2. amps-preamps
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Worst mismatches in equipment: your warnings

Hi
I opened this thread to gather some info on equipment or brands that are not friendly to each other.I had a terrible mismatch between Theta Pearl CD transport and CAL Alpha.
It was the worst sound i ever had.After a couple of weeks of trying to convince myself i went back to the store and luckily was given a store credit.
The other mismatch was when i picked up a used Legacy preamp which worked on the same RF frequencies as my Jerrod cable box.Channels up and down raised volume up and down.
I wonder what other mismatches are out there?
overhang
beemer
444 posts
 
Pass X0.2 preamp to biamp Levinson 33H and 336.

Impedance mismatch. Both great products however not good together.

Best,

Paul :-)
sdatch
204 posts
 
My current Atma-Sphere/Wilson combo. Whoops! How I missed the obvious impedance mismatch between the power amp and speakers is a cautionary tale for anyone putting together a system component by component. I was so focused on finding a great tube amp with a high input impedance for my passive linestage, that I completely forgot to think about matching impedance between the power amp and speakers. It wasn't until, about a day before the amp arrived, that I looked behind one of my WATTs and noticed the following text: "IMP. 4 OHMS". Doh! So the lesson learned is, remember to keep the entire system in mind when evaluating equipment for purchase.
darrylhifi
498 posts
 
Acoustic Zen Hologram speaker cables and Legacy Speakers.
Disaster.
jeffloistarca
1,004 posts
 

BAT VK500 amplifier and Eminent Technology LFTVIIIa speakers are a great match, but do not use Zu WAX bi-wire speaker cables between the two. Congested, closed in, flat sound.. it was horrible. DH Labs Q10 proved to be a great cable.
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
Anything Bose will mismatch with your ears! Sdatch, that's one of the parameters of Atma-sphere amps...you should use a higher impedance speaker. However, I've heard from many that Paul Speltz's "Zero-former" will cure your mismatch and give you the sound that you are looking for.
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