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Warm Tube Amp(s) to Tame Hyper-Accurate Speakers?

I have these Spendor D9.2's mated to an MC275 VI and the mids and highs are still too much, sometimes.  Sometimes the sound is sublime based on the recording, sometimes harsh.  I imagine perhaps Focal and B&W folks know what I speak of, maybe not Magico owners.  Even using a C2700 tube pre-amp.  Can this be solved with a WARM tube amp, and if so, which ones?  I like my MC275 VI but I am open to suggestions.

alphonsodamato
jonwolfpell
385 posts
 

What is the source of your music? Digital? Analog? That’s worth examining too. I lot of digital streaming equipment ( computers, DACS, servers) sound a bit harsh & over “etched” to me. They can be very tight, clean, fast & dynamic but I can’t listen for more than maybe ten minutes before I need a break. For me listening fatigue is the real determining factor of the quality of a system. Just about every system has something it could do better at but if my brain relaxes I enjoy & get into the music, it’s a “ good” system. 

audition__audio
1,467 posts
 

What about the source? 

verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,499 posts
 

That is a warm rig going into speakers that are not known for being bright.  I would need to dig into it, sometimes the wrong impedance curve on a speaker can make a tweeter sound hot when paired with a tube amp.  You might find switching to a neutral SS amp. Naim, AVM, AGD come to mind for me.  You should be able to borrow or buy on an amp on a return policy to test this.  

how is your room?  Damping matters and if the room is underdamped it could be creating this issue.   
 

Finally, If you are looking for a more “English” sound maybe Harbeth or Wilson Benesch will solve the issue.  You ought to be able to find a used pair of used 40.2s or the P2.0s in a similar price range.  

knotscott
918 posts
 

Without changing speakers, there are a few things you could try.  Some previously mentioned:

  • felt tweeter rings
  • Mullard CV4004 preamp tubes are fairly warm
  • different speaker wires/
  • different cables
  • room treatment
  • scrutinize your sources

 

antigrunge2
1,399 posts
 

Have you tried playing with inverse toe in? In other words put the speakers to point at the side walls at your listening position, then gradually move towards the paralell position until you have no blind spot in the middle of the soundstage. (You may need some Isolation on the first reflection point on the sidewalls to make it work. Changing the amp seems to me completely the wrong approach. Alternatively putting a large shaggy carpet in front of your listening position may achieve similar gains.Sometimes putting isolation boards on the ceiling halfway from the listening position also works

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