[EliotB]

Hi,

I am seeking an expert suggestion regarding my stereo setup. I have bought a pair of Rotel pre/power amp recently; RC-1550 and RB-1562. These replaced my NAD 355BEE.

Other equipments in my stereo setup as below:

CD player: NAD 515BEE

Speaker: JBL Stage floorstanding (Can't remember the model number correctly, but it is 90db, 150 W)

I did not use expensive interconnect


I used to get nicer/warmer sound with NAD integrated which I had before. However, at that time I did not get enough high frequency response, which I really wanted to hear. But, after switching to Rotel, the sound that I am getting now is very straight and bright. My question is what can I do to make the sound warmer without sacrificing high frequency tones? I really don't like the bright sound at all. I like something like even if I increase volume, it won't hurt y ear much, but at the same time I will get nicer and louder higher frequency as well. Please suggest me what can I do. My room size is about 10ft*13 ft.

Please note that all my connections, CDP and speaker did not change, I have only changed my amp (now it's Rotel pre/power combo, before it was NAD).

I will appreciate your suggestion. Thanks

Eliot

 

[bluesky636]

What do you want? A warm tone (that implies rolled off highs) or better high frequency response (which implies a brighter sound)? Those things are mutually exclusive. Your Rotel pre-amp has bass and treble controls. Have you tried adjusting them?

 

[EliotB]

Thanks for reply.

Yes I have adjusted tones, but still the sound is not the quality that I wanted. To answer your question regarding my preference; I want high frequency but not straight sound that hurts ear much as volume increases.

I know it is hard to explain....but you know what a high end sound quality sounds like.

 

[Lhasa-lover]

It'd be an interesting experiment to level match both, blind fold you, and see what you reported as to sq then.

 

[bluesky636]



Quote:
Originally Posted by EliotB /forum/post/18196033


Thanks for reply.

Yes I have adjusted tones, but still the sound is not the quality that I wanted. To answer your question regarding my preference; I want high frequency but not straight sound that hurts ear much as volume increases.

I know it is hard to explain....but you know what a high end sound quality sounds like.

Yes, I know what high quality sound is like. Not sure that you do, however. Good luck.

 

[Gulinias]

I understand what you are saying and I would ignore the people who are challenging you as this is your system and not theirs. I think the Rotel is a bit grainy which is far different than bright. I would encourage you to look at other amps till you find what you want. I wish you luck bur if your ears are sensitive to the added grain then the Rotel will not do for you. I think you may beed to spend a bit more than you might want to for this sound. There is no absolute sound no matter what the journal may say.

 

[bluesky636]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Gulinias /forum/post/18199239


I think the Rotel is a bit grainy which is far different than bright.

Tell me. How does one measure "grainy"? Or at least describe what "grainy" sounds like.

 

[Gulinias]

What does grainy sound like Blue. It is the sound that is painful to listen to. A frequency can be reproduced better by some combinations than others. I know this is heresy on this forum to an extent so maybe you should go get the cheapest amps you can get to run your stuff. In this case it was the interaction of the equipment but wait I forgot everything sounds exactly the same, I am sorry if I disagree and grainy is just a term like bright and rich. Terms like dark and thick sounding. We tend to use terms that probably are not the best to try and make people understand what we are hearing. I am all about products measuring well but there is more to it than just that. I also realize that sometimes what people like may not measure as well as something they do not but if they like it and it is there system what does it hurt. Why are there so many types of speakers that measure plus or minus two or three dbs and yet they are quite different. I know you know why as I do but that is the part that makes this fun. If it was just cut and dry it would be no fun would it.


I realize that electronics should be more similar than a transducer like a speaker. The fact is they all have some type of distortion and some types usually even order are more pleasing to the ear. I guess I should have send displeasing to you in the higher frequencies. I think this is just two camps of the hobby and we will not agree. I also do not have expensive wires in my system as I see no need to ever do that but if one does that is fine. I know this is a science forum as people say but do you really think most of what is talked about on here in hard core science? I hope you enjoy your system and I was really trying to tell the op that he should only worry about what he thinks and hears and what any of the rest of may think we do not matter in the least.

 

[rnatalli]

Any amp that has enough coloration (a.k.a. distortion) to have a "sound" is not one I would buy as it's defective. Most solid state, class AB amps today have distortion differences so low that human hearing cannot detect it.


That said, the 1562 is a class D amplifier so even a objectionist and skeptic like me swears a difference can be heard between amp classes (AB v.s. D). At the end of the day, the subjectivity of sound is what will make you happy. You could have a look at some other 2-channels amplifiers. Something like Emotiva's XPA-2 or UPA-2 would do nicely in a 2-channel setup. Another thought is if your JBL's are 4 ohm, class D amps have more trouble with a 4-ohm load than their AB cousins. One final thought is that this is expensive gear to drive some JBL speakers if I'm thinking of the right speaker model.

 

[bluesky636]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Gulinias /forum/post/18204241


What does grainy sound like Blue. It is the sound that is painful to listen to.

I call a sound that is painful to listen to "defective".