Are the Dared SL2000a and Yamaha m85 a poor pairing?

thejazzmarauder
thejazzmarauder Posts: 16
edited October 2019 in 2 Channel Audio
I’m relatively new to high(er) end audio and know very little about anything. I recently got a Yamaha m85 to pair with my Dared pre, and it seems lacking in the lower frequency range. Not much bass presence (partly a product of my speakers, to be sure) and kick/bass drums that sound almost muffled. It definitely sounds like there’s more there somewhere.

I also noticed that, when I first tested out the Yamaha, the guy was able to get it loud enough that it was very uncomfortable to listen to, and still had some headroom. I can get it relatively loud, with the dial on my Dared @ 12 o’clock, but it’s nowhere near as loud as when I heard it initially (in a diff system, I know). Now, I never need to listen at that insane volume, but thought it might be relevant.

I’m fairly sure that the Yamaha is in good condition. FWIW, it’s driving a pair of Thiel CS1.5s.

Is this a poor pairing? I know I’ve read some about matching up impedances, but it went a bit over my head.

Thanks for the input!
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,546
    edited October 2019
    Your pre amp may not have enough voltage output to properly drive your amp.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    Good point ^^

    Also, the tubes in the Dared may not be that great. Your cables could be lacking in quality also. Everything has a certain sound signature to it, it's kinda like a recipe to find the right sound sigs between gear to get the sound you like.
    HT SYSTEM-
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    SVS SB-2000
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    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    Are you using the stock cheap Chinese tubes?
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,009
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Are you using the stock cheap Chinese tubes?

    If so, get them replaced with some top shelf NOS tubes now. Plenty of archived threads on the forum, lots of Polkies had the Dared (some had it several times) and have written extensively about upgrading the tubes for it.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    dromunds wrote: »
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Are you using the stock cheap Chinese tubes?

    If so, get them replaced with some top shelf NOS tubes now. Plenty of archived threads on the forum, lots of Polkies had the Dared (some had it several times) and have written extensively about upgrading the tubes for it.

    This, is the first thing you should do, if your still running those stock Chinese tubes it came with.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    You should just give me the Dared, that'll fix the problem. You'll then have an excuse to get a new pre. >:);)
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
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  • thejazzmarauder
    thejazzmarauder Posts: 16
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Are you using the stock cheap Chinese tubes?
    No, I have some Mullard NOS tubes. One of my speakers blew last night though, so it has been a bad day. Music wasn’t even playing; didn’t know that was possible.

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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    thejazzmarauder wrote: »
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Are you using the stock cheap Chinese tubes?
    No, I have some Mullard NOS tubes. One of my speakers blew last night though, so it has been a bad day. Music wasn’t even playing; didn’t know that was possible.

    well that Yamaha is long in the tooth any number of things could of happened.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,546
    It's very possible when the amp is passing DC voltage.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • DaveHo
    DaveHo Posts: 3,515
    F1nut wrote: »
    It's very possible when the amp is passing DC voltage.

    Considering you have speaker damage when not playing music, this is a real possibility. Woofer?
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