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New Preamp arrived....

So a few short hours ago my Quicksilver Line Stage Preamp arrived. It will be replacing a Schiit SYS passive that was bought to be able to implement the first piece of the puzzle, the power amp, and be able to sell my cheapo integrated.

its been 20 months since the power amp arrived so today was super exciting.
I hook it all up (and reverse the speaker connections as it says it inverts phase) and...

Well its every bit as clean and clear as the Schiit. Bass is a little better. The volume knob can actually be turned further to get as loud as the Schiit which was surprising. The treble has some sizzle on the very top end which I’m assuming will work itself out over time. Not much different in the bass department.

My fear going in was it’d sound the same which would add a heavy dose of buyer’s remorse ($1300 vs $50). It’s got the stock JJ 12AT7 tubes and I have a pair of NOS RCA black plates coming next week.

So what kinds of things can I expect for the first few days/weeks?
gochurchgo
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,104 posts
 
gochurchgo, 

Before you switch out speakers or make any other component changes, look into treating your room acoustically. Otherwise, you may be on endless upgrade path. 
Contact GIK, they are fairly inexpensive. I was able to treat my room under $1500, the treatments made huge improvements. 
gochurchgo OP
892 posts
 
I spent another hour moving speakers around last night after my last post. I could change the sound some and even got punchier bass where they sit now. Having had zero money to spend I’ve spent a bunch of time playing with toe and front wall distance (it’s free!). I am liking where sound is now more than before.

ive looked into non permanent treatments but I don’t know where to start and there’s no “start with this” advice I could find. 
This is what I am working with. The red boxes are the speakers. The distance from the listener’s right speaker to the corner is 13’ or so.

As linked in a previous post I’m running Focal 807v which I think until recently was the best part of the system. I’ve not made a decision on what I want to upgrade them to as of yet, possibly:
Dynaudio Special 40
Holt Hill Cionnsaile Monitor
Canton Reference 9.2 DC
Verdant Bambusa MG1
(Used) JA Pulsars

Its been remarked to keep the Focals and run subs but I feel like that’d be a temporary solution and I doubt I’d ever get them to blend it’d drive me bonkers.

im happy with what the Quicksilver is doing. The detail and clarity is bonkers. I had hoped it would also warm up the sound but I think the speakers might be hindering that.

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
Tube-rolling seems like a cheaper alternative to changing speakers.  NOS Mullards are often cited in this kind of context, I'm sure there are others.
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,469 posts
 
For non-permanent room treatments, reach out to Michael Green Audio.  Michael is a friend and offered me some good advice as a consumer and as I have moved into the business.  

He specifically has a "Room-Tune" kit that consists of stuffed fabric panels that can be attached with thumb tacks so really not permanent.  He also has a forum though it has been a little less active over MR 6 months.  

He can offer a POV on where to place panels.  The nice thing is for a normal room pricing is in the hundreds, not thousands

Here is the link to Michael's site:
https://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,469 posts
 
Regarding your overall placement, proximity to the sidewall should be less of an issue but the imbalance with one side reflecting and the other not has to be interesting.  I had a similar scenario in a home theater and move to a smaller satellite speaker (Sunfire HRS SAT).  But that was home theater and seven channel offers very different imaging.  


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