2. amps-preamps
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Subtlety ? do any American amps do it?

Not heard that many but it strikes me that everything from the colonies sounds a bit stark and bleached. Spent a year trying to come to terms with a Pass Labs which is vastly overated ( and I mean vastly), listened a lot
to Mark Levinson and thought Thank God I did not spend a fortune on that - clean, clear, hifi and so bereft of soul that it was like a visit to the Dentist !
I'm not that biased, it's taken Naim years to make something resembling music - PRAT ? until recently bunch of narrow minded PRATS.I know lots of Naim fans and their mindset belongs to the third reich !
UK companies like Meridian and Musical Fidelity have managed to do the bizz for at least 30 years that I've known/used and they still manage to make a noise that at least resembles real music. MF get tarred with a do it cheap brush but anyone who has heard their gear and says it's crap is probably a dealer who wants to sell you something at 3/4x the price.
The Brazilians do it a treat - Heard Audiopax 88s at the last Edinburgh show and if anyone there had ears, they should have packed up and went home - different league does not describe it.
Realise this is antagonistic but want some input.
Even the UK press seems blinkered to the crap - Pass, Krell
- whoah, nice hifi, shame there's nothing remotely musical involved, apart from the laughter as they take our hard earned money !

I have a Quicksilver phonostage - lovely and a great customer focused company, had a Lancelot Camelot, super and amazingly friendly & helpful people but go to the Big boys and it's just a money grabbing frenzy ?
I dreamed of a Pass Labs for years and ? my next amp will be coming from somewhere in Europe !

Si
simon74
rosstaman
455 posts
 
What I want you to know is the way audiophile equipment works around here. Either buy and like what I buy and like, or throw all your equipment in the trash. And "they" say we Americans are arrogant!

I'll keep my Pass X600's and Audio Research Ref II, and VPI Turntable, and FIM/CRL Gold cables. It makes me happy, and that's all I care about.
newmanoc
295 posts
 
After looking at your system photo, I agree you would likely benefit considerably from trying to do something about your equipment placement. I DON'T think this is the reason you don't like the U.S. amps you have heard, as bad equipment placement is going to more or less effect all brands adversely (including the U.K. ones that sound better to you).

As an experiment, try getting all your equipment out from in between your speakers and off to the side (on top of a support beam in the flooring, if possible). I know a lot of people use center-stage, symmetrical positioning between speakers for their electronics (allows for shorter speaker cable runs, etc), but in my room/system I was amazed by how this degraded my sound, even using a very good rack. In this position you subject your audio chain to unnecessary vibration from your speakers. This is particularly noticeable if your equipment is resting on wood flooring in an older or less sturdily constructed house (concrete flooring in basements is probably less of an issue). For similar reasons, Sean's point about the subwoofer firing at short range into your equipment is a worthy one. Try moving it.

These are simple things that may well end up giving you more sonic improvements than several thousand pounds in better gear (no matter what its national origin). They are worth a try.
sorlowski
236 posts
 
maybe your problem is that you do not get SS amps ?
I do not like most of them too, does not matter US made (Krell, ML, Pass) or European made (gryphorn, MF) all of them are lifeless, spiritless hifi monsters (with a few exceptions, Jeff Rowland, Bluenote, Clayton...), try tube amps they saved me, I was starting to think that hifi is about noise and power, listen to VAC, Manley (I do not like Maintosh), if you like Subtlety the most, and you do not care about dynamic and power at all, maybe try SET amps (I do not like them , yes they are refined but sounds weak to me), I have discover myself in 50-100W tube amps.
simon74 OP
216 posts
 
Hi Guys,
I had a few glasses before posting but it had the desired effect. I'm sure there are loads of fabulous american amps,
shame I don't get to hear very many.
I'm using an Audio Mirror pre and agree, for the money, it's marvelous (it's actually based on a G. Nardi design for Audionote).
Thinking of taking another plunge of the deep end and buying a Supratek unheard. My aspirations are way beyond my budget so it's worth risk taking to get good value for money.
Looking at room treatments as I'm moving into a smaller & very live room - like everything thing else about our hobby there are a lot of different schools of thought to consider.
Thanks for the input , I like to enjoy my gear, my music and a bit of levity in the forums now & again !
I have far to many good friends in the states to think your all listening to'crap'
I've also heard some fabulous gear that cost buttons - valves seems to be the common denominator - maybe I'm allergic to solid state ?

Si
raytheprinter's avatar
raytheprinter
1,234 posts
 
Simon,theres not anything i can say about Supratek that has not been said,i have my Chardonney paired with a CJ MF2500A and am very happy,even with what some folks dont consider very good speakers(Paradigm Sudio 100 V2)my system sounds more soulfull than most more expensive systems ive heard!IMO
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