Upgrade path ?

[frogfish]

I am currently using the following set-up: Macmini -> PS audio dliii dac -> Sugden a21 series 2 -> Spendor S8e speakers.

I listen to all sorts of music from classical piano, symphonies, opera to Jazz, rock, dance, trip-hop, hip-hop.

I like my music but sometimes feel the bass is a little light, and that the whole thing struggles a bit when push the volume north of 9 o'clock (even though this is already loud ! The voices, piano and anything acoustic with not a massive scale are lovely though.

Any suggestions ?

 

[Anonymous]

That's a nice set up you have there - before you even think of spending money on anything I would personally consider these things first:

First, if you don't already - leave the amp fully powered on for 24 hours (make sure there is plenty of ventilation around it though and nothing is sitting on top of it) - do you notice any changes in sound (better/worse?)? If no better, also leave the DAC powered on for 24 hours and see if that changes anything. Use them left on for a few days - then go back to switching on and off as before and decide if there is any benefit in leaving powered on. Might help / might not - at least worth a try. Sadly rather wasteful of energy, but some amplifiers / components will sound 'thin' (bass shy) until fully warmed up - so are intended to be left on 24 hours a day. When doing before and after tests, use at least a few different bass heavy tracks you know well. If you decide to leave them on then try to think of a way to offset the energy wasted.

Second, think about what your source material is and it's resolution- badly mastered music will always sound bad. Buying more gear will not alter that. Modern style mastering when done badly will typically just get worse when you crank the volume up. Before clicking 'add to basket' on any new tracks (or picking up a CD at the supermarket on impulse), use forums such as Steve Hoffman's to see what others think of the sound quality of the version you want to buy. Whilst you will rarely get a consensus on what sounds best (as it's subjective), you can normally weed out the 'wheat from the chaff'. Just because the latest version available of an album has been newly 'digitally remastered from the original master tapes' does not necessarily mean it is the definitive best sounding version. There's a lot of great music out there wasted on lousy mastered releases. The good news is there's also plenty of great music on well mastered releases.

Thirdly, think about placement - especially speaker positioning. Set aside some time to experiment.

If none of that helps/satisfies then perhaps start thinking about upgrading.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[frogfish]

Thanks for the good advice, which might help me avoid going on a spending splurge

The DAC actually stays on all the time, I'll try with the amp to see what happens although as it heats a lot (pure class A), don't think it is a viable solution long term.

With regards to source material, I have ripped my CD collection in ALAC and have a few hires records in 96/24 that I bought from Linn. I'll check the Steve Hoffman site you mention, should be interesting.

And I will continue experimenting with speaker positioning.

By posting I was wondering if based on my equipement folks would feel that what I am hearing is normal, e.g. Sugden amp is known to be light on bass, or maybe the speakers require more power...

 

[Anonymous]

As it's a Class A amp you'll definitely notice the increase in your electricity bill! Class A amps should be given 40 minutes or so to warm up, but that's about it.