Boring sound
April 30, 2003
Hi Wes
I recently acquired a Levinson No.390S CD player with a
Levinson No.380S preamp. I also purchased a Bel Canto eVo2 power amp to complete the
system. Cables are Madrigal CZ Gel balanced between CD and preamp, and preamp and power
amp.
Here's the problem: It all sounds boring. Accurate,
detailed, solid images, but cold, sterile, and yes that B-word again, boring.
I heard a Levinson No.39 years ago with the aforementioned
No.380S and I think a Levinson No.335 power amp (although it could have been a No.334). It
was and is the best system I have ever heard and apart from the power amp, I now have that
same system. Why does it sound so different? The speakers I have been auditioning are
similar to the B&W 805s that I heard all those moons ago. The No.390S is reported to
be a quantum leap in performance terms compared to the No.39. So that leaves the power
amp. It is a digital power amp whatever that means. Could it be the culprit? It has had
rave reviews and came highly recommended. I cannot yet afford a Levinson power amp,
unfortunately. I would appreciate any advice you may be able to offer on this problem as I
do not want to throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. Many thanks.
Regards,
Patrick
It's hard to say what is causing the sense of boredom
you are experiencing -- it could be setup related or RFI or, yes, it could be the digital
amp.
Please don't misunderstand me -- I am not putting down
digital amps. I suspect that we're all going to be hearing a lot of them. An amplifier
that approaches 100% efficiency is just too tempting a target; engineers and manufacturers
will design 'em simply because they are so darn elegant in operation.
However, digital amplification is still an infant
technology, while analog amplification is highly developed. Some folks would argue that
analog amplification is approaching the point of diminishing returns -- that there's not
much more that can be done with it. Maybe so, but for all its potential, I still haven't
heard a digital amp that bested the finest analog designs I have auditioned.
That said, this doesn't mean that you and I will
necessarily agree on which elements of musical reproduction are the most significant for
any product to get "right." My regard for the finest analog amplifiers doesn't
mean that you'll hear things the same way -- or place the same value on them.
You might try listening to the Ayre V-5x if
you can't quite swing a Levinson. It's different, but I found it quite musically
satisfying....Wes Phillips
Opinion on Polk
April 22, 2003
Hi Wes,
I have been reading your work from your Stereophile
days and now on your own website, and I was interested in your views on Polk Audio LSi15
loudspeakers.
I have recently auditioned a pair of Dynaudio Special 25s
and liked them with the following caveats: They are rear ported and as I can only afford
26" of space out from the rear wall, they are in my living room. They sounded boomy
in my system fresh out of the box.
You have compared the Polks with the Dynaudio Evidence
Temptations, and it would be interesting to see if I could consider them in place of the
Special 25s as they seem to be more placement easy.
I liked the midrange neutrality and clear treble the
Special 25s produced with my Krell preamp/power amp combination and was interested to read
that the Vifa ring-radiator tweeter of the Polks is used in the Sonus Faber Cremonas as
well -- another pair of speakers I also considered. Your views would be highly
appreciated.
James Croft
I suspect the problem was not so much room as break-in.
I too have the Special 25s, and they take a lot of hard playing before they sound balanced
and relaxed. I'll be publishing a full review of them in May or June, but the short take
on them is that they are very special -- within their limits.
I do also love the Polks, but they are imposing
loudspeakers. If space (or the appearance of space) is a consideration, the Dynaudios
might actually seem less intrusive in your living room -- and the Special 25s are
seriously pretty.
I heard the Cremonas last year in Montreal and understand
why you considered them -- there's another speaker that floats my boat....Wes Phillips
New turntable setup
April 18, 2003
Hello Wes,
I am looking at getting my first serious record player, but
I (or should I say my wife) am really not ready to spend more than $200 to $300 for one.
All the players at my local dealers are priced way out of my price range. Are there any
brands that you can recommend that I take a look at? I would also like to be able to
upgrade in the future. My receiver, a Marantz SR5200, does not have a phono stage, so I am
assuming I also need a phono preamp. Could you recommend a few brands in the same price
range?
Nate
By all means go ahead and experiment with vinyl, but in
that price range I'm not sure how much upgrade latitude you'll have -- other than
installing a better cartridge. Most units in the $200 to $300 range don't really have much
to play with.
Well, you can always experiment with support/anti-vibration
platforms (and some will make a huge difference).
As to models, the two that come immediately to mind are the
Sumiko Pro-ject 1.2 and the Music Hall MMF-2.1, if you want a new 'table. Both are good
and widely available.
Of course, if you trust the seller to know whether the
tonearm's bearing is intact, there are a host of used turntables for sale. Beware of
bargains that seem too good to be true, 'cause for every seller who doesn't know what he
has, there are two who do (in other words, caveat emptor).
As to phono sections, I've had excellent results with
Creek's OBH-8SE, and I've heard that a completely new (and improved) model is now
available....Wes Phillips
Manageable request?
April 14, 2003
Wes,
For the audio neophyte, articulating audio characteristics
can be a challenge, sometimes bordering on farce.
A supercilious salesperson responds to my comments by
stating that he can't get excited about any system below $100,000. A fat lot of good that
does me. I'm left trying to communicate what I hear and what I wish to hear to someone who
thinks that anything I can afford sounds like mush. I don't know which part to replace or
which cable to install.
Therefore, in the name of education, please describe the
characteristics of the following CD players: Musical Fidelity A308, Gamut CD 1, Ayre CX-7,
Simaudio Moon Nova.
You will hear them differently, of course, but at least I
can learn from your statements. (Point-form is good.)
FYI, these were auditioned through a Musical Fidelity A308
integrated amp with B&W Nautilus 803 speakers, and Bel Canto eVo2i amp with JMlab
Electra 926s (budget level, but not completely unworthy of respect).
Is this request manageable?
R. Kraft
Manageable? Sure, if I had those products on hand, I
could produce a review per component over the next few months -- and in a different room,
with different ancillary equipment, my descriptions would be of a different system than
the one you have auditioned, although presumably they would still have relevance. But I
don't and, therefore, can't. (Although I am interested in the Ayre and Simaudio units.
Hint, hint.)
But the real problem here is the attitude of the salesman
you ran into. In the realm of high-end audio criticism, we professionals have a technical
term we apply to folks like him: pompous ass.
I have heard many audio systems that cost substantially
more than $100,000. Some were superb at reproducing what I love about music; some were
abysmal. On the other hand, I have heard systems that cost less than $1000 that have
immediately transported me straight to the heart of music.
But the one thing I have never heard is a price tag that
made music. Confusing price with quality is a mistake frequently made by cynics -- Oscar
Wilde said a cynic is "a man who knows the price of everything and the value of
nothing."
Pity that supercilious salesman because he has revealed
himself to be a musical ignoramus -- and a very shallow one at that. But whatever you do,
don't buy anything from him. That would just encourage him, and the sooner he finds
honorable work digging ditches, the sooner the world of audio can shed its image of
pointless elitism.
From the sound of the two audition systems you were using,
you don't need me to tell you much about good, affordable audio. Listen -- and trust your
ears....Wes Phillips
Distortion
April 9, 2003
Hi Wes,
I found your website through Google. I would appreciate it
if you could help me. My setup: Marantz CD67SE, Arcam Diva A85 integrated amp, Castle Avon
speakers. I prefer to leave the CD player's output at mid level to get the loudness I want
-- I set the amp output at volume level 60 (72 being the maximum).
(1) From your experience, at what volume level will the A85
amp start to produce "distortion" that could potentially damage the speakers?
(2) On the other hand, if I were to set the CD67SE output
at maximum, will the sound distort?
I am a newbie and hope what I have typed so far makes sense
to you. I look forward to getting a reply from you. Thank you.
Koh
The answer to query #1 is not possible to state
definitively. It depends on many factors, not least the size of your room. The easy answer
is that if the sound gets fuzzy or harsh, you are producing a lot of distortion and should
turn the music down. Unless your room is huge or you listen from the next room, it is
unlikely you are taxing the amp and endangering the speaker.
As to #2, you should definitely leave the CD player's
output at maximum and adjust the volume with the Arcam's volume control -- that's what
it's for. The volume on the Marantz is controlled with inexpensive op-amps -- which
degrade the sound when activated -- whereas the Arcam's volume control is designed
expressly to be as transparent as possible.
A good rule of thumb for setting playback volume is to
attempt to make instruments sound like themselves. If an acoustic guitar sounds ten feet
tall, it's too damn loud. On the other hand, you'll never accurately reproduce the sound
of a Marshall stack played by Hendrix or Clapton, so opting for "loud enough" to
imagine the real thing is probably the best bet. Your hearing will last longer that way,
too.
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