JBL 3 Series distorting

[Scouser]

Just wondered if anyone can help, as mentioned above I have a pair of JBL LSR 3 Series.

There seems to be some distortion, of course the 12 month warranty has just expired ! Just wondered if there is anything I could try, to establish what the problem is, or how I might fix them. I haven't tried anything as yet, as i'm guessing it is a problem with the speakers rather than any connections or sound card etc ?

I wasn't sure if there was any utility out there that might enable me to pinpoint the problem ?

[Drew Stephenson]

Basics first:
Distortion not apparent in headphones?
Both speakers or just one?
Any particular tracks or frequency ranges triggering it or present throughout?
All volume levels or only when played loud?
Do you have a different set of speakers and cables you can try to replicate it?

[Scouser]

Just tested, in headphones also !

I notice it more at low volume than high.

Not sure about freq ?

Don't have any other speakers to test.

I'm using edirol UA25EX, just tried updating driver, told i'm using the latest driver, apparently win 10 updates automatically.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Just tested, in headphones also !

If that's the case then the good news is your (warranty-just-expired) speakers are fine.

The bad news is you have a problem in your interface or DAW...

Check all the simple obvious things first... like making sure you don't have a forgotten plugin lurking in the master bus, or that the source material isn't itself distorted (such as an low bit-rate MP3 file or commercial track with lots of intersample peaks...)

H

[Scouser]

Well I checked those things out Hugh, to be honest I haven't been using the DAW much, it was just listening to apple music as well as music in my library. It is not so apparent in DAW, although I haven't properly tested.

I would just like to make sure I have tried everything before I replace it.

I had a look to check graphic EQ in iTunes, but nothing untoward.

[Hugh Robjohns]

It is not so apparent in DAW, although I haven't properly tested.

I suspect you're hearing the poor quality of MP3s and bad rips with inter-sample peaks.

Try ripping a collection of CDs you know to sound good into the DAW and play from there. If they sound good then it's more than likely an issue with your apple music and iTunes library.

Check what audio codecs are being used, too... Best if you use an ASIO driver, but your default set up in the computer might use something else which doesn't perform as well.

H