2. misc-audio
  3. 1042513548

Where's the rest of the music???

I have a problem with my system and I'm hoping someone can provide me with some ideas. I have a modest system (outlined below) and I listen to a lot of jazz and some HT. The HT sounds fine but I'm having problems with 2 channel. Almost everything I listen to sounds very vocal heavy. The vocals shine but the accompaniment is very faint, especially the low end. Overall I don't think that my system is as full sounding as it should be (most things sound better through my cheap headphones).

I would say that the only thing I've found that I'm happy with is the new Diana Krall "Live in Paris" DVD. This sounds excellent on my system but if I listen to it straight through headphones it is extremely bass heavy.

Lately I've upgraded my cables and my amp, which has provided some improvement. I also have a REL Strata III on the way which I'm hoping will fill it out a little more. Any other advice would be appreciated.


Here's my current setup after upgrades:

Speakers: B&W CDM-1s
CD: Yamaha CDC-765
Pre: Yamaha V992 (not using amp portion)
Amp: B&K AV5000
Cables: Signal Cable IC and biwire speaker cable

Thanks,
warehouse
twl
3,251 posts
 
I would check to see if your 2 channel is being processed by something in the HT preamp, that might affect it. If you still have some kind of "theater" processing that is intended for "encoded" discs switched in, and you are not using encoded discs, this might have something to do with it. I don't use HT, and am not very familiar with that stuff, so this is just a guess, but it sounds to me like there is something like that going on.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I agree it could possibly be the preamp section of the Yamaha. The best preamp section for music in an HT receiver would be one that has the ability to bypass most everthing but the volume control.

It might be too much trouble, but if this is the problem, a possibly cheap solution would be to pick up something like a passive Creek OBH-10 or OBH-12 and use it to listen to music, and then manually switch the cables back to the Yamaha for playing movies.
jdombrow
371 posts
 
Find someone who has some components you can swap into your system one at a time, including speakers. This will help determine where the problem is. Good luck.

JD
warehouse OP
9 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions. For grins I connected my CD player straight to the amp (bypassing the Yamaha). Seemed to provide a little improvement but still not great. This leads me to believe that either it's my speakers, CD player, or my room setup. I'll keeep playing around with positioning and see if things improve.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
I don't think it's the speakers. I just sold my B&W CDM1NT and for 2-channel as well as movies they were excellent across the spectrum. My electronics were Rotel 985MKII 5-channel amp and Rotel 985RSP processor.I think it's in the electronics,but I would go with Jdombrow's suggestion and substitute each one at a time,speakers last.Your new subs will complement the speakers well.
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