Can you recommend a good amp/receiver upgrade?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by izgoblin, Jan 15, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Guildx500

    Guildx500 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    The Outlaw greatly exceeded its specs on Atkinson’s test bench. A lot of power given all the other things packed into that chassis.

     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  2. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    I really am kind! It's a 2 hour ride! Lol.

    On a serious note, Izgoblin is a cool guy, and I want to help him sort out his rig if I can. We'll figure it out...
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  3. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    2h ride? Now, I know who's paying for pizza and beer! :cheers:
     
    SirMarc likes this.
  4. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Heh, I already vowed to pay him in music that will sound just as great on his system as they (eventually) will on mine.
     
    Strat-Mangler and SirMarc like this.
  5. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    You'll be serenading him? :D
     
  6. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    Lol. Might be a short visit...:cool:
     
    Strat-Mangler and izgoblin like this.
  7. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Way to make it weird, Strat.

    Rekkids, Man, rekkids!
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  8. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Everybody's good at something. :shh:
     
    izgoblin and SirMarc like this.
  9. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    Where did you see the word "recommend"?

    You know, B&W 800 D3 also rated 8 ohm......Try crank it loud with OP's receiver and see what he gets....
     
  10. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    You're right. It's simply noted as "nominal impedance" on their website.

    Stereophile did measure them as being much more of a 4-ohms speaker.
     
    pdxway likes this.
  11. Gibsonian

    Gibsonian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa, USA
    I missed that then. I thought OP said CD was good originally. Only thing left is speakers, or there are 2 defective receivers.
     
    patient_ot, SirMarc and Strat-Mangler like this.
  12. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    Kind of leaning that way too. Guess we'll find out this weekend...
     
  13. Howlin Fester

    Howlin Fester Active Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC USA
    One thing I would like to suggest is to try another high quality recoded disc through the Oppo. I know we have seen distortion on some of the flute parts from the Steven Wilson remix of Storm watch by Jethro Tull.

    Iz goblin. Do you have anything you can try?
     
  14. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    My money is on speaker issues. Either due to placement, cabinet/floor/wall vibrations, or a defective/broken component in the speaker itself.
     
  15. Gibsonian

    Gibsonian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa, USA
    Yeah, two receivers consecutively bad is low probability.

    Be nice if you could get or borrow another pair of speaks to plug into your system.
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  16. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    I'm bringing a set of bookshelf speakers over when I go there to help him out. This is what I'm leaning towards...
     
    Gibsonian and Strat-Mangler like this.
  17. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Yeah, it sure is sounding like the speakers are the issue now, which means my headphone test was misleading (which worried me since my phones are meant for recording and isolation more than quality playback). Interestingly with the Sansui receiver, it all sounds great (digital and vinyl) as long as I keep the volume down to just above conversational levels. Still the problematic parts I identified on records are there, so that *could* be mistracking, but really, it's almost a nitpick. The improvement is obvious.

    I will certainly test other hi-res digital discs though - I've got a bunch of that. I've just been enjoying listening to Stormwatch a lot lately. :)

    Since we'll be able to swap out equipment this weekend, that will make narrowing this down far easier.
     
  18. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident Thread Starter

    After making several changes and improvements, SirMarc and I were able to easily identify that the problem is with the speaker I am using for the left channel. Funny that just before he arrived, I thought to put on an SACD of Carmina Burana which, as I predicted, sent the speaker into a distorted tizzy when the chorus was loud. Unfortunately my previous headphone test was misleading, because my phones distort at louder volumes. SirMarc brought over a much better pair of Sennheisers and the signal was clear on both digital and vinyl.

    That said, he also helped me improve a poor speaker connection and placement. In a weird phenomenon that I still barely understand, adding back the subwoofer made the phono signal sound significantly less flat. And I don't just mean in the bottom end, but adding the sub brought back the highs as well. I listened quite a bit last night and feel confident that once I get the speaker driver replaced (which KEF will do under warranty), I'll be done with my problems. I was really enjoying the sound again though I had to listen past the occasional distortion.

    I will say though that as SirMarc heard, the Q900s break up something fierce when you pump decent bass through them at reasonably loud volumes. I'm more than a little surprised that's the case, and a little disappointed as the bass sounds SO DAMN GOOD through those things until you hit a certain threshold. Given that this happens on both of the speakers and not just the one that is damaged/defective, I can only assume that this is a limitation of the Q900s. But then again, I'd have expected to see that pointed out in reviews.

    Ah well. Once I get the replacement, hopefully you guys won't hear another complaint outta me any time soon. I sure can't afford any more upgrades until 2022!
     
  19. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    Good to know it is the speaker.

    I once had distortion issue with one speaker and found that the speaker wire was touching one of my woofers. Once I sorted that out, issue was gone.

    BTW, all the screws on the drivers are tight, am I correct?
     
  20. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    SirMarc and I? :cool:
     
    Strat-Mangler and izgoblin like this.
  21. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    @izgoblin , glad you got things sorted out. Most speakers have a threshold where they will distort. And since most of us don't have fully treated, floor to ceiling listening rooms or anechoic chambers to play our music in the interaction from the room may cause you to hit that distortion point a bit sooner than the speaker's factory spec. My guess is you can get things at a manageable level with some tweaks, especially for digital playback where you can easily use EQ/DSP or whatever. I hope KEF fixes your driver soon as well.
     
    izgoblin likes this.
  22. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I'm sure it isn't rocket science, but with my luck - and periodic stupidity - the last thing I should be doing is opening up my speaker cabinet. :)
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  23. izgoblin

    izgoblin Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Alright, alright, he did all the work and I put on the headphones. Still a combined effort, heh.
     
    Strat-Mangler and SirMarc like this.
  24. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    All kidding aside, we got it sounding pretty damn good. Something tells me there's gonna be a phono stage upgrade in his future though....
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  25. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    And hopefully another set of speaker cables
     
    izgoblin and Strat-Mangler like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine