2. amps-preamps
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Am I imagining things?

Not long ago I have bought replacement amp for my Musical Fidelity A300, honestly I can say that sound is much more liquid, music scene in now more square then trapezoid, everything is more in focus. I can listen much longer. Dynamics, bass does not changed a bit, at least I cannot hear it, maybe microdynamic because noisefloor is much lower. (I still using part of MF A300 as pre). But something is wrong, picture imbued by MF A300 was not so focused, clean but more live (maybe only brighter), picture imbued by Clayton M100 is like very sharp watercolor (pale colors).
I wanted something closer to lively tube presentation I went opposite way :(.
I have done interesting experiment yesterday, I have change direction of interconnect between pre and amp.
What is interesting I have impression that when direction is wrong (current flows not according but against arrow on the interconnect) sound is more live. Am I imagining things?
Rest of the equipment is Thiel 3.6 and old cdp Arcam Alpha 6.
sorlowski
8 responses Add your response
sorlowski OP
236 posts
 
Newbee,
You right I should have bought tube amp, but I was worrying about reliability, maintenance costs (retubing). It would have to be pretty efficient, high wattage tube amp to drive Tiels. So there would be a lot of additional hitting in my apartment. (American climate is enough hot to me, I detest hot, like moderate/cold) so even I like tube sound I figured that SS amp + tube pre would be safe way to go. And judging by sound of MF I would not have been expecting that better more expensive well regarded SS could be murky. Though have to say that bright recordings now sounds perfect. Maybe bright detailed cables would save me ?

Rlxl,
Good to know that another people are hearing thinks too:)
I will look at this issue.

Clueless,
Trapezoid music in not that bad, cheaper amp tend to sound triangular or even 2D, do not be afraid of focus it is good thing :) unless you are listening to scary music ?

Thanks everybody for interest and input and advises.
rlxl
92 posts
 
No, you're not imagining things. At least, I don't think you are---but maybe we just inhale too much of the same stuff!!

Check out Issue #150 of Bound for Sound. The editor, Martin DeWulf, has long experimented with polarity and directionality of cables and wires. In this issue, he reports on his experiments w/the directionality of IC's and found that the best sound depended upon the manufacturer (no surprise) as well as where the ICs were placed, ie, between the source and preamp or preamp and amp. How they sounded really was brand dependent and location specific. Eg, the same IC may have sounded better in the direction of the arrows between the source and pre but would sound better oriented in opposite direction when placed between the pre and amp.

BTW: DeWulf was one of the first to discover that the relative polarity of the PC cables w/in the same system made a difference some 10-12 years ago.
herman
2,253 posts
 
Don't think in terms of which way electrons are flowing, think about energy. No matter which way electrons are flowing, energy is being transfered from the source to the pre and from the pre to the amp. This is a one way street.
newbee
4,767 posts
 
Sound's like you want some good old fashion lower-mid range warmth that many, but not all, tube amps bring (along with those airy highs. Dumb question - why not just buy a tube amp. If there really was such a thing as a SS amp which sounded like a tube amp, everybody would own one. Yeh I know, maintenance can be a nuisance and the bass is soft. Well I'd agree with the former, but suggest that with a high power PP tube amp you won't be giving up much with tubes. I've also heard that those 3.6's can sound pretty good with high power tube amps. :-) PS I doubt that the directionality is the limiting factor in your set up for what you are looking for.
nudaddy
13 posts
 
Try reversing polarities on each speaker, and turn your interconnects back to the originally "correct" arrows. Try inverting the plug into the wall outlet on preamp. Leave whichever sounds best.
clueless
763 posts
 
You're a contrarian. Some folks listen to a different drummer.

I dislike trapezoid music too although when things come into focus they tend to scare me.

Sincerely
I remain,
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I tend to disagree that directionality is a hoax, but I do think that the arrows might sometimes be incorrect -- maybe the cables you have were made on a Monday :-)
timo's avatar
timo
610 posts
 
My belief is that cable directionality is pretty much a hoax and makes little/no difference because the audio signal passing through a conductor is AC and changes direction half of the time so electrons are flowing in both directions. Something to consider.
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