Audio Note M6 - dark and thick sound ?


Hello All,
I recently bought an Audio Note M6 preamp and have paired it with a Nait 5i (set on unity gain). I hear a rather dark, thick and heavy presentation. The M6 is a very high gain preamp (18db) and when paired with 5i, the sound is too loud even at 7 o clock position on the volume control of M6. The sound at present is too full and overwhelming.

I dont know what exactly is the problem. I do not hear the dark thick sound when I listen to Audio Note gears at their showroom and of course Naim never has that darkness too. Is it a result of electronic mismatch that I am hearing this ? The input impedance of the Naim is supposed to be low, could that be the reason ? I am getting a bit impatient on this :-(
pani
According to the manual, the output impedance of the Audio Note M6 is <10 ohms, so impedance mismatch should not be an issue.

It could be your room is over-damped, or it could be that the dealer was using different cables. I had this happen to me before when I was buying speakers. They sounded great at the dealer's showroom, but dark in my room. I checked with the dealer, and he was using silver cables. I switched to silver cables and the sound came back to life.
Thanks for the replies.
I could possibly get a pre-owned Graaf GM50 power amp. Line Magnetic and Sac Thailand are also two options I can look for. Any experiences with these ?
I was I could help you more. But this sounds like some sort of mis match..especially on the gain...with the volume at 7 oclock you're basically killing all the gain out of source with the preamp's volume control...then after you've cut the source's gain...re-amplifying what's left.

Good luck...let us know what you decide on
my Audio Note Meishu integrated amp is a bit thick and dark (very little) but that is offset by the AN E silver speaker which is very open and expansive on the top end.

fwiw

good luck
Pani I used to have a Graaf GM50 and it needed to be serviced a lot. The tech told me that Graaf amps run extremely hot and so parts wear out pretty quickly. It sounded good and looked great but I ditched it because it was less than reliable. Can't really comment on your AN/Naim issue sorry. Good luck. I will agree though that all tubes, not just AN love silver cables.
I posted in your other thread yesterday and I just came across this one. I can add a couple of things. Aside from using 2 preamps, which can't be a good thing, Naim is one of those brands that insist you use one of their preamps with their amps. Spectral is well known for this as well. I think its absolutely necessary you try your preamp with something else, just because of that. You will be able to gain some info on how your preamp really sounds. Using it with the Naim is no way to judge it.

I know a dealer, Wellington Audio in FL, that specializes in UK gear. He has both Naim and AN, and most, if not all of their complete product lines on display. Those are his 2 main brands. Depending on where you are, I don't know if he can sell to you, but he may be able to help. Last time I was there, I saw your Nait and the M6 in the same room.
Thanks again guys, I have been confirmed by the NAim forum guys that this is not going to work. So I am rather happy that it is not my M6 that is too dark or slow.

BTW, has anyone heard the Pass Labs SIT2 ?