Question Smoothen harshness

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Al ears said:
He did indeed but this doesn't answer my question.
If the swap in power amps is what the OP believe will improve his set-up he's on a very expensive trip..... 🙂
My money is still on source or preamp.
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I did subscribe to Tidal to check if the higher resolution makes a difference. It did not, to my ears. Back to Spotify.
I'm trying to loan a Tube Preamp (Acoustic Portrait Swara) to see how this plays with my chain. I agree, it's going to be a "messy" chain. My only solution to declutter would be to get something like a NAD M10 V2, which has everything I need. But, this costs $3768 in India, and is out of my reach.
 
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gasolin said:
And get a lyngdorf TDAI-1120 amp streamer, might just be enough if you can get one at a good deal, amp,dac,streamer and room corretion

My next Class D would need to be based on Hypex or Purifi Modules.
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gasolin said:
Do you use any special cable ?
Nope.

Single wire or bi wire ?
Single.

Replace the metal brackets with speaker cable ?
Will try.


If the sound is a little dry, harsh or hard, is it when you play really loud ?
At all volumes.
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I think I've seen a picture of your room on another forum, if it's the same one then you need to fix the room first. You won't get a lush sound in that room.

Good luck either way.
 
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DriedFartz said:
The opposite of "Lush". Clinical sounding chains may be described as "Dry".



Not a single dealer on this side of the continent offers home auditions or returns. It's pretty useless with the showroom demos. So we here fallback on other audio enthusiasts to ask and share from their experience what gear gels well together.

I needed a streamer, so got a used Paradigm PW Link that was going for a good price. Figured I could use it as a Preamp to hook up my TV, and had the added advantage of room correction. So that was a big plus. It's a decent device.

I got the Audiolab first, it was alright; but was found lacking in dynamics. Got the Crown. Stellar performance, but came at the cost of a tad bit of "dryness". Came across a Marantz PM8006, but didn't like it over the Crown.

I have heard good things about Dirac Live, especially its independent subwoofer management capabilities. miniDSP is popular with folks dipping their toes in calibration/room correction fold. It's a nifty little device to sort out difficult rooms, or rooms where elaborate acoustic treatments are not possible.



:grinning:
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Where are you located?
 
DriedFartz said:
The miniDSP has a slightly “airy” presentation. But the harshness remains.
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It could potentially be the Sonus Fabers. The last place I worked at we had the Venere range, and while they sound fine for music at normal levels, they sounded a bit harsh and just not that good when used in a home theatre type set up - so if you’re playing at quite high volumes, maybe that could be the case with music too? I didn’t push them as far with music as I did movies.
 
Dirac has solved the problem. Thanks for the input folks. I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.

If one has a "difficult" room or is not able to treat it one way or the other, DIRAC is a potent tool! It's as easy as a few clicks and measurements. I have used ARC (Anthem Room Correction) via the Paradigm PW Link in the past, with good results, but DIRAC is a different beast. I'm more than pleased.

Thanks again!
 
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davidf said:
It could potentially be the Sonus Fabers. The last place I worked at we had the Venere range, and while they sound fine for music at normal levels, they sounded a bit harsh and just not that good when used in a home theatre type set up - so if you’re playing at quite high volumes, maybe that could be the case with music too? I didn’t push them as far with music as I did movies.
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Interesting! I’ve never played them beyond 80db though. They hold up just fine at those levels. In any case, my ears hurt beyond those levels.
 
DriedFartz said:
About $1000
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S/h Hegel.

I highly regard the Audiolab 6000A, a fantastic amplifier for (and above) it's cost, it's wattage is far more than most need with reasonably efficient speakers. Still, for head bangers and/or owners of inefficient speakers there are limits. - A Hegel H95 or H90, whilst similarly specced, will sound more powerful, full and driving than the Audiolab. It's not 'night n'day' but clearly audible, as it should be considering the difference in cost. That's not taking anything away from the 6000A which I think is one of Audio's bargains. You may even get an older but more powerful Hegel for around your budget.

As to class D, whilst not representative of your situation, I recently owned two active speakers using this topology. B&W Formation Duo's and Kef LS50 Meta Wireless. They both sound different but have certain traits in common often associated with this sort of amplification. I wouldn't say harshness is one of them but there is a sound signature that does not entirely appeal to me and that is absent with good A/B or G.

I also still have a little Topping amplifier which I used briefly in between systems boxed away. It cost about as much as a meal for two in a reasonably cheap restaurant. Peanuts in comparison. Great build and looks. I also saw this class D signature in that. Superficially sounding dynamic with good bass control but ultimately lacking that natural, flowing sound that other decently implemented topologies give. Whilst this was acceptable in a cheap product (and I would recommend the little amplifier to anyone wanting decent sound but not having the finances to spend a lot more), not so much as cost goes up.

I'd probably loose the Crown.

PS. I listen to a lot of Metal amongs other genres.
 
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DriedFartz said:
Dirac has solved the problem.
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The miracle Dirac strikes again 😏
It's good that you feel better about your sound - it must have reduced the most troublesome frequencies.

However, with respect, no Dirac, Shirac or any other signal processing is going to remove the confusing reflections caused by acres of hard bareness.

The brain works wonders to reduce the confusion - but it takes effort, it's fatiguing. Without so much reverberation, you get a focussed sound with no effort.

Room treatment is a boring subject, often impractical undesirable and costly.
But, ignore it at your peril.
 
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DriedFartz said:
Hello, all!

I would appreciate your insight on a particular conundrum.

This is my current chain:
paradigm PW Link (I use this purely as a streamer, and Spotify is my source)
miniDSP Flex (Pre Amp, room calibration)
Crown XLS 1502 (Power Amp)
Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
Rythmik L12 (Subwoofers x2)

My issue with the sound is that it's a little dry, harsh or hard. This could be attributed to the Class D Crown. I have tried the Marantz PM8006 and the Audiolab 6000A which smoothen the sound a bit but lack the dynamics of the Crown. I need the dynamics as I listen to a lot of fast and heavy music (Metal).

What can I do to smoothen out the dryness? I would truly appreciate your guidance on this.
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Please try thick copper speaker cables something like Van Damme Hi-Fi Series 6mm and see if it helps
 
shadders said:
Hi,
The OP did state that they swapped the power amp for a class AB (Marantz, Audiolab) which smoothed the sound, so this does indicate that amplifier is the key component here.

Regards,
Shadders.
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he said it helped out "a bit", otherwise he wouldn't be asking here for help. In my experience, the pre-amp is at least as responsible for shaping the sound as the power amp, even more so. One can easily spot the difference between a Nac 202 and 282 feeding the same power amp. In any case, for the OP I'd look at either replacing both pre and power with a sh Arcam FMJ A39 or A49. I would suggest a Naim Nap 200 otherwise, but I'm pretty sure the pre is mostly at fault here. Unless OP can try one for free, since they should be available within budget on the SH market nowadays.
 
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