Help with choosing “pleasant” speaker at high volume?

[Bearitone]

It seems no matter how I dial my amps they all sound harsh at high volumes. If i roll back the treble and presence enough to be able to bear it, then it sounds dull.

How can I get LOUD without the high end getting harsh, but still retain high end detail and clarity?

I’m thinking it HAS to be the speakers/cab at this point right?

 

[DeathByButterslax]

I’ve always found greenbacks to be pleasant at high volumes

 

[budda]

Earplugs. That or dont go to such a high volume so that you can enjoy the tone you want.

 

[LeftOurEyes]

No speaker recommendation but I feel like standing in front of any speaker at high volumes is almost always harsh. Standing to the side sounds much better at that level. Do your speakers sound harsh everywhere you stand in the room?

 

[Bearitone]

No speaker recommendation but I feel like standing in front of any speaker at high volumes is almost always harsh. Standing to the side sounds much better at that level. Do your speakers sound harsh everywhere you stand in the room?

I’m slightly off axis where I sit/stand in the room, about 10 to 15 degrees. It sounds perfect at bedroom volumes to about “loud-talking” volume and then it just sounds harsh in the highs. Starts to lose clarity.

 

[SalsaWood]

This has to do with the human ear and the nature of sound waves more than any speakers. Low freq high SPL and high freq high SPL may have the same snapshot of amplitude in cross section, but the rate of that energy will be titanically different in magnitude. This is also a gigantic factor of acoustics in regard to absorption and reflection as well, so you're basically never going to get a linear volume knob as a human on this planet without some big time black magic fuckery. This is the same reason you can sit in a school bus full of 15" subs and practically levitate the engine out with bass freqs while your eardrums don't blow, but we're talking the other end of the spectrum here.

 

[Crungy]

Earplugs. That or dont go to such a high volume so that you can enjoy the tone you want.

This by a lot.

Earplugs remove all of the shit noise you don't need to hear. It might not be as bright sounding but it saves your ears and imo sounds far better in rehearsal/live situations. Same for watching bands.

 

[Kosthrash]

You may try some 12" speaker diffusers for spreading evenly the sound of your cab for less harsh tone in high volumes and less dependance of your position re the cab.
Also if you break in your speakers, they'll sound less harsh.

 

[budda]

I’m slightly off axis where I sit/stand in the room, about 10 to 15 degrees. It sounds perfect at bedroom volumes to about “loud-talking” volume and then it just sounds harsh in the highs. Starts to lose clarity.

Ya boi fletcher-munson is in the house.

If it sounds harsh directly in front, it sounds harsh. I think this is where people get confused trying to dial in modellers - there is no “stand to the side and get a completely different sound” lol.

Try way less mids. Also completely and absolutely ignore knob location: dial it in to sound good to you.

Less gain, less treble, less mids, less caring if settings look right and you’ll hopefully be a lot closer. Double if you’re just playing home alone.

Also, try your tone knob assuming there is one.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

If the core tone at moderate volumes is already the way you want, then you might also look at some kind of room treatment. I recently built a handful of sound absorption panels with my dad and they helped a lot to cut out flutter and make my cabinets sound more focused in the room. Even a couple of moving blankets draped over a chair sitting perpendicular to the cabinet will go a long way to block the highest frequencies from bouncing around