Douk A5 to replace my old Marantz?

[axellieb]

My current setup is: Wiim Pro streamer => SMSL SU-1 DAC => Marantz PM-68 => Sonus Faber Concertinos + REL Strata III subwoofer. The Marantz and Concertinos were bought in 2000, and the REL probably in 2003. Since moving to a new home last year, with a larger living room, thick walls and distance from neighbors, I've been playing louder than I used. The Marantz seems unable to handle this, it cuts out at higher volumes, especially when percussion is strong. I've had it serviced by Marantz. Nothing wrong with the amp, according to them.

So I'm looking at replacing the Marantz with a Douk Audio A5. This amp has an adjustable highpass filter and seems to have enough power to handle the Concertinos.

Can anyone think of any objections to this plan?

And do I understand this correctly? In order to utilize the Douk's highpass filter, I will need to go from the current high-level wiring (Neutrix plug into the sub, bare wires into the speaker terminals on the amp) to a low level connection (from the 3.5mm pre-out on the Douk to the RCA low-level input on the sub)?

 

[staticV3]

So I'm looking at replacing the Marantz with a Douk Audio A5. This amp has an adjustable highpass filter and seems to have enough power to handle the Concertinos.

Can anyone think of any objections to this plan?

Subwoofer integration will be tricky with just two separate analog pass filters of unknown slope and a single 0°/180° phase switch.

Plus, the Marantz is rated for way more power than what the Douk A5 can muster:

 

[axellieb]

Subwoofer integration will be tricky with just two separate analog pass filters of unknown slope and a single 0°/180° phase switch.

Plus, the Marantz is rated for way more power than what the Douk A5 can muster:
View attachment 447042 View attachment 447044

Thank you for your input. Wow, I completely goofed on the power aspect. For some reason I thought the Douk had way more than the Marantz. Thank you for pointing this out. Is it possible that the Marantz has somewhat fatigued with age?

Regarding subwoofer integration - well, at least there *is* a filter. It may take quite a while to dial things in but at this price level, I guess that's acceptable. Relieving the Concertinos of the low end should make it less likely that the amp cuts out. Is this correct? Sorry, I'm not well versed in these things...

 

[staticV3]

Is it possible that the Marantz has somewhat fatigued with age?

I honestly don't know

Relieving the Concertinos of the low end should make it less likely that the amp cuts out. Is this correct?

Yes.

 

[axellieb]

Yes.

I guess my alternative would be either a pre-amp with dedicated subwoofer port or something like a miniDSP? Any suggestion for the most budget-friendly solution?

 

[ehabheikal]

wiim ultra handles subwoofer9

 

[staticV3]

I guess my alternative would be either a pre-amp with dedicated subwoofer port or something like a miniDSP? Any suggestion for the most budget-friendly solution?

Personally, I'd sell the WiiM Pro, SU-1, and PM-68 and buy a WiiM Amp or Amp Pro.

Check out the Linkplay store on eBay for refurbished WiiMs: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?item=126298782521&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211&_ssn=linkplay

 

[Chrispy]

Subwoofer integration will be tricky with just two separate analog pass filters of unknown slope and a single 0°/180° phase switch.

Plus, the Marantz is rated for way more power than what the Douk A5 can muster:
View attachment 447042 View attachment 447044

Did he use the supplied power supply (32V/5A) or ?

 

[Chrispy]

My current setup is: Wiim Pro streamer => SMSL SU-1 DAC => Marantz PM-68 => Sonus Faber Concertinos + REL Strata III subwoofer. The Marantz and Concertinos were bought in 2000, and the REL probably in 2003. Since moving to a new home last year, with a larger living room, thick walls and distance from neighbors, I've been playing louder than I used. The Marantz seems unable to handle this, it cuts out at higher volumes, especially when percussion is strong. I've had it serviced by Marantz. Nothing wrong with the amp, according to them.

So I'm looking at replacing the Marantz with a Douk Audio A5. This amp has an adjustable highpass filter and seems to have enough power to handle the Concertinos.

Can anyone think of any objections to this plan?

And do I understand this correctly? In order to utilize the Douk's highpass filter, I will need to go from the current high-level wiring (Neutrix plug into the sub, bare wires into the speaker terminals on the amp) to a low level connection (from the 3.5mm pre-out on the Douk to the RCA low-level input on the sub)?

Curious, what is the setup for gain on the dac to integrated amp? How high is the volume dial set on the Marantz when it goes out, and/or spl levels at what distance? Personally I'd just prefer better bass management, and perhaps some room help with dsp, than the Douk supplies. The small speakers aren't possibly up to the job overall, tho.

 

[axellieb]

Did he use the supplied power supply (32V/5A) or ?

Curious, what is the setup for gain on the dac to integrated amp? How high is the volume dial set on the Marantz when it goes out, and/or spl levels at what distance? Personally I'd just prefer better bass management, and perhaps some room help with dsp, than the Douk supplies. The small speakers aren't possibly up to the job overall, tho.

I'm having a lot of trouble understanding your comments!

Who is "he" and what power supply are you referring to? The Marantz power supply is built in, obviously.

Volume on the Marantz is set to around 11 o' clock, the Wiim volume control is usually around 80%. I've set the combination so that with the Wiim at 100%, it's just below where it most commonly cuts out. This puts me just below the volume levels I'd like to ideally be able to get to. So it's not a huge step up I need. (Does this answer your question? I'm not sure I understand it correctly.)

What do you mean by better bass management? How would I achieve this?

And what do you mean the small speakers aren't up to the job? They sound good to me as far as the amp is able to drive them.

 

[Chrispy]

I'm having a lot of trouble understanding your comments!

Who is "he" and what power supply are you referring to? The Marantz power supply is built in, obviously.

Volume on the Marantz is set to around 11 o' clock, the Wiim volume control is usually around 80%. I've set the combination so that with the Wiim at 100%, it's just below where it most commonly cuts out. This puts me just below the volume levels I'd like to ideally be able to get to. So it's not a huge step up I need. (Does this answer your question? I'm not sure I understand it correctly.)

What do you mean by better bass management? How would I achieve this?

And what do you mean the small speakers aren't up to the job? They sound good to me as far as the amp is able to drive them.

I was referring to the review results StaticV3 quoted from Amir's test here on ASR of the Douk, where Amir is the "he".

Yes, that was the information I wanted, essentially your gain structure. You generally do only control volume with the Marantz I assume once set on the Wiim? Any idea of your actual spl needs? How far from speakers are you?

Bass management in the terms of at least a crossover set in the pre-amp stage, plus eq as is usually needed. A lot of 2ch gear lacks a lot of help in this regard, tho.

They're small speakers, in a bigger space they become less effective....not sure what your room dims have been/are now or your listening position distance, etc....

 

[axellieb]

I was referring to the review results StaticV3 quoted from Amir's test here on ASR of the Douk, where Amir is the "he".

Yes, that was the information I wanted, essentially your gain structure. You generally do only control volume with the Marantz I assume once set on the Wiim? Any idea of your actual spl needs? How far from speakers are you?

Bass management in the terms of at least a crossover set in the pre-amp stage, plus eq as is usually needed. A lot of 2ch gear lacks a lot of help in this regard, tho.

They're small speakers, in a bigger space they become less effective....not sure what your room dims have been/are now or your listening position distance, etc....

OK, got you.

I seem to recall that Amir used the default PSU, so 32V/5A. So, good point.

No, I control volume via the Wiim app (or Lyrion Music Server).

My space is an open plan combination of living room and kitchen/dining "behind" it (from an audio perspective). The living room section is not that big, ~27sqm. 6m wide, 4.5m deep. The dining/kitchen area behind it is maybe 40sqm. I normally sit at just over 2m distance from the speakers. So most of the space is behind me.

I'm not looking to add DSP at this moment, though long-term I'll def go that route. Just don't have the time and headspace right now.

Might a passive filter like a Harrison Labs FMOD do the trick for now?

 

[Chrispy]

I'd leave the volume control to the integrated amp, while I understand the desire to use the remote, not ideal.

Never used an fmod, even in my car. I'd rather have better/more suited gear. Most 2ch gear lacks such. I mostly use avrs for eq/bass management advantages (as well as multich, which I prefer). There are other solutions thru someone like miniDSP.

2m is fairly close and shouldn't generally be a problem altho the larger room likely provides less room gain too but could simply be your setup and sub incorporation to an extent. Might be more a matter of taste, but I simply find larger speakers work better in larger rooms.

 

[axellieb]

OK, thanks. Bigger speakers are on the future menu, along with a miniDSP and Dirac. I might try the fmod route for now, given how cheap it is. If it works for me, great. If not, not much lost.

 

[Chrispy]

OK, thanks. Bigger speakers are on the future menu, along with a miniDSP and Dirac. I might try the fmod route for now, given how cheap it is. If it works for me, great. If not, not much lost.

Personally I'd work on the speakers first.

 

[axellieb]

I'm not ready to look at new speakers - yet. The expense seems unnecessary for now, given that I'm totally satisfied with the sound of the Concertinos. Especially in conjunction with the Strata III.

Is there any risk that the clipping might at some point damage the Concertinos?

​

 

[Chrispy]

You're planning on driving them to clipping regularly or something?

 

[axellieb]

You're planning on driving them to clipping regularly or something?

Lol, not planning but it's happened a few times. I'll take that as a yes.

 

[Chrispy]

Lol, not planning but it's happened a few times. I'll take that as a yes.

I try and set my volume control limits so I can't do that.

 

[axellieb]

I try and set my volume control limits so I can't do that.

Well, sure but the problem is that different tracks/abums are produced with different levels of loudness. So I never know where exactly the amp will clip out.

By the way, something I'm wondering about: if I lower the bass control on the amp, this can help with the clipping. Would raising the volume control on the subwoofer compensate for the tonal change caused by adjusting the bass control on the amp? So far, I've used the Source Direct mode of the amp because that allegedly produces the highest fidelity. How much degradation in tonal quality would not using Source Direct and adjusting the amp and subwoofer result in? If the sub/amp settings are optimized, is that even something a moderately trained listener could detect? My ears aren't the most trained or sensitive so I'm not sure how much quality I'd lose with this approach.