igufi
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- Nov 15, 2018
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tldr; assumed good transient response was out of reach for me but my neighbour proved me wrong. Not sure if I need to upgrade my speakers or get a better amp.
Strong clang of a piano, distinctive snap of a guitar string and the sharp edge of a snare drum - I've heard those in expensive setup at my local hifi shops and shows but never at home. I had given up in the dream of having similar clear and distinct sound in my living room, assuming that they can only be created in ideal environments with acoustic treatments and exotic gear available for unattainable amounts of capital.
But, then I had a chance to listen to my new next door neighbour's system[1], and to my surprise all those features were clearly on display - in a room identical to mine and with no acoustic treatments to speak of. I wanted to understand what contributed to that sound, and my neighbour was kind enough to loan his speakers (Kef R3) to be hooked up to my setup[2]. After getting everything hooked up, I was disappointed to hear the same soft sound as I had with my own speakers. And now I've been trying to hunt down the culprit that is sucking away to the transients from my system.
What I've tried so far:
- replaced pre-amp and amp with a loaned Yamaha integrated (R-N803D)
- used different audio sources (to compare DACs): Yamaha's USB input, OPPO 105D
DACs made no discernible difference but replacing the pre and power amp with the integrated amp brought some of the transient response back to the KEFs but gave no improvement to my own speakers. I still need to try adding my sub back via the Yamaha but after that I'm out of ideas.
Is it possible that the amplifier is not up to the task and the spikes caused by the transients get "rounded up"? I could try and get something like the Audiophonics LPA-S400ET or IOM 500 Stereo to drive the main channels. Otherwise it looks like I have to replace both the amps and the speakers to get the improvements I'm looking for. :-/
[1] Denon X1300W, Kef R3, and SVS or Monolith sub
[2] Linn Klimax DS dac, Linn Akurate Kontrol pre-amp, Linn AV5125 amp, Linn Akurate 242 speakers, Elac 2070 subwoofer
Strong clang of a piano, distinctive snap of a guitar string and the sharp edge of a snare drum - I've heard those in expensive setup at my local hifi shops and shows but never at home. I had given up in the dream of having similar clear and distinct sound in my living room, assuming that they can only be created in ideal environments with acoustic treatments and exotic gear available for unattainable amounts of capital.
But, then I had a chance to listen to my new next door neighbour's system[1], and to my surprise all those features were clearly on display - in a room identical to mine and with no acoustic treatments to speak of. I wanted to understand what contributed to that sound, and my neighbour was kind enough to loan his speakers (Kef R3) to be hooked up to my setup[2]. After getting everything hooked up, I was disappointed to hear the same soft sound as I had with my own speakers. And now I've been trying to hunt down the culprit that is sucking away to the transients from my system.
What I've tried so far:
- replaced pre-amp and amp with a loaned Yamaha integrated (R-N803D)
- used different audio sources (to compare DACs): Yamaha's USB input, OPPO 105D
DACs made no discernible difference but replacing the pre and power amp with the integrated amp brought some of the transient response back to the KEFs but gave no improvement to my own speakers. I still need to try adding my sub back via the Yamaha but after that I'm out of ideas.
Is it possible that the amplifier is not up to the task and the spikes caused by the transients get "rounded up"? I could try and get something like the Audiophonics LPA-S400ET or IOM 500 Stereo to drive the main channels. Otherwise it looks like I have to replace both the amps and the speakers to get the improvements I'm looking for. :-/
[1] Denon X1300W, Kef R3, and SVS or Monolith sub
[2] Linn Klimax DS dac, Linn Akurate Kontrol pre-amp, Linn AV5125 amp, Linn Akurate 242 speakers, Elac 2070 subwoofer
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