Problems with my Berning ZH270

I own a Gryphon Callisto, and I can tell you that the Berning does not go nearly as deep, linearly as the Gryphon. The speakers in question, the Merlins don't even go there,(don't get me wrong I have known Bob P. since 1987 and love him. He is one of the good guys and a brilliant designer) so this description has to be an abberation. First of all, a lack of bass, can sound like more control, and this would have to be the answer. Plus, try using the Gryphon with a pair of speakers which can actually go down into the 16hz reqion, like the VSA 4 HSE III, this is the better way to judge bass control. Saying this, would be analagous to saying that a Volkswagen Beetle does not handle well at 240 mph, it doesn't happen, so there is no basis for judgement.

Hi Tubegroover. My room is 5 meters long, 4mt wide and 3mt high. I didn´t has problems with my older systems. A friend of mine is going to bring home his ZH270 to compare to mine, so I will no if there is anything wrong with mine. If I can´t resolve this problem I would go back to solid state, keeping the Joule as pre. After trying for so long is sad, I really hope my ZH270 can go well. My speakers are placed more than 1mt away from the back and side walls. I have a big carpet and I have used the alignement tool provided by Merlin. Thank you very much.

Hi George

So the speakers are placed 1 meter from the back and side walls on the 4 m wall? Where is your listening position relative to the speakers? As Duke notes, if you position the chair against or close to the back wall, see if the bass comes back. It does seem you are getting too much high frequency energy relative to the bass which would make things sound bright. But this usually can be fixed . The Merlins can astound you with their bass but it takes trial and error and minute changes in position to zero in on it.

Do you have any treatments at the reflection points on the side walls or absorption devices behind the speakers or in the corners? I was having a similar problem with my Merlin/Berning set-up, different pre and source but really improved the bass dramatically with the addition of some home brewed bass traps placed in the corners and behind and between the speakers. Another trick might be to run the speakers on the diagonal if you have the space.

Of course the tonal balance of the amp may not be something you are used to relative to the Gryphon. I would try moving things around and experimenting and definitely consider room treatments. A while back there was another Berning owner with similar problems you are describing that gave up way too soon, it is not the amp. Don't give into that temptation just yet. The Berning can sound lean if you aren't getting the bass you expect and should receive from this combo. And forget about tube rolling and tweeks for now and keep your focus on speaker placement, listening position and treatment. Check out this site for info on these devices, inexpensive but extremely effective.

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a1.htm

There is also some very detailed information about bass traps and diy treatments at this link:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search.pl

Good luck and please keep up posted. Please don't give up though, the Berning is really stellar with the VSM when all is right, ask Bobby P., he'll give you the low down.

Hi George,

Once again...take your room dimensions, plug them into one of the speaker set-up ratios (Bobby's or Cardas') and see where the speakers AND you should be placed...ideally...in your particular room. The above post is right in asking where you are positioned relative to the speakers. Any of those variables can change the sound drastically...making any speaker/amp combo too boomy, thin, bright...whatever. Mess with that and try the free fixes first. If you have no placement flxibility for the speakers (or yourself) then you may have chosen the wrong combo for your particular room (although the Merlins are usually ideal for smaller rooms with nearfield listening).

Hi George
I have almost your exact system. The ZH270, the VSMM's and the EC dac. I don't have a brightness problem at all. I have not used any of your IC's but I don't think that should be a problem. Before you do anything, call Bobby at Merlin and I'm sure he will help. He really is one of the good guys in this industry. good luck