FM3 muffled sound

W

Willbnd

Member
Hey,

Just started using the FM3 and just ran into a little issue. Typically I play with the FM3 plugged straight into my studio monitors via XLR cables. The sound is great with my studio headphones but the sound coming out of my studio monitors is very muffled. I can barely hear the difference in the sweep of the tone pot because the sound is so dark (and I play a tele…).

I am sure that it’s not an EQ/taste problem because the sound I hear in my headphones is exactly what I heard from YouTube demos and I love that Fractal sound! After doing some research it seems like some people finding the FM3 too dark got improvement by setting the output to +4 db and I havent tried it yet but in my case I play a fairly standard guitar (single coil tele) so I don’t see why the factory setup of the fm3 would need tweaking to accommodate that guitar.


Edit: just found in the settings how to set it to +4dB but unfortunately can’t try it because my family is sleeping since I’m in Europe so I’ll report back tomorrow.

Thank you for your help
 
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Just tried the +4db and it does help but doesn’t solve the problem 100%. I can now hear a difference while making changes on the tone pot
 
That's odd. A volume change shouldn't have anything to do with a muffled sound or not. Which output(s) are you using to connect to the speakers?

Have you tried:
  • Different cables from your FM3 to your speakers
  • Another sound source into those speakers using the SAME cables
  • Another sound source into those speakers using DIFFERENT cables

If other sound sources sound great through the speakers, you probably have an EQ somewhere or maybe some other settings that's "darkening" your tone; I have no issue whatsoever getting lots of sparkle and sizzle from any of my presets, regardless of playback system.

The fact that you're hearing what you want to hear through headphones but not through your speakers leads me to think the issue is a setting related to that specific output OR something wrong with the cables or speakers themselves (do they have some sort of EQ?).
 
Ugly Bunny said:
That's odd. A volume change shouldn't have anything to do with a muffled sound or not. Which output(s) are you using to connect to the speakers?

Have you tried:
  • Different cables from your FM3 to your speakers
  • Another sound source into those speakers using the SAME cables
  • Another sound source into those speakers using DIFFERENT cables

If other sound sources sound great through the speakers, you probably have an EQ somewhere or maybe some other settings that's "darkening" your tone; I have no issue whatsoever getting lots of sparkle and sizzle from any of my presets, regardless of playback system.

The fact that you're hearing what you want to hear through headphones but not through your speakers leads me to think the issue is a setting related to that specific output OR something wrong with the cables or speakers themselves (do they have some sort of EQ?).
Click to expand...

I forgot to add that I’m only using factory presets coming with Cygnus 4.0 so I know the Presets sound great and not overly dark. I use mostly blackface amps with single-coils and the glassiness is totally there with headphones but absent with speakers.

I’m using output 1 (main) L and R XLR to my JBL 305 mkII that are also connected via XLR. I think that’s the most basic setup.

  • I don’t have any other cables XLR male to female cables to try unfortunately. Might have to get some to see if that’s the problem but they were not cheap and had great reviews
  • No other sound sources coming into those speakers
  • Speakers are only connected via XLR to the FM3
The JBL monitors have Input Sensitivity, Boundary EQ, HF Trim and Volume. I’m using the factory setup so Input Sensitivity is -10dBv, Boundary EQ is 0db, HF Trim is 0 and Volume is on 10.


I forgot to add that I’m only using factory presets coming with Cygnus 4.0 so I know the Presets sound great and not overly dark. I use mostly blacface amps that are known to be glassy easpecially with single-coils and the glassiness is totally there with headphones but absent with speakers.
 
Thanks for the info. I would try using Output 2 (1/4" cables) and connecting those to the JBLs. You may need to go into the FM3's settings and copy Output 1 to 2. Disconnect the XLRs entirely for now.

Did you check the global EQs?
 
Thanks for your help! Just tried your setup and the sound is the same to my ears as the XLRs. The global EQ is set to 0 all the way.
 
How loud do you listen in your headphones compared to the monitors? It's quite easy to have headphone volume quite loud without realizing it.
 
jakel said:
How loud do you listen in your headphones compared to the monitors? It's quite easy to have headphone volume quite loud without realizing it.
Click to expand...
I see what you mean. Maybe louder in comparison but even when I raise the volume of the monitor and fm3 to the max it’s still not normal sounding. I had a little champ tube amp that I played super quiet and it still sounded glassy like a blackface amp. My ear drums have been burst on three occasions so I’m also very careful with headphone volume. My ears get sore really quick.
 
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Have you tried building your own preset from scratch? Not sure how much the the new modeling is affecting the old presets, I think I’d try to build a quick amp and cab preset as a sanity check.
 
Similar journey for me... I played exclusively with headphones for many months and was happy with the tones. I then got the 6" MkII JBLs and found them very "bassy" and came across as muffled, to me.

Global EQ helped to compensate but it never felt quite "there" so I looked into new monitors...

Ultimately, I ended up getting some Adam A7X's and it's night and day. They aren't cheap and there a million other options (and threads on the topic!) but I gotta say, being new to modeling a year ago, the biggest positive impacts along the way have been - monitors I like, IR selection and a proper guitar setup.
 
lair said:
Similar journey for me... I played exclusively with headphones for many months and was happy with the tones. I then got the 6" MkII JBLs and found them very "bassy" and came across as muffled, to me.

Global EQ helped to compensate but it never felt quite "there" so I looked into new monitors...

Ultimately, I ended up getting some Adam A7X's and it's night and day. They aren't cheap and there a million other options (and threads on the topic!) but I gotta say, being new to modeling a year ago, the biggest positive impacts along the way have been - monitors I like, IR selection and a proper guitar setup.
Click to expand...
Really appreciate all those inputs.

If it comes from the JBL then they really suck because even my tele that’s a twang machine sounds dull to me. It’s really not subtle. I can barely hear any difference from the tone on 0 to all the way up.
 
badmagick said:
Have you tried building your own preset from scratch? Not sure how much the the new modeling is affecting the old presets, I think I’d try to build a quick amp and cab preset as a sanity check.
Click to expand...
I’m forced to stay at a relative for a couple of days but I’ll try as soon as get there in 2-3 days.

I’m curious as to why the +4dB seems to help though. I feel like it solves half the problem If I had to quantify it. I know that we’re supposed to hear more high end as the volume increases but when I set it to +4dB I adjust the volume knob down to make up for that to some degree but there is still more high end. Maybe I didn’t do a proper test by setting the volume roughly similar but it was an impression.
 
Willbnd said:
Just tried your setup and the sound is the same to my ears as the XLRs.
Click to expand...
Okay; have you tried another audio source, like an iPhone or computer audio or something? Again, if the sound from the headphones sounds good, but BOTH outputs from the FM3 into the JBLs sounds muffled/dull, I'm beginning to suspect the JBLs. I would test that new audio source with headphones and then through the JBLs.

I would run through all your global settings with a fine-toothed comb to see if there's anything going on that might affect the tone being sent out of the outputs.
 
Ugly Bunny said:
Okay; have you tried another audio source, like an iPhone or computer audio or something? Again, if the sound from the headphones sounds good, but BOTH outputs from the FM3 into the JBLs sounds muffled/dull, I'm beginning to suspect the JBLs. I would test that new audio source with headphones and then through the JBLs.

I would run through all your global settings with a fine-toothed comb to see if there's anything going on that might affect the tone being sent out of the outputs.
Click to expand...
Very good idea I’ll do that. I’ll have to use the FM3 as au audio interface connected to my computer, is that it? Sorry but I’m a real beginner at this stuff
 
Willbnd said:
Very good idea I’ll do that. I’ll have to use the FM3 as au audio interface connected to my computer, is that it? Sorry but I’m a real beginner at this stuff
Click to expand...
No, you want to take the FM3 out of the equation entirely. You're trying to isolate the issue; cables? JBLs? FM3 settings?

Do you have any other product that can be connected to your JBLs and headphones?
 
Ugly Bunny said:
No, you want to take the FM3 out of the equation entirely. You're trying to isolate the issue; cables? JBLs? FM3 settings?

Do you have any other product that can be connected to your JBLs and headphones?
Click to expand...
Ok that’s even better for me I have a Focusrite Solo 3rd gen. There‘s a headphone output so that should do it I think.
 
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