I changed around my gear

[olds1959special]

I changed around my gear in between my two systems. I removed a pair of amps from my main speakers and used them for my bookshelf speakers instead of a class D amp. I needed a pre-amp and found my headphone amp worked as one. See my new signature!

Initially I tested my DAC straight to my power amps but decided I needed a volume control in between for safety, so I am using the tube pre amp.

While I haven't had a chance to test as full volumes yet, it's working fine and I assume 100w / channel is plenty for my Vandersteens and will allow me to turn the pre-amp up a bit if I need to. Also Richard Vandersteen said just in case my amps oscillate it won't damage the speakers because I'm using a single pair of amps instead of two.

With my Elac bookshelf speakers, the Kenwood L-05M's seem to working great, but I had no way to hook up my subwoofer so I took it out. My THX AAA 789 headphone amp is working as a pre-amp, on the low gain setting, with the single ended output.

I feel like the Elacs are sounding better now, (listening at low volumes) and I wonder if the Vandersteens will also be better, since I'm using a more appropriate amount of power for my needs.

Will report back later. Thoughts?

 

[olds1959special]

At low volumes, the Vandersteens sound very good indeed! The tube pre hums a little but you have to put your ear to the speaker to hear it. I could try something else that doesn't use tubes, or even a passive volume control, but for now, this works okay.

 

[solderdude]

I feel like the Elacs are sounding better now,

Thoughts?

Whenever someone 'changes' something in any system they will listen more carefully (to detect differences).
It is the main reason why subjective found differences usually are improvements. That's what the whole hifi branch depends on.

 

[olds1959special]

Whenever someone 'changes' something in any system they will listen more carefully (to detect differences).
It is the main reason why subjective found differences usually are improvements. That's what the whole hifi branch depends on.

True, but if it really sounds better or worse then I should know after a few days. The ‘honeymoon period’ is when I tend to make mistakes like thinking something is better when it’s not.

I think there is some logic to using two instead of four amps for one pair of speakers, if the extra power isn’t needed.

 

[olds1959special]

got my subwoofer working with the second output of my headphone amp (preamp)!

 

[olds1959special]

I made the mistake of testing the speakers too loud, and since I wasn't using the subwoofer at first it seemed less loud and I think I hurt my ears. I was using the balanced inputs too which are hotter, and I turned it up too much (the single ended inputs seem to work better.) My ears are starting to feel better and I'm going to be careful now. At first I thought maybe there was some ultrasonic stuff being amplified because I really didn't notice I played it too loud, but I can't really see where that would be coming from?

Overall I think I like the 'weight' and overall balance of the current setup, vs. the Fosi ZA3 /w SS3602's amp, but it was good before too.

 

[olds1959special]

I went back to the Fosi ZA3 setup and selling the Kenwood amps.

 

[solderdude]

Audio is a biatcth ... right up to the point where testing is done properly.
I found this out about 40 years ago and even to this day I can still 'hear' all kinds of things until I start to test 'properly'.

 

[olds1959special]

Audio is a biatcth ... right up to the point where testing is done properly.
I found this out about 40 years ago and even to this day I can still 'hear' all kinds of things until I start to test 'properly'.

I just use my audiophile meter. I can usually tell if something is better or worse just through listening. Sometimes it can take a few days to determine though. I took a pair of Grado headphones and did a listening test online and found that I scored very well in terms of being able to hearing distortion in the listening samples, so I do trust my ears to some degree. For whatever reason, the Kenwood amps were not as resolving. I couldn't hear as much of a difference between my DAC's using it. I use the ZA3 balanced and it sounds better. It's also got a little less power which is more appropriate for my needs.

 

[olds1959special]

Found this thread of mine again. Nothing has changed, I am modifying my setup on a nearly daily basis, but learning a lot in the process. Today I am rocking 3 subwoofers, one L, one center, and one R. This is in my Hafler Circuit setup with the rear speakers not pictured. I’m assuming this may not be ideal but seems to sound pretty good at the moment.

 

[Doodski]

Found this thread of mine again. Nothing has changed, I am modifying my setup on a nearly daily basis, but learning a lot in the process. Today I am rocking 3 subwoofers, one L, one center, and one R. This is in my Hafler Circuit setup with the rear speakers not pictured. I’m assuming this may not be ideal but seems to sound pretty good at the moment.View attachment 485102

Sigh* I had to chuckle at this image. That is freaking awesome!