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Power Amp Upgrade?

Paulq2

pfm Member
A combination of upgradeitis and 'something missing' often results in my bank account reducing. At the moment I am running a set of Spendor S8E's off an Exposure 3010s2. Whilst it's certainly not a bad combination I can't help but feel there's something missing - it may pass or may not. I am not sure whether its:

a) Me
b) Speakers
c) Amp
d) Speakers and amp

To begin with I am looking at the amp and am after a power amp that is really authoritative in terms of power and current. After trawling through endless reviews I will probably look at something like the Quad Artera which seems to be highly regarded and lacking nothing in the 'ability to drive well' stakes. However, I am sure there are others with the right combination of high power/high current/high damping factor.

Any views on that or similarly powerful alternatives in the £1500 range?
 
Maybe a pedantic point but 90% of everything you read about damping factor and needing high current is bollox!
Almost all SS amps have more than enough of both. As you were.
 
I had S8s and found them a bit earth bound despite generous power/quality ( EAR509s). Have you considered a trial of different speakers?
 
I had S8s and found them a bit earth bound despite generous power/quality ( EAR509s). Have you considered a trial of different speakers?

Interesting - I have the same feeling, great as they are and yeah I am open to trialling others but it's either change the amp or change the speakers - no real desire to spend more than on one of them.
 
Yes, keep an open mind. I’ve fixed on one component as the problem before and it’s turned out to be something else in the chain.
 
I think what you might be looking for is a pair of “more authoritative” speakers. Your amp has plenty of power, but the Spendor house sound is a bit laid back and polite, or depending on taste natural and unforced.
 
I think what you might be looking for is a pair of “more authoritative” speakers. Your amp has plenty of power, but the Spendor house sound is a bit laid back and polite, or depending on taste natural and unforced.

Happy to go down that road first and home dem a few - what are worth looking at that meet that criteria within my price bracket? Happy to consider SH. Initially I am thinking ProAc or ATC.
 
Well, I am no expert :)
Its a case of hearing for yourself. One of the good things about pfm (apart from the large amount of knowledge and experience) is that you can buy s/h and move on for the cost of postage if something doesn't suit. Thats how I built my system with some of the stuff I'd never heard about. I got one amazing upgrade for free that actually gave me money back - I removed my pre-amp! I still don't really understand why but it was like a slap in the face improvement and it was a really good pre-amp with a lot of pfm support.

Big powerful amps bring something else to the party and you'll just have to try yourself to see if it helps with your own speakers. They provide more of everything and don't struggle with difficult speaker loads such as low impedance at certain frequencies, large phase angles (where current and voltage go out of phase) etc. You can get a good US power amp for that money or closer to home a rare Merdian 559.

Cheers,

DV
 
I agree with others having owned the 3010 pre/power and integrated, they have plenty of power and never found anything missing unlike several pairs of spendor speakers could never quite get on with them.
 
Its a case of hearing for yourself. One of the good things about pfm (apart from the large amount of knowledge and experience) is that you can buy s/h and move on for the cost of postage if something doesn't suit. Thats how I built my system with some of the stuff I'd never heard about. I got one amazing upgrade for free that actually gave me money back - I removed my pre-amp! I still don't really understand why but it was like a slap in the face improvement and it was a really good pre-amp with a lot of pfm support.

Big powerful amps bring something else to the party and you'll just have to try yourself to see if it helps with your own speakers. They provide more of everything and don't struggle with difficult speaker loads such as low impedance at certain frequencies, large phase angles (where current and voltage go out of phase) etc. You can get a good US power amp for that money or closer to home a rare Merdian 559.

Cheers,

DV

We've been here loads of times before but if you must repeat the same fallacy I'll have to repeat that it's wrong.
 
Paul, Get a 2nd hand JVC AX-Z1010TN (I've said this before as well)

For £550 to £600 you will have a there, or thereabouts , top line integrated that will drive anything. If you still feel that your system is lacking then look at different speakers.

I'd also recommend Deoxit gold and a tepe brush on every single connector, but FFS unplug everything first!

https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Cai...MIv67VxKua6AIViK3tCh0S_QS1EAQYAiABEgJqvvD_BwE

I've found that getting rid of your switched mains wall plate can transform things - the thinking being that the switched contacts tarnish and then act as diodes.

TM3 do an unswitched (and silver plated) wallplate that I have found to make a huge difference with some amps.

http://tm3connections.com/mains-pow...ies/power-blocks-sockets/silver-plated-socket

Although if you did go with the JVC amp the power supply side of it is already good enough to filter out any noise from the mains
 
No you are blind to the truth. Sorry.

Cheers,

DV

You know I'd just prepared a suitable reply and then saw that vastly more ridiculous stuff still had been posted by those with even less knowledge... probably trolling...

I'll never get to grips with the site rule that "you are welcome to talk total bollox, to make stuff up as you go along, to lie even. If you are an expert on the matter and wish to point out that it's complete BS then this is strictly forbidden"
 
Happy to go down that road first and home dem a few - what are worth looking at that meet that criteria within my price bracket? Happy to consider SH. Initially I am thinking ProAc or ATC.

It is a very good idea to dem. :) I’d try some Amphions. I used to use an Exposure 2010S with a pair of Amphion Argon2 speakers and that was amazing. Could have lived with that setup really, but ended up on the upgrade cycle. ;)
 
From trawling through options I think my initial hitlist will be:

ATC SCM19's or SCM11's

ProAc Tablette Signature/D2R and D20R.

I suspect I may have to compromise on the ideal given the relatively small size of my room so my guess is it will be a shootout between either the SCM11 and Tablette or the SCM19 or D2R.
 
A combination of upgradeitis and 'something missing' often results in my bank account reducing. At the moment I am running a set of Spendor S8E's off an Exposure 3010s2. Whilst it's certainly not a bad combination I can't help but feel there's something missing - it may pass or may not. I am not sure whether its:

a) Me
b) Speakers
c) Amp
d) Speakers and amp

To begin with I am looking at the amp and am after a power amp that is really authoritative in terms of power and current. After trawling through endless reviews I will probably look at something like the Quad Artera which seems to be highly regarded and lacking nothing in the 'ability to drive well' stakes. However, I am sure there are others with the right combination of high power/high current/high damping factor.

Any views on that or similarly powerful alternatives in the £1500 range?

I'd suggest a home demo of the Sugden ANV50 to see if you're really missing anything. If you like what you hear buy a Sugden 21SE s/h for the money you have and you'll get 98%+ of the ANV50. I'd also check out alternative loudspeakers as usually they contribute most to system changes.
 
To be honest I think I am going to focus on the speakers and have pretty much narrowed it down, not exhaustively, to those I listed above. I have heard many good things about ProAc speakers so am keen to hear what all the fuss is about.

I do have an option on an immaculate pair of SCM11's but don't want to buy before trying and I am not sure how these would stack up against the others.

As a slight aside, to tide me over and for future use with an office system, I have bought a pair of Castle Richmond 3's. These things are astonishing for their size - I am literally blown away by them.
 
I've found that getting rid of your switched mains wall plate can transform things - the thinking being that the switched contacts tarnish and then act as diodes.

You can’t be serious can you?

To answer the original query, it’s you. Just listen to the music, not to the system. Stop reading silly reviews and keep your money.
You’ll never be satisfied otherwise.
 


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