (our A5's are 8-10' apart.

80Hz in sealed mode; 40Hz in bass reflex mode. You can make them downright bassy if they're really optimized well in the room. On the other hand, with an available 40Hz bottom end instead of 25 or 30, they can be dried right out if they happen to occupy a spot they don't care as much for. :)

[marksman]

Unfortunately I don't have my A5's in the best position for bass....but it's the only position I have available, so I'm glad they sound fantastic overall. :)

[maestro7879]

I have nothing but good things to say about the A5s now. It did take some breaking in and that was part of the process I didn't anticipate.

They really do shine, I can hear so much more now. I've had a lot of company in the past few weeks and all have commented on how amazing they sound.

I did mess around with placement and that really made the difference. I ended up moving towards the wall and angling them.

Couldn't be happier.

[marksman]

Interesting. I actually moved mine slightly closer to the wall, and toed them in, for what we feel is the best sound in our listening position as well.

Glad to hear your purchase worked out for you. I'd like to see the Arx line become very successful so TIA can continue to design and deliver new high-value speakers for us.