Bad Synergy Experiences

every have great component on paper and visually, but they just don't seem to work with the rest of your system?

 

Yeah, there was this girl in college...

 

This wasn’t a component problem so much. I was using a receiver for a preamp. It just never sounded good to me. Switching over to a dedicated preamp made a vast sound improvement.

 

I've had this happen many times in my system over the years where I have been led to believe that I was purchasing a component that would represent a genuine upgrade over what I was currently using. But when I installed the new component in my system, it actually made my system sound worse than it did before.

This experience has led to the creation of a personal rule of never selling a component that I'm happy with before I am certain that I like the sound of its replacement better than the original unit.

 

Try before you buy always worked for me.
Much harder to do now that internet sales are the norm.

 

I believe I am experiencing exactly what your describing. I enjoyed my Yamaha cr1020 with my ads speakers, decided to spending a thousand more to get this Marantz 1200b, but at this point I am less happy with the sound, instead of getting more of what I liked about the sound, I got much less of what I like AND paid a bunch of money to get it.

 

Spending more $$$ on components doesn't necessitate better sound...I have discovered this the expensive way.
Certain components just simply don't work well with other components.

 

yup, this is just the first time ive experienced that myself. interesting how its a real art to put together a set up that has synergy and gels with what you would consider your preferred sound

 

Exactly. Higher price does not always equate to better sound. And some combinations of otherwise excellent components simply do not sound all that good together.

Truly great sound is largely dependent upon system synergies in my experience.

 

You have to know what your own preferences are first. And you have to discount reviewer preferences which diverge from your own. For example: Many reviewers are into the most transparent sound. But more transparent sound means that you actually hear both upstream flaws, and flaws in recordings better as well. And this can mean that you need to upgrade your source to bring it up to snuff. And it also can mean that many recording that you previously loved may now sound bad because your system now mercilessly reveals all of their flaws.

And if more "musical" is better in your mind, then you need to be prepared to reject many reviewers reviews, because very few reviewers prefer musicality over transparency.

 

I think im a transparent listener, idk if that means the same as neutral or not. just clear without being bright but also highs being tamed. ADS speakers are my sound, just gonna go back to a Yamaha integrated because this Marantz is NOT the one for me.

 

To be transparent a system must first be neutral in overall balance. But true transparency also includes the ability to hear details which are masked by lesser gear, even if the lesser gear is also neutral in balance.

Transparency is a double edged sword. It makes great recordings sound amazing. But too much of it will often make poor or mediocre recording sound unlistenable.

 

That's why I like musical transparency. Best of both worlds.

I describe transparency as being able to hear through the gear. Transparent transparency would be when the piece of gear disappears. Musical transparency is when the gear ads some of its flavor or coloration while still allowing you to hear through it. Transparency is sort of like veils being removed, to use a different audiophile analogy.

Transparency like that is a double edged sword. You end up hearing more of the source gear and source recording. Which ends up making synergy with all of the components in the chain all that more important. As an example, an amp or pre-amp with lesser transparency can hide the faults and tonality of a DAC. A more transparent amp or pre-amp will reveal those faults in the DAC. On the plus side that transparency will also let you better hear the good things the DAC can do, especially in imaging and layering. It's the transparency of my headphone gear that allows me to hear a difference between CD and high-res. When I switch to a lesser amp with poor transparency while using the same DAC and headphones my ability to hear a difference between CD and high-res largely goes away.

Generally it is more expensive to get more transparency. As you spend more to get better transparency the sonic synergy with all your other components becomes more important. Which can lead to needing to upgrade the DAC or other component. My headphone system required some careful attention to synergy to get the system to sound right. I made a few mistakes along the way thinking a DAC or headphone or amp would be an improvement when it ended up making things worse.

 

New stuff in vintage systems has it‘s problems. Vintage in New doesn’t have that.
Often it’s not just synergies but input voltages, in- and output resistances and so on.
An amp/speaker combination might be critical ... or a match in heaven.
Your room plays the biggest role - some speakers will excite room resonances more than others.

all these things you don’t know when you are in the shop ... can only go wrong

 

Well said. I share this philosophy.

 

Excellent advice.

 

Another thought: You have built yourself a system with (hopefully) matching cables, which sounds harmonic.
Now you just change one component ... can it be that the cables do not fit as well?

i know that from getting my Tannoy and just connecting them. Good ... but not as good as I thought.
They needed (always testing with a friend) a totally different speaker cable - funnily my oldest good
speaker cable (Groneberg Quattro Reference from the 90s) to really sing. So my ‘best’ speaker cable is
now jobless as it’s also not the best for my 2nd system.

With other speakers or in a friends’ system the Groneberg sounded a bit veiled, now it’s just great. Weird.