Amp with tone controls.

Gonepostal

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2014
186
78
18,670
Visit site
Hi, as the title says I'm looking for an amp with tone controls. Budget upto say £1200, 2nd hand not a problem.

The reason I ask, I currently have a Quad Vena with Neat Motive Sx2. I'd say about 75% of the time I'm happy with the sound but in some recordings it can and does sound a touch bright/thin. I only started to notice this after we replaced our carpet for a wooden floor. Rugs have eased the problem but it still bothers me from time to time.

I'm not sure how to fix this. I did think about new speakers, but the Mrs likes the size of these and large floor standing speakers are a no go. So I'm looking at amps with tone controls. I did like the look of the Marantz pm 8006 but it's too deep, the space I have for the amp us about 36 cm deep.

Any suggestions appreciated, thanks.
 
Hi, as the title says I'm looking for an amp with tone controls. Budget upto say £1200, 2nd hand not a problem.

The reason I ask, I currently have a Quad Vena with Neat Motive Sx2. I'd say about 75% of the time I'm happy with the sound but in some recordings it can and does sound a touch bright/thin. I only started to notice this after we replaced our carpet for a wooden floor. Rugs have eased the problem but it still bothers me from time to time.

I'm not sure how to fix this. I did think about new speakers, but the Mrs likes the size of these and large floor standing speakers are a no go. So I'm looking at amps with tone controls. I did like the look of the Marantz pm 8006 but it's too deep, the space I have for the amp us about 36 cm deep.

Any suggestions appreciated, thanks.
Plenty around with tone controls but your depth criteria is going to cut that list right down.....
How about Creek Evolution 50A?
 

Gonepostal

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2014
186
78
18,670
Visit site
You're right about cutting the list down. Basically, Marantz, Yamaha and Denon are no good for me. I didn't know creek had tone controls. How would you class the Creeks sound. I obviously don't need anything bright.

Approaching this from another angle, has anyone heard the Neat iota alphas, are they any different to what I have ?
 

mikeyc38

Well-known member
Oct 26, 2020
15
7
4,525
Visit site
Hi, as the title says I'm looking for an amp with tone controls. Budget upto say £1200, 2nd hand not a problem.

The reason I ask, I currently have a Quad Vena with Neat Motive Sx2. I'd say about 75% of the time I'm happy with the sound but in some recordings it can and does sound a touch bright/thin. I only started to notice this after we replaced our carpet for a wooden floor. Rugs have eased the problem but it still bothers me from time to time.

I'm not sure how to fix this. I did think about new speakers, but the Mrs likes the size of these and large floor standing speakers are a no go. So I'm looking at amps with tone controls. I did like the look of the Marantz pm 8006 but it's too deep, the space I have for the amp us about 36 cm deep.

Any suggestions appreciated, thanks.
Are you both happy with the wooden floor? They tend to make a room "feel cold". We were tempted to do this in our present house but we had a visit from an interior designer who asked us what we wanted the room to feel like and she recommended we stick with the carpet if we want a "cosy" feeling in the room. She also advised on not having too many different wood colours in the room so I replaced my black standmount tannoys with oak finish Mission 782 floorstanders (these are smaller than the tannoys and stands!). The Missions disappear in the room and are not dominant . Have you tried using a larger rugs, that might dampen down the "liveliness" of the floor? My only other suggestion and it may or may not work in your system is to add a musical fidelity X10-D between your cd and amp. This adds a bit of warmth to the sound in my all Audiolab setup and works great for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gray

Gray

Well-known member
Are you both happy with the wooden floor? They tend to make a room "feel cold". We were tempted to do this in our present house but we had a visit from an interior designer who asked us what we wanted the room to feel like and she recommended we stick with the carpet if we want a "cosy" feeling in the room. She also advised on not having too many different wood colours in the room so I replaced my black standmount tannoys with oak finish Mission 782 floorstanders (these are smaller than the tannoys and stands!). The Missions disappear in the room and are not dominant . Have you tried using a larger rugs, that might dampen down the "liveliness" of the floor? My only other suggestion and it may or may not work in your system is to add a musical fidelity X10-D between your cd and amp. This adds a bit of warmth to the sound in my all Audiolab setup and works great for me.
I often smile when I see a 'showoff your setup' picture.
Very expensive equipment is pictured in the most sparse looking, massive room with acres of hard, bare floor.
(It's so wrong, it hurts me to see it).
 

Gonepostal

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2014
186
78
18,670
Visit site
Ok, so I think I've been approaching this the wrong way. My speakers don't get in with my room, so I'm not going to change my amp, I'm going to change my speakers.

I've managed to convince the Mrs that standmount speakers don't have to sit on 'ugly' stands, I've shown get some pictures of 'Audio Chic' stands. So, I'm after a smoother presentation, what speakers can you recommend to audition, upto £1k max. Second hand isn't a problem. As I've got a Quad amp I'm going to say the S2 as my first port of call. Has anyone heard this speaker before.
Thanks.
 

Gray

Well-known member
Ok, so I think I've been approaching this the wrong way. My speakers don't get in with my room, so I'm not going to change my amp, I'm going to change my speakers.

I've managed to convince the Mrs that standmount speakers don't have to sit on 'ugly' stands, I've shown get some pictures of 'Audio Chic' stands. So, I'm after a smoother presentation, what speakers can you recommend to audition, upto £1k max. Second hand isn't a problem. As I've got a Quad amp I'm going to say the S2 as my first port of call. Has anyone heard this speaker before.
Thanks.
The ability to return whatever you try is going to be important to you.
For a brief period I had Spendor S3/5R speakers.
Nice looking little sealed box design.
Plenty nice about its sound too - I'd describe it as smooth.
The treble was a bit too muted for me though, but it was good enough for at least one best-buy review and might be perfect for you.
Also, its bass would not be overpowering in rooms where too much can cause problems.

I have to be honest though and tell you that I think, as things stand, anything you try will be compromised.
I've made many changes to amps and speakers (and sources) over decades. The best thing I ever did was to make simple changes to the room acoustics. I didn't want to bother - but so glad I did.(Only when the sound became focused did I confirm how diffuse it had previously been).
 
Last edited:

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts