Hi All,
Great Forum with so much good information and many many many interesting members !
Some questions and observations.
I'm no audiophile and only recently re-discovering things, so most of what I say is subjective.
Someone was asking about the sub out being active or not with the amp off. I was messing with the speaker connections the other day with the amp turned off and also unplugged at one point. On both occasions the sub activated so the "circuit" is open.
Wasn't sure if I should go with a V3/Topping PA5 II and a pre amp for bluetooth or this, in the end went for this as I wasn't sure I'd be able to hear the difference and keeping things simple/reducing boxes and connections seemed sensible ?
Initially went with banana plugs due to numerous posts about that being the way to go. However, each time I touched or moved the amp you could hear variations in the sound so recently swapped to post mounts on the amp, though have left the speakers on banana's. Sound is much more consistent and with improved clarity - though this possibly just points to the lack of quality with the banana plugs ? Though in my head, connecting a wire straight to something, must be better then connecting it to a plug then plugging the plug into a socket ? Just using cheap 2.5mm cable which only just goes in the post mounts.
Speakers, decided to go away from the recommendations (Dali's/Polk's/Elac's) just to try something different and bought the Jamo S7-17B's... thinking they'd have the size to fill the room (6m high ceiling). They actually seem overly bass orientated - or the amp is ? or my amp is .. Presently have the treble turned up and bass down.
Despite being bass orientated, some tracks still felt like they weren't fully presenting the bass, so added a C912 Sub (it was the same colour...) and spent several days fumbling with cross over and volume. Cross over is now almost down at the base 40 and volume is incredibly sensitive on what feels correct.
Have tried the speakers in various positions from 2m apart to 5m apart and presently at 4m apart with seating about 3.5m away. This gives a great sound stage. I keep moving them closer thinking this must be better, but it just seems to squash everything together to a more focused point.
Toed in about 10 degrees. Tried extreme toe in which gave a wider field but just didn't quite sound right and lost a lot of crispness (sorry, don't know all the correct vocabulary
)
Started on the 32v power supply. Which seemed fine, but upgraded to the 48v as I wanted more depth at lower volumes. In theory, this shouldn't really make any difference except on higher volumes, but to me it sounds like there's much more depth at all volumes - though this could be my subconscious over ruling reality based on desires !
Mainly streaming via bluetooth. It's a great sound. I guess my comparison is a Mission 10.1 setup with technics amp. The Jamo/BT20 sounds much "fuller, warmer,. complete, immersive" - just better ! Surprisingly so as the Mission setup I thought was outstanding until I then compared it back to back. The Mission setup now just sounds empty ?!?
So the main questions. Should I need the treble up so much or is there something quirky ? Have tried the speakers in all sorts of positions and it's the same situation. In the wrong places there's considerably more bass. Even as it is, stand in the wrong place in the house and it feels a bit like someone's put a dustbin over your head. Ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter as I like the sound now. But just concerns me if I consider swapping to a different amp.
Just plugged an old Toshiba DVD player in to run as a CD player, connected via RCA. Playing the same album via youtube/spotify or CD (Fat of the land) on CD it just sounds so much MORE ! Is this the source youtube/spotify ? or the Bluetooth DAC in the BT20 ? I've also tried direct (3.5 to RCA) from the PC (chromebox), which I guess uses the PC's DAC - this really limits the whole sound range and sounds awful.
