warm sounding amplifiers? upgrade ideas and recomendations please!!

[itsasickness]

I am looking for recomendations on upgrading my music system. Several months ago I upgraded from a Harman Kardon avr 7300 to emotiva umc 1 and upa 700. Wow... what a huge upgrade I thought. Then I came across a great deal on a rote rmbl 1066. Plugged it in and imediately noticed fuller warmer sound. This got me thinking, why not get an even better amp. I will be keeping the emotiva gear for ht because its more than adequate, but for music I want more. Ive been looking at some mcintosh amps, ive heard good things about jolida. I'm not opposed to good used gear. Id like to keep it under 1200 for the amp.

I am currently using paradigm studio 20 v5s with kimber kables 8tcs and an svs pb1000. What are some good amp options with warm sound? Should I even be looking at amps or should I be looking at processors? I naturally want the biggest bang for my buck. I will be adding a project debut carbon turntable in the coming weeks too. That will be my primary source.

Any advice or feedback will be welcomed. Thanks for your time.

 

[ImcLoud]

Welcome to AH, you will find a lot of the guys here are in the "solid state equipment and all cables sound the same" camp.. I am also in that camp after testing and listening to tons of equipment, but I am happy to hear you love your system, that is what its all about...

 

[jkgsxr]

+1 on ImcLoud

 

[itsasickness]

clearly not...

I didnt ask a legitimate question to get flamed. Fact: I have three very different sets of cables all off them DO produce a subtlety different sound. I also have two amps that produce a very different sound. So no not all cables sound the same and neither do all ss amps. Ask yourself this, what is the most you ever spent on amp? Why did you spend that much rather than buying a cheapo Pyle off amazon? They sound the same right?

 

[ImcLoud]

I didnt ask a legitimate question to get flamed. Fact: I have three very different sets of cables all off them DO produce a subtlety different sound. I also have two amps that produce a very different sound. So no not all cables sound the same and neither do all ss amps. Ask yourself this, what is the most you ever spent on amp? Why did you spend that much rather than buying a cheapo Pyle off amazon? They sound the same right?

I in no way attended to "flame" you, as far as the most I ever spent on an amp and that amp vs a "pyle from amazon" you can read through my previous posts on this forum and see my stand point on the subject. I always say buy what you like the looks, cost, warranty, cs, and reputation of but do not fool your self into think it will sound much better...
I wouldn't buy a pyle amp because most of them are "pro" style and not going to fit into my system, I like the looks, customer service, warranty, and price of Outlaw and Emotiva so that is what I buy.

My post was not meant to start an argument but I love to argue if you feel that is what you want to do then "I am your huckleberry" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eesNA_W44SU , I simply welcomed you to the site, told you how a lot of our members feel, and also said all that really matters is your happy..

So again, to answer your question, in my opinion, there is no processor or amplifier that is going to change your speakers sound for the "warmer", unless it has an eq or tone control of sorts.. If you want better sound, buy new speakers, that is going to give you the biggest audible diffierence, but judging by your posts thus far, maybe you should try one of these, I am almost positive you will be floored by its performance...

But seriously all jokes aside, by a nicer speaker, I personally am not a fan of the s20, its a small booksehlf and I am not sure if it has something to do with its efficiency or small cabinet but to me it doesnt sound very good in the lower regions {I am not talking sub 60 I am talking sub 250}, and I was never a fan of any of their tweeters, I remember the 20 v5' being around $700 on sale and to me that was about $350 too much, save your money and invest in a pair of speakers that reproduce the sound you are looking for...

I was always confused as to how a speaker wire could color sound, lol.. But what confused me even more was the people who believed it, there are actually guys that believe cables also need to "break in" SERIOUSLY? So my house is brand new so as it gets older and the in wall wiring "breaks in" I can expect my sound system to sound much better...

 

[rnatalli]

I didnt ask a legitimate question to get flamed. Fact: I have three very different sets of cables all off them DO produce a subtlety different sound. I also have two amps that produce a very different sound. So no not all cables sound the same and neither do all ss amps. Ask yourself this, what is the most you ever spent on amp? Why did you spend that much rather than buying a cheapo Pyle off amazon? They sound the same right?

"Warm" equals coloration which equals distortion so I will ask, why would you spend serious money on an amp if it distorts the sound? If you want warm sound, look into tube amps or speakers that produce it.

 

[crossedover]

or simply add eq till you get the sound you prefer

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, "warm" sounding amps will not have a linear accurate frequency response. It will probably taper down starting @ 4kHz and after. If your speaker's FR also taper down starting @ 4kHz, it will be even "warmer".

Tube amps may be like that. In addition, they produce a lot of heat. So that may also make the sound "warm".

Room correction software (like Audyssey) will also start to taper the FR starting @ 4kHz. So perhaps try that and see if it produces the warm sound.

But how do you define "warm" sound?

 

[herbu]

My post was not meant to start an argument but I love to argue if you feel that is what you want to do then "I am your huckleberry"

Perfect!! And great clip!!!

 

[TheHills44060]

I like the move from Emotiva to the Rotel very much, good job. Switching speakers will give you the biggest change in sound and perhaps a warmer sound depending on what you choose. The Paradigm tweeters give me headaches so if it were me those 20's would be adios amigo. Play around with other comparably prices bookshelves and see what you prefer.

 

[rnatalli]

or simply add eq till you get the sound you prefer

This isn't a bad idea. Plenty of receivers and preamps allow manual EQ like Yamaha, Pioneer, Emotiva, etc.

 

[Saverio]

Funny. Ematthews doesn't much like his Prima Luna because it sounds "warm" and you're looking for "warm".
Maybe he can sell you his.

 

[ImcLoud]

I think the OP was just trolling for a response..

 

[sharkman]

But seriously all jokes aside, by a nicer speaker, I personally am not a fan of the s20, its a small booksehlf and I am not sure if it has something to do with its efficiency or small cabinet but to me it doesnt sound very good in the lower regions {I am not talking sub 60 I am talking sub 250}, and I was never a fan of any of their tweeters, I remember the 20 v5' being around $700 on sale and to me that was about $350 too much, save your money and invest in a pair of speakers that reproduce the sound you are looking for...

I was always confused as to how a speaker wire could color sound, lol.. But what confused me even more was the people who believed it, there are actually guys that believe cables also need to "break in" SERIOUSLY? So my house is brand new so as it gets older and the in wall wiring "breaks in" I can expect my sound system to sound much better...

This thread went about like I thought it would and then you go and call the OP a troll. Imcloud, I suggest you phone Mike Morrow of Morrow Audio and ask him about his cables and the silly notion that they need to break in. That is all.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I am looking for recomendations on upgrading my music system. Several months ago I upgraded from a Harman Kardon avr 7300 to emotiva umc 1 and upa 700. Wow... what a huge upgrade I thought. Then I came across a great deal on a rote rmbl 1066. Plugged it in and imediately noticed fuller warmer sound. This got me thinking, why not get an even better amp. I will be keeping the emotiva gear for ht because its more than adequate, but for music I want more. Ive been looking at some mcintosh amps, ive heard good things about jolida. I'm not opposed to good used gear. Id like to keep it under 1200 for the amp.

I am currently using paradigm studio 20 v5s with kimber kables 8tcs and an svs pb1000. What are some good amp options with warm sound? Should I even be looking at amps or should I be looking at processors? I naturally want the biggest bang for my buck. I will be adding a project debut carbon turntable in the coming weeks too. That will be my primary source.

Any advice or feedback will be welcomed. Thanks for your time.

Before you buy something else, use the processor in the preamp section and roll off the upper bands. See if you like the outcome.
Or, try a single ended tube amp. Or, place a 1 ohm resistor in one line of each speakers. That will help too.

 

[GranteedEV]

What are some good amp options with warm sound? Should I even be looking at amps or should I be looking at processors?

Speakers + room.

And remember "warm" sound implies a departure from neutrality - an alteration of the signal. The easiest way to alter the signal is to use equalization rather than play pinata with a blindfold on not even being able to confirm if you have an existing target in the first place.

Really man, I mean it. The weakest link in your system is always the speakers and their interaction with the room. The sooner you're willing to accept that reality the sooner you can make real strides forward to obtaining the sound you like. If there's something about the sound you're hearing that you find lacking - it's all in those two pieces.

 

[wire]

I would try a lower end Tube amp and speaker placement to start . I love the tube amps , i still have my 4b and rarley gets turned on .

 

[PENG]

Not all tube amps sound warm to everyone, assuming that do to some. I listened to a few recently, none sounds any warmer than most SS amps I am familiar with.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Not all tube amps sound warm to everyone, assuming that do to some. I listened to a few recently, none sounds any warmer than most SS amps I am familiar with.

Oh, those must have been the good ones.

 

[Speedskater]

Not all tube amps sound warm to everyone, assuming that do to some. I listened to a few recently, none sounds any warmer than most SS amps I am familiar with.

While some tube amps are designed to have a euphonic sound, others are designed to have a accurate sound.

It's your money, your listening time and your enjoyment. Either is acceptable as long as you understand what the design goal was.