I did something tonight that is going to cost me

dpowell
dpowell Posts: 3,068
edited April 2010 in Vintage Speakers
Had to take my Pioneer AVR in for servicing. I decided while it was in for servicing that I'd borrow my Anthem tubed preamp from the 2-channel rig and move it temporarily into the theater. I wanted to have a listen to it on the SRT's. BIG mistake! :D They sounded so much more detailed, full and musical than with the Pioneer. The SDA effect was also much better. That's bad news for my wallet. In addition, I began to recognize that it is my Adcom power amp that may well be at the root of the shrillness I'm hearing on the SRT's. I know that the RT series Polks with the tri-laminate tweeter are known for being a bit bright but this is down-right harsh and fatiguing at higher volumes. Makes me wonder what they'd sound like if I used the Anthem tubed power amp....hmmmmm.......Yikes!:eek: I am now trying to figure out how to replace the power amp with something different plus get a tubed pre with HT bypass into the theater room. Thanks one and all on this forum who introduced me and my wallet to tubes!:rolleyes:
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polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
Post edited by dpowell on
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited April 2010
    Tubes....bad move for your wallet...good for you ears. I noticed the same thing with my SDAs and an Adcom power amp. But I'm not following your lead for now. Will just get a 'warmer' pre....maybe an entry level tube pre-amp! Don't have the coin for much more.

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited April 2010
    Which do you like better for music, the 1c's or the SRT's?
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,068
    edited April 2010
    I'd have to say the 1C's come out on top right now for musicality. I'll definitely be doing some more experimenting. Here are the things I noticed: (keep in mind that the 1C's are on an all tube setup with a Denon 3910 as the source vs the SRT's on solid state gear with an Oppo as the source). Also keep in mind that the 1C's have the benefit of being 'properly spaced' while the SRT's placement options are limited and not optimal for SDA effect.

    SRT Pros:
    Seemingly unlimitless power
    Great detail and clarity
    SRT control center provides multiple SDA settings and fine tune adjustments for the subs

    SRT Cons:
    Subs are not musical
    Tweeters are harsh/bright

    SDA 1C Pros:
    Extremely musical
    Highs are silky smooth for the most part (even with the stock tweeters)
    Can handle a lot of power
    Bass is really smooth and detailed (not boomy)

    SDA 1C Cons:
    Would like more bottom end (They're on granite but I guess I really need to spike them)
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    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited April 2010
    I've never been a big fan of the Adcom gear, always found it to be a bit too harsh for my ears
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,068
    edited April 2010
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    I've never been a big fan of the Adcom gear, always found it to be a bit too harsh for my ears

    I definitely think it is time to try something different. The 7500 is a great amp with decent power (150wpc) but the SRT's 'need' more and how can I say 'No' to them?:p Ed likes his Parasound on his SRT's. I was also considering the Earthquake cinenova grande. There aren't a whole lot of multi-channel amps out there with power ratings above 250wpc@8Ohms. Sigh....if only money grew on trees.
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    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,464
    edited April 2010
    Try grabbing a Sunfire Cinema Signature 400~7 or a Mcintosh MC 7205 for power.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • jimsvm
    jimsvm Posts: 307
    edited April 2010
    What happened to the pio, if you don' mind me asking.
    Rec rm vm30 micro pro 3000 akai 2 channel. ht anthem MTX 5 channel anthem P2 statement anthem 325, 8 channel Martin Logan power amp for 4 ceiling ls900 2 and outdoor polks, 2 JL 110’s subs panasonic 65" plasma lsim 705’s , 706c, L200 and Control 4 garage rig monitor 10s crossovers by VR3, dynamat, RDO-194's, new drivers. psw 111 Pioneer 9040 BDP53fd 100 " screen Nakamichi HD projector, and Panasonic 65” plasma.
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,068
    edited April 2010
    I bought it from Carlos here on the forum and he advertised it as having an intermittent quirky problem where the front panel would freeze and thus sold it at a nicely reduced price. The amp keeps working at present volume and input setting but can't be changed. It has to be hard powered off. The amp worked great for a long period of time but recently started powering itself off intermittently as well as doing the freeze thing so I finally got fed up enough to take it in for servicing. I have a local contact who retired from 30 years of servicing AV equipment (Fisher/Sony/Tweeter) who does repairs as a hobby now. His initial guess without actual testing is that it is a power regulator but he should be letting me know sometime this week. The last repair he did for me on my tube amp (replace 4 resistors) cost $20 so hopefully I'm not out too much coin.
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    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,068
    edited April 2010
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    Try grabbing a Sunfire Cinema Signature 400~7 or a Mcintosh MC 7205 for power.

    I will take a look at those. Thanks for the suggestions!
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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