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When it all falls apart...

Minio

Minio

Kind of Sort of Not really...
When turning the volume up on my system, there is a point beyond which it will sonically fall apart.

So.
Is there any one component that is to blame for this?

Chiefly I'm thinking - the speakers, the amplifier or is it my ears or the room or even the source?

Is there a particular culprit in your system or is it a bit of a puzzle like I find?
 
I'm inclined to agree, provided the loudspeakers go loud cleanly, without compressing too much. I can't get it to happen anymore since monstering the amplifier, although interestingly I also find it much more satisfying at low volume.
 
The room plays a huge part, imo the reason 95% of the demos at the shows sound so crap is they have them far too loud in order to impress the dimwits, every demo I listened to I turned down the volume or left the room.
 
sq225917 said:
Make model of amp and speakers and room size please?
Click to expand...
System is currently Naim CDX2.2, 72 RSL, 250DR, Tannoy MC15.
Room 5 by 3.5 by 2.5 metres.

I'm really enjoying this system. Although the obvious limiting factor is the speakers
they do go quite loud and have good dynamics. 88db is the quoted sensitivity. These speakers are cheap and not usually used in more expensive systems.

That's pretty much the answer to my question.
I was interested to hear others experiences of system limitations.
 
Notrelevant for you, but a turntable too close to the speakers can also cause this
 
Some time ago I had a NAP250 (Black, but not DR) driving ATC SCM40s. These speakers are less efficient than yours (85db for 1W at 1m) and my room was larger. The sound became hard and compressed when played loud, as the amp started to run out of juice, but before it obviously clipped. An experienced Naim dealer advised me that this is how 250s sound when they are driven too hard. So, if that is what you are experiencing then it is possible that, for the levels you want to play at, your amp is not powerful enough. I solved my problem with a pair of 400W NCore based class D amps :D.
 
Room resonance can do that.
Everything hi-fi falls apart in one of my rooms when I push it too hard.
But it has nothing to do with the system itself.
 
TBH most of the time I listen at medium to low to very low levels 24/7. Listening in the domestic environment for many of us is done in this way.
Only occasionally does one get carried away enough with the tunes to crank it up to eleven and rock out. The price of getting to that point is beyond my budget. I'm quite happy with 10.
I remember a dem of ATC40a's, Timcat. The dealer on that occasion never did bring out an amp sufficient to fire them up effectively.
 
Zombie said:
Room acoustics?
Click to expand...
I can see that room acoustics could be a problem for many. Somehow I have managed to avoid that it seems.
It could, though, all sound very wrong if speaker placement and listening position were not optimised.
I'm 2.3 metres away from the speakers which are 1.5 metres apart. Speakers 0.8 metres from back wall /window.
And prioritising amp quality over speaker cost seems to always work for me. I seem to have become one of Julians disciples.
Doh!
 
Minio said:
System is currently Naim CDX2.2, 72 RSL, 250DR, Tannoy MC15.
Room 5 by 3.5 by 2.5 metres.

I'm really enjoying this system. Although the obvious limiting factor is the speakers
they do go quite loud and have good dynamics. 88db is the quoted sensitivity. These speakers are cheap and not usually used in more expensive systems.

That's pretty much the answer to my question.
I was interested to hear others experiences of system limitations.
Click to expand...

Can't find anything about Tannoy MC15 on the web.

Assuming they are not huge and are 2-way then the most likely explanation for your observations is that the bass/mid is being driven into its non-linear region. At the large driver excursions caused by low frequencies the poor old mid-range gets distorted. 3-way speakers mostly circumvent this.
 
S-Man said:
the poor old mid-range gets distorted. 3-way speakers mostly circumvent this.
Click to expand...
Yes I can hear that effect when you push them. You get what you pay for.
190 quid in 1990 may be £800 with today's money.
But like I say, pushing them is not like the majority of my listening.
 
Yer cannae squeeze a gallon of output from a pint-sized thing, as S-Man already intimated.

Even though modern small drivers are capable of comparatively large excursions, the way they couple to the air mass becomes compromised. Going loud requires displacement, which is better achieved with more surface area than with more travel.

That also assumes you have enough amplifier. It is quite surprising how much power is required to deal with peaks cleanly, even when you are running on an average of 1W.
 
Are you guessing or have you measured your room?

Minio said:
I can see that room acoustics could be a problem for many. Somehow I have managed to avoid that it seems.
It could, though, all sound very wrong if speaker placement and listening position were not optimised.
I'm 2.3 metres away from the speakers which are 1.5 metres apart. Speakers 0.8 metres from back wall /window.
And prioritising amp quality over speaker cost seems to always work for me. I seem to have become one of Julians disciples.
Doh!
Click to expand...
 
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