Man you guys are hammering on the 90dB thing...
I mean it’s a fair point, protect your hearing - but the people I know with significant hearing problems didn’t get it from listening to a hifi at 90dB. It was far more egregious mistakes, like regularly firing guns without protection, or being in a band, etc.
Obviously don’t listen at those levels for long sessions, take breaks, stop at any sign of fatigue etc. But also - live a little lol. I honestly wouldn’t care about hifi at all, if always listening at 70dB or below. The systems that "sound great at low volumes" are just gaming the Fletcher-Munsen curves in one way or another.
That said, there is probably a correlation between the gear / systems liked and disliked within the "loud crowd", versus the "keep it down" crew.
Is my new amp TOO GOOD?
I recently took advantage of the McIntosh Upgrade program. I traded my MA352 integrated hybrid for the C2800 tube preamp + MC462 ss power amp. I have a large room with Revel Studio 2 speakers (with beryllium tweeters), and two SVS subs. I also have some room treatments on the walls.
I traded up because I wanted to see if I could more detail with the extra watts while keeping the tube sound I like.
So now I have much more detail, but its sometimes too much. Higher frequencies - like high pitched loud vocals, and some of the detail now sounds almost like static. If I turn the volume way up I can hear that its another guitar or a background vocal.
I have turned the treble down from -1 to -4, and I can't listen at 90 db all the time.
Does anyone have any suggestions about adjusting the eq/
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@mojo771 you bought this amp before and returned it? Maybe the amp is revealing an issue with your system or maybe it doesn't sound good to your ears. If your mostly hearing the "static" at 90dB it may be the room becoming pressurized and interacting with unkind harmonics. I had a 1000W class D and could not resist turning it up but the room would "honk" at me. Ask the dealer to borrow a revealing demo amp with a warmer sound, if its good then your pre and tubes are fine. If it doesn't then its the amp you don't like or there is/are issues with your system including speaker position, room treatment and importantly, noise control. If you don't have dedicated lines take all smps's, lights and small electronics off the circuit and turn off overhead lights. If your streaming there are a lot of places noise can get in or add noise.
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What’s the source? If phono make sure everything is set up right with a good matched cartridge and stylus not worn or damaged. In any case, phono or digital, make sure each devices output level matches properly to the input sensitivity of the next device upstream. Input/output levels may be adjustable in some cases, a very nice feature whenever mixing and matching components. Oh and never forget to check all connections. All it takes is one bad one to destroy the sound quality. It also helps to swap 1 piece of gear in and out as a test to help isolate a problem. That’s why I’d recommend always keeping spares around if at all possible. |
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