everything sounded great until the upgrade
In short: I loved the sound of my modest system, until I upgraded my amp. Now it sounds pretty horrible. It went from a warm sweet embracing easy-to-listen sound to knives and forks trying to escape from a bathtub.
So...
1. I can just unplug this new amp (used) and sell it
Any other options? I could upgrade my speakers but I have no budget for that.
2. I could sell the speakers and use money to buy used ones that go with the amp.
3. Lastly I could change the source, but was it the culprit - to begin with?
btw - the sound of the "new" amp is decent with my turntable, and terrible with my CD player.
(If I wrote brands and models it would throw the discussion into "A sucks, B is great")
MF amps sound best with many loudspeakers. I'm going to guess but you had a solid state amp of perhaps not the best quality. I think you just need a little time to acquire the taste for the new amp and maybe a little break-in time? I'm just guessing but nobody dislikes the sound of a well matched MF integrated that I know. So let the cat out of the bag, what MF is it and what was your old amp? |
OK, this is easy. The top end of the A3.2 is going to be a little softer than the 2252. Give yourself some time to adjust to the new presentation. Also work on your speaker placement. If you can make your room a little brighter with more reflection that will pick up the top end a bit. And just to throw this out there a cable change might help but work with what you have for now. |
@russ69 thanks! "easy" - everything is easy if you know how to do it! |
A different point of view. There is an old review out there comparing the A3.2 to the former MF A300, and reviewers indicated something that reminds me of how a 2252B will sound warmer closer to an MF A300. However there is praise the A3.2 brings to the equation. As others shared here, give it a few weeks, keep listening, give yourself a chance with the A3.2. If you plugged it in cold after sitting a while, let it play 10-14 days. Also comments the A3.2 reveals what you throw at it, hearing more of bad recordings too. Some of the older 2252Bs can be a veiled over sound. Or, the ones I've heard with original transistors still in them that is. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Article/quote: "A3.2 has that sense of harmonic ease, but the A300 is a touch more full than the A3.2. The newer A3.2 integrated has at least as much bass, but seems to control it a bit better. The end result of this is that the A3.2 sounds a bit leaner, but more in charge of the speakers. Throughout the midrange the A3.2 has a leaner tonal balance. Where the A300 is slightly warmer through the mids and can thus sound a touch laid-back, the A3.2 has a more up-front perspective. This isn’t to say that it’s bright or aggressive -- it’s not -- but rather that it’s a bit more incisive". |
