Tales From the Rabbit Hole

[Hetfield]

I hate you both.

As long as it's working now is all that matters. Have fun with it.

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[Pogre]

There it is, it happens, people do, do it. Now do some listening and prepare to be amazed. An ATI designed amp will blow awesome a receiver amp.

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My initial impressions are I seem to be hearing more from the upper frequencies. I'm going to run Audyssey again though because I don't think things are level matched now. I know for a fact I bumped one of my Subs. I'm going to do that right now then I shall report back.

 

[Hetfield]

My initial impressions are I seem to be hearing more from the upper frequencies. I'm going to run Audyssey again though because I don't think things are level matched now. I know for a fact I bumped one of my Subs. I'm going to do that right now then I shall report back.

Yeah for some reason I had to run YPAO twice before it got it right. The first time I could tell it was just a little off and unbalanced. The second time it was perfect. I'm kooky though I'll run YPAO from time to time just to make sure everything is good.

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[2channel lover]

If looks could kill...it's a beauty, but yeah, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the impact.

 

[Pogre]

After taking some new Audyssey measurements I took her out for a test run. I eventually cranked it all the way up to reference, 0db.

I'm honestly not noticing it real big night and day difference. That is, until I cranked it up to zero. Everything stayed so pure and crystal clear. I was completely blown away. I only kept it there for a short amount of time though. My ears have been punished enough and that was intense.

If I listen real hard and stare at that amplifier I'm thinking I may be able to hear some more clarity in the upper frequencies? Could easily be chalked up to Placebo too. I will say one thing, I have never heard these Ultra bookshelf speakers sing the way they did tonight when I cranked it all the way up. Wow.

I played them without the subs at full range too, but I'm afraid to turn it up too loud with them by themselves. I've never bottomed them out but I don't really want to test it out with this amplifier. Or any other, really.

I just went and laid my hand on top of it. It's warm, but not hot at all. At least not the top of the case anyway.

 

[Pogre]

Oh! I have a hum. It's not too loud, I have trouble hearing from where I sti, but it's there. I noticed a little gold plated grounding screw on the back of it. Says in the manual I can use that to ground and the receivers' chassis?

 

[Puglover]

I know it's early but would you say that at lower volume levels you don't notice much, if any difference between the AVR with and without the new amplifier? Definitely with higher volumes for sure though.

 

[Pogre]

I know it's early but would you say that at lower volume levels you don't notice much, if any difference between the AVR with and without the new amplifier? Definitely with higher volumes for sure though.

That's correct. At least for now. I am not noticing a big night and day difference at lower volumes. It's crisper and cleaner when I crank it up, and I mean all the way up, for sure. I wanted there to be a big difference. I wanted to be blown away, but it's really not a huge difference (if any). I'm being completely honest here. Maybe it would have helped if I didn't crank it up to reference first and saved it for the end...

I'm also happy to report that I'm not disappointed at all. This amp is freaking badass. It's also freaking huge. I need to get a new stand, or maybe 2. I'm thinking about using one of my speaker stands for the center Channel and maybe two smaller stands beside it to hold the equipment. Any suggestions? I'll probably shoot over to Walmart or BestBuy first thing tomorrow to see what they have.

Before I end this post I should say the jury is still out at this point. I have a lot more music to put through it and I'm watching John Wick 2 right now. I haven't tried pure yet either, so Audyssey is on and all the EQ is in place. I have it all set up the way I like it. I want to have some fun with it my first night!

 

[Tankman]

Huh?

I had nothing else to come up with but that movie with Johnny Depp, the first one Alice in Wonderland. Look what happened when see looked into that rabbit hole. She got tall, she got small after drinking that potion and it became curiouser and curiouser. Point is, This hobby of gear is what it is, anyone understanding it for what it isn't fall's down that rabbit hole. If the music doesn't come first. Then go ask Alice but leave your head at the door. Oh wait that's Jefferson Starship, Grace Slick what voice she had..You guys think she talked with Absalom? 'Never trust a man who doesn't like music I always say'. Pogre, You just had to jump on that amp huh?. But hey who am I to say. Mad Hatter I tell you! Enjoy!

 

[Pogre]

Well thank you for such a clever and thoughtful reply.

But hey who am I to say.

Couldn't have said it better myself. You got anything else to add or are you done tainting my thread? There are plenty of other ones out there that I'm sure would just love your prose.

 

[Tankman]

View attachment 21400 View attachment 21401 View attachment 21402 View attachment 21403 View attachment 21404

It's here! Good lord this thing is big! And heavy! That is not going to be its permanent home. I definitely have to get a more stout AV rack or TV stand. It looks pretty goofy sitting up there like that right now. I have to rethink things a little bit, it's bigger than I expected it to be.

What I have done so far is run the rca's (using the connections on the ends, with the cc in the middle as @KEW suggested), hooked up the speakers and ran the trigger cord from my avr to the amp. I have yet to plug the power cord in. I've never done this before and I want to make sure I'm not going to royally screw something up. I've seen a lot of posts about turning the amp off first and turning it on last (or vice versa?). I don't know how the trigger works.

A photo with the hood off would be nice, sure would like to see them turbochargers up close. Umm..how many sparkplugs you got at the power rail? I wouldn't bet my last buck on the torque it can turn out at the line. Porge, what ever You do don't red light that hotrod you got there. Use the parachute or You could sling a rod. Break her in nice a slow. Photos with the hood off!. Don't get offended, wasn't taking a Shot at you. Enjoy your gear! Enjoy your hobby!

 

[Pogre]

Methinks someone is sporting a pretty healthy hangover this morning...

 

[Pogre]

I figured out where my hum was coming from. It's my DTV set-top box. I unplugged it from the receiver the hum immediately stopped.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Hey poges, how's things this morning? I'm enjoying my system as I write. So now you've got the first test out of the way and time to really listen. I am still in the camp of, amps sound like amps. Mostly. IME i noticed what seemed like better control over my speakers at any volume, and what I can only describe as better resolution. They sound opened up at lower volumes than normal. Differences were NOT night and day, but I listen to this system every single day. That can include everything from cd's to streaming to BD to wheel of fortune on satellite. That is to say I have a very good working knowledge of the sound in my room. The differences I note wouldn't likely be noticed, even by people that have listened to my system more than a few times. I do not believe anything I noticed was placebo, but to be clear they were subtleties at best. Would I get rid of my amp? Never.

 

[Pogre]

Hey poges, how's things this morning? I'm enjoying my system as I write. So now you've got the first test out of the way and time to really listen. I am still in the camp of, amps sound like amps. Mostly. IME i noticed what seemed like better control over my speakers at any volume, and what I can only describe as better resolution. They sound opened up at lower volumes than normal. Differences were NOT night and day, but I listen to this system every single day. That can include everything from cd's to streaming to BD to wheel of fortune on satellite. That is to say I have a very good working knowledge of the sound in my room. The differences I note wouldn't likely be noticed, even by people that have listened to my system more than a few times. I do not believe anything I noticed was placebo, but to be clear they were subtleties at best. Would I get rid of my amp? Never.

I think that your experience and my experience are pretty darn close.

What do I do about this stupid hum? Unplugging my DTV box from my receiver resolved it, but I imagine we're eventually going to be wanting to watch something on DTV. How do I fix this poop?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

A few things to try. Ground loop issues are common with satellite. Make sure the sat system is grounded properly for one. I've seen these work
Viewsonics VSIS-EU Cable TV Ground Loop Isolator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017I3K9M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FgPszb2T2T6K4
Also cheater plugs.
Since I don't know your satellite setup, I'd use google-fu and see what's applicable to you. Also, call CS and see what they say. They might send a tech to deal with it. Maybe?
Also, when are your damn speakers coming? I can't wait. Lol

 

[Pogre]

A few things to try. Ground loop issues are common with satellite. Make sure the sat system is grounded properly for one. I've seen these work
Viewsonics VSIS-EU Cable TV Ground Loop Isolator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017I3K9M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FgPszb2T2T6K4
Also cheater plugs.
Since I don't know your satellite setup, I'd use google-fu and see what's applicable to you. Also, call CS and see what they say. They might send a tech to deal with it. Maybe?
Also, when are your damn speakers coming? I can't wait. Lol

Heh. Tomorrow. And I can't wait either! I think those speakers are where this new amp is really going to shine. They can handle more power.

I shall perform some Google Fu and see what I come up with for DTV. First thing I will call them and see if I can get it tech out here for free to fix it for me.

 

[ski2xblack]

When it comes to clean watts, too much is just enough. You've got that amp problem covered, for now and into the future. Just heed Tankman's cleverly worded advice about avoiding throwing a rod.

What do I do about this stupid hum? Unplugging my DTV box from my receiver resolved it, but I imagine we're eventually going to be wanting to watch something on DTV. How do I fix this poop?

One of THESE.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Heh. Tomorrow. And I can't wait either! I think those speakers are where this new amp is really going to shine. They can handle more power.

I agree. Like I said, I will not try to bias you even though you know my thoughts. I will say though, your UBS are a solid place to come from. I'm looking forward to what you think after spending some time with the towers. Fwiw, I do believe the amp will have had less impact.

 

[Pogre]

When it comes to clean watts, too much is just enough. You've got that amp problem covered, for now and into the future. Just heed Tankman's cleverly worded advice about avoiding throwing a rod.


One of THESE.

Hey! That looks relatively cheap and easy!

Like I said in an earlier post, I'm afraid to take it up too much with my speakers by themselves. I'll probably get a little more brave with my towers, but the last thing I want to do is blow my speakers up now.