Benchmark AHB2
Pushing the budget but just lovely.
Denafrips Hyperion
I'll be ordering soon.
Transients hurting my ears on hifi solid state amps
I've looked at many discussions on listening fatigue and similar topics, but haven't really found the answer to the specific problem I've been having.
To me, modern higher end solid state amplifiers tend have too much slam or too sharp transients and that ends up hurting my ears even at 60db levels. Even listening to mellow jazz, the piano notes are just uncomfortable to listen to because of the attack.
I currently have Buchardt S300 Mk II speakers, which are not high sensitivity by any stretch, and are rather smooth sounding, but I don't know if they could contribute to the issue somehow?
The worst case regarding amplifiers I tried was the Rogue Sphinx V2, which is 100W hybrid Class D with tube preamp. Another I had at home for an extended period and had an issue with was the Arcam SA20, which should be a relatively smooth sounding amplifier, and it did get a little closer to what I was looking for.
I currently have a Primaluna Dialogue Premium integrated and I'm very happy with it. The amp I tried to replace was a Marantz PM6005, which is also very smooth. Both are under the recommended power rating of the speakers (even though that's relative for a tube amp), so I'm wondering whether that could be part of it.
I listen mostly to vinyl (Graham Slee Reflex M preamp) with some digital too (Denafrips Pontus II). Both are relatively smooth and vinyl, while usually being softer, doesn't solve the issue.
I'm looking to switch back to solid state (class AB) for various reasons and I was wondering if anybody had had similar experiences and recommendations for amps? Most amps, especially higher end, tend to emphasize the dynamics, punch, agility, etc. and I struggle to find anything that would seem to fit the bill. Tubes seem to do the trick for me, especially with some tube rolling, but not sure where to go with solid state. The budget would be around 2000$.
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- 88 posts total
@holmz Yes, I hadn't thought about it in the context of this discussion, but I remember that highly compressed records (DR 5 or 6 for example) were much easier to listen to and in many cases I didn't have any trouble with them. In more audiophile recordings, for example the typical Diana Krall example, the piano notes were uncomfortable. Even in something as calm as Case of You from Live in Paris (ORG 45RPM LP) I was wincing at the initial attack of the notes. I think the compressed music was more a solution in the case with the Arcam than the Sphinx. I did have the latter for less time, but it was quite an extreme version of this issue for me. Unfortunately, I don't have the two offending amplifiers to do measurements with, but that would indeed have been very interesting. My issue certainly comes from a combination of things and I'm certain distortion and other characteristics play into this. What I'm not sure is whether a highly dynamic amplifier will ever be acceptable to my ears, whatever the other characteristics. As mentioned, I'm limited in what I can try out nearby, and also in buying and selling used gear to try them out, and therefore trying to narrow down the options. But I will try to find ways of testing these hypotheses. Of course the ideal result would be that I don't need to limit myself to less dynamic, less powerful and "slower" amplifiers. The downside is that most of the options with the correct distortion profile, etc. are quite pricey, even though some reasonable options seem to exist. |
^I think we are making progress.^
Just take the offending albums and try them with the amp that works well, and use it tio test out candidate amps. |
There’s lots of good suggestions to try here. May I suggest you also look at isolation pucks for your amplifier and related equipment. I found I was having the same trouble. I couldn’t listen to Mahler symphonies as the peaks hurt my ears - even at moderate volume. I have pretty nice gear, but a furniture grade cabinet - not a dedicated audio rack. (My wife and I want to live with the equipment - not look at it). It occurred to me that my gear may have been experiencing microphonic induced distortion which can happen even at moderate volume. I was able to solve it with isolation pucks. In my case, Isoacoustic Oreos. Nordost sort Kones also worked well. Even low volume can affect equipment. I hope you find a solution which brings back the joy of listening to music again. Best, |
- 88 posts total