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Alternative to AZ Matrix

Hi,
I have the Silver Audio Appassionata IC (Amp>Preamp) and the AZ Matrix (Cdp>Preamp. The problem is with the Matrix (new ver.) I have some bass and midrange boominess. With the Silver Audio 4.0 replacing the Matrix, the boominess goes away, and I get a great highly detailed and airy sound. I like it a lot, but that combo is very unforgiving of lesser CDs.

Is there another IC that might be voiced between the 4.0 and the Matrix? I also have a suspicion that this might be a systems matching issue. Here's the rest of the system:

Quicksilver Mini Mono
LW-1 Passive Pre
LS3/5a
AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000
Cardas Neutral Ref speaker cable
bluesea

Showing 1 response by soix

soix
10,009 posts
 
I had a similar situation when I initially plugged the Matrix Refs into my system. Try the Matrix Refs in the pre to amp connection instead of from the CDP to pre--that may help a lot. If sound is still overly fat you should try a pair of Silver Refs that may be more appropriate for your system(I'm pretty sure AZ offers a 30-day money-back guarantee). I use Silver Refs from CDP to pre and Matrix Refs from pre to amp, which produces the best combination of natural upper-frequency detail, midrange fullness, and bass control in my system. Since we had similar experiences with the Matrix Refs this may end up being a nice combination in your system too(mixing AZ and Silver Audio cables may be causing problems too). Best of luck.

Tim
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