System advice


I’m still a newbie to audio world, but a couple years ago I got Monitor Audio Platinum PL II speakers with XLO Signature cables (good old stuff), Arcam Alpha 9 amp & preamp and Naim CD5 XS with FlatCap XS. Sound was great for me - juicy, involving, deep. But then I was talked into having the whole stack from Naim. I replaced Arcam amp/preamp with Naim NAC XS 152 & Naim NAP 155 XS. I was told it will be an upgrade from Arcam and that having full stack from Naim will provide great synergy.

The problem is.. I almost stopped listening to the music right after this change. There’s something unpleasant in the sound. There’s a lot of details, good resolution but... I don’t feel amused anymore.

Recently I understood that there is no synergy between speakers/cables and amp/preamp. It’s like some sweetness, warm is missing in this sound..

But now I have no idea in what direction I should go. Any advice for a noobie?

 

gabriel123

I ordered Lampizator DAC Baltic & Poseidon for testing. The factory is near me, so I will have them tomorrow for about a week. It will be great to see the difference between one of the cheapest and one of the most expensive models! Anyway, it won’t be best testing ever because I still don’t have any "final" power amp.., so I’d like to ask ....

Any recommendations for power amp for JP?

 

Some ppl recommend solid state amps such as Pass Labs and Luxman.

Some other ppl recommend tubed amps like Rogue Audio Stereo 100, Audio Research REF 75 SE or 150 

Small update: 

I was listening to the music all the evening using Lampizator Baltic 4 and Poseidon. 

While Baltic was just fine, Poseidon was awesome. It's hard to describe what was so special about it, but we listened with a couple of friends and everyone said that Poseidon was in another league. The sound was better in every category. I took it because I was told that Big7 has similar "signature" of sound to Poseidon. Hopefully it's true, because Poseidon is definitely beyond my reach. 

 

I must admit that, for now, I’m enchanted by the sound when listening to classical music, jazz, vocals, and even electronic music through the Poseidon—it’s very good. However, when it comes to rock, it’s quite poor; the sound becomes flat and chaotic, with a heavily veiled background.

I’m wondering whether the charm of tube DACs is limited to the types of music I mentioned, or if this might be revealing the weakness of the very old power amplifier I’ve connected this very expensive DAC to....?

However, when it comes to rock, it’s quite poor; the sound becomes flat and chaotic, with a heavily veiled background. I’m wondering whether the charm of tube DACs is limited to the types of music I mentioned, or if this might be revealing the weakness of the very old power amplifier I’ve connected this very expensive DAC to....?

If it’s the amp I think it is it’s like an $800 amp that has no business being in a system with the Pulsars and Lampi, and I believe it only puts out 70Wpc so that’s your problem not the DAC or speakers.  You also need a much better preamp or a better integrated amp.  The chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and your pre and amp are a total mismatch for your new equipment.  

Thanks @soix. As always I highly appreciate your support! 

Currently Lampi Poseidon works as a PRE too. I also borrowed Auralic S1 streamer. So I suppose the old Arcam PA is indeed the weakest link. Any recommendations for a power amp?