Monitor Audio GX50 shouty?

[minio]

Hello I'm new to the forum. I :help: was going to give some observations about my system and system matching but they keep getting marked as spamm.

 

[bigboss]

What exactly are you trying to post? Any links? Or pictures? Or just text?

The only posts I can find of yours, are on this thread:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/replacement-for-a-dear-old-amp#comment-2884101

 

[adamrobertshaw]

If you're asking whether the GX50 are shouty and / or require careful system matching ...

I demoed them with Roksan Caspian CD and amp, so probably £3k of gear. They sounded controlled and punchy and based on my ears and the What Hi Fi review, I got a pair in Walnut.

At home they were originally paired with an Audiolab 8200CD and 8200A (bi-wired). Specifically that's a 60W £750 amp. Not as good as the Roksan experience but nothing to worry about.

I introduced a Cyrus Streamer and noticed that what ensued was brighter. I then decided to create a Cyrus system and got an 8XPD QX which had the result of sounding really bright through the GX50. So the GX50 have resided in my Audiolab system ever since.

I think any bright source / bright amp, silver speaker cabling will make the GX50 troublesome. In particular very high frequencies could make the ribbon tweeter resonate and I have actualy felt like my inner ear was being agitated (even right now as I sit here typing but I'm listening to electronic music which has had some pretty alien sounding high frequencies in the tracks).

I keep my DAC firmly off the optimal spectrum setting. The GX50 don't like it. The optimal transient setting smooths out the offending noises.

I'd always test speakers with the amp you use first; or at least demo the speakers with a number of amps if you're looking to change your amp.

But the amp needs to be neutral, transparent, has enough drive to get the best of the ample bass response on offer; and use good copper speaker cabling.

What Hi Fi mention that the GX50 don't boom. I'd agree but only if you give them room to breath at the sides and especially at the rear.

I have no idea whether a £300 amp could do this with the GX50. I wouldn't try, but that's me.

 

[minio]

Hi

Yes I was trying to reply to an earlier thread about the GX50 and relate my own experiences as I have changed up from RX1.

I'm using the Yam A-S500 and have not experienced any shoutyness as described. No source was mentioned as Paradiziac states. In fact I prefer a livelier source.

I hope this is not spam as no explanation is given as to what makes spam !

Oh - I use a MF M3 CD player; a Marantz PearlLite I've tried sounds a little too smooth and internet radio can sound a bit lumpy. The real winner at the front end is vinyl using an old PT Anniversary.

Interesting to hear Adam's amp suggestions. What about the Arcam A19?

 

[minio]

I've had the GX50s for over a week now so here's a progress report and some thoughts.
Intuitively I would not have considered pairing a sub £300 amp with £950 speakers however there was a rationale behind choosing this upgrade route.
The approach I take to my hifi is one of continual improvement as funds allow.
My previous RX1s were indeed a good match for the A-S500 and in a way it was shame to break up this partnership. RX1s are a nice easy listening speaker and they look nice too. However their faults are more obvious than those of the amp.
Namely these are a sort of "one note treble" (eg: all percussion has a very similar top end to it) which gets a bit boring after a while. The bass also suffers from a little lack of grip sounding a bit waffly.
These faults are further reinforced by comparing RX1 with GX50. Now with the GX50 in the system the cymbals providing rhythm in Coltranes Blue Train sound more complete and the track makes more musical sense. Its easier to differentiate the details in any recording. Turning to the bass solos in McCoy Tyner's Land of Giants for example and you hear those strings being slapped and tickled with a nice firm body behind them instead of straining to here through the boom. Even when playing the Shadows sixties hit insrumentals, the more natural top end of the GX50s compliments these somewhat compressed pop recordings making them a more pleasant listen.
So - yes - I would like to complete the package with a more aspiring amp like a Caspian but the Yamaha is still a likeable beast and probaly their best ever amp if sound for your pound is the measure and relating my past experience of Yamaha amps.
The reviews and specs of the GX50 sum up their performance well; in that they are an easy to drive speaker with limited sensitivity. It is in this latter point that a challenge is presented to the budget amp as it cannot provide the welly and authority of the best. To help alleviate this I use a nice old MF - The Preamp with external psu, that was in my loft, to optimise the inputs to the amp so that it does not have to work quite so hard. Judicious use of a sub woofer also helps to fill out the soundstage.
By next year I might have saved enough to do away with such paraphenalia. Until then I'll just enjoy the music.

 

[minio]

Just a reply to the quote "I think any bright source / bright amp, silver speaker cabling will make the GX50 troublesome." as I have yet to push the GX50's into situation I could call bright. Recent experience with an Arcam Alpha 10 was so not bright I almost fell asleep. I'm using relatively bright cables like Nordost Solar Wind.

I've also tried a Creek 50A which although a nice amp doesn't really pull that much more ahead than my old Yam A-S500. There could also be a lack of synergy here as well because I'm getting a bit of over analytical type of presentation with this amp in my system. Still not bright though.

Back to the Yamaha amp for now as I may have become brain washed by its style - nice and lean but fluid when warmed up; is good and detailed at low to medium volumes with nice sense of depth.

 

[plastic penguin]

TBH, I don't think you're making the most of the Gold range with a budget Yam or entry-level Creek. Perhaps try Creek Destiny, Arcam A38, Leema Pulse, Roksan Caspian.

I own the RS6s and MAs do flourish with a mustard amp. Sound wonderful with my Leema.

Strange really, some people can have the warmest combination of amp and speakers and still complain about it being too bright at times. This can be down to a number of things: Crummy room acoustics, rubbish recordings on CDs or downloads, perhaps mistake brightness with clarity... or maybe all those.

Mention Monitor Audio or Focal to some members and their ears start to bleed.

Swings and roundabouts I suppose.