everything sounded great until the upgrade

pretty profound advices, thank you all.

I just spent 2 hours playing LPs and I am a lot more appreciative of the sound now. I gotta do something about the CD player. - even the connection is weird, I have to wiggle the cable sometimes to avoid static 

There has been an evolution, among the majority of brands, toward more and more “detailed” sound that means a leaner sound with less upper bass (that bass obscures higher frequency detail).  It seems to be what most buyers want.  If you are in the minority, you have to either look for vintage gear or the brands serving outliers.  I happen to like a warmer sound, which is why I favor low-powered tube gear from certain brands, such as Audio Note and Synthesis, and solid state from the likes of First Watt.

You went from a vintage receiver to a modern integrated that’s quite the sea change. I’d say give it some time maybe a week or two of constant play then throw the Marantz back in the system and see how it compares. You may find it sounds muddy and slow then again you may not. Good luck!

I once demoed some speakers at someone's home and the CD player was unlistenable.  The highs were just as you described.  Does you CD player have a TOSLink out?  A warmer more analog sounding DAC would make the CDs sound more like the turntable. 

   I   loved the sound of my modest system, until I upgraded my amp. 

It seems you answered your own question - trust your ears and first impressions.

Take it from someone who has gone down the rabbit hole of trying to accommodate the one thing about my system that didn’t sound great to me.  In my case it was a pair of large speakers that many said were great-sounding speakers.  After about 3 years and too much money I finally replaced them - problem solved.  In the end, the simple solution was best.

@larryi 

it's all in the comments now, Marantz 2252B --> Musical Fidelity A3.2

Dynaudio Evoke 20

My initial hope was that things would get better not worse, So the improvements you are suggesting (all great ones) are "me working for the amp and not the amp working for me" :) if it makes sense. But I will get up my butt and play with the placement. 

I don't have a lot of placement options but I will do my best :)

I don't doubt it's a good amp.

If you have changed the balance of your system, you can try to compensate by doing simple things, like experimenting with speaker or listening chair placement, minor acoustic treatment, like putting tapestries on the walls or using an area rug on the floor (things that may not cost much or unduly disrupt your life).  Doing more to compensate, like buying different cables is a gamble because it may not work.  I hope it is something like changing the toe-in of the speakers that will do the trick.

sometimes just getting familiar with the new sound will also change your mind, so be patient and go slow with the changes.

I can understand your not wanting to fully disclose the products involved, but perhaps you can say what were the components that you liked before the change.

I can't speak about the A300 but I have two friends with A3.2s, one with Maggie 1.6s and the other with Martin Logan Requests. I spent a lot of time listening and improving those systems. Both were in very good rooms and both sounded very good. I think the A3.2 can play well with some proper set-up. Give it time and good speaker placement. 

@decooney 

that's pretty accurate. My initial thought was that it's unforgiving, highlights all the errors the 2252b hides/unable to reveal

@decooney 

The reviewer you quote describes the A3.2 as I remember it.  I thought the A3.2 was on the leaner side of the spectrum, not warmer.

No matter how it sounds now, take decooney's good advice and give it a chance to warm up thoroughly before making any decisions, I'm thinking it will really grow on you.

A different point of view. There is an old review out there comparing the A3.2 to the former MF A300, and reviewers indicated something that reminds me of how a 2252B will sound warmer closer to an MF A300. However there is praise the A3.2 brings to the equation. As others shared here, give it a few weeks, keep listening, give yourself a chance with the A3.2. If you plugged it in cold after sitting a while, let it play 10-14 days. Also comments the A3.2 reveals what you throw at it, hearing more of bad recordings too. Some of the older 2252Bs can be a veiled over sound. Or, the ones I've heard with original transistors still in them that is. 

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Article/quote: "A3.2 has that sense of harmonic ease, but the A300 is a touch more full than the A3.2. The newer A3.2 integrated has at least as much bass, but seems to control it a bit better. The end result of this is that the A3.2 sounds a bit leaner, but more in charge of the speakers. Throughout the midrange the A3.2 has a leaner tonal balance. Where the A300 is slightly warmer through the mids and can thus sound a touch laid-back, the A3.2 has a more up-front perspective. This isn’t to say that it’s bright or aggressive -- it’s not -- but rather that it’s a bit more incisive".

@russ69 thanks!

"easy" - everything is easy if you know how to do it!

2252B

OK, this is easy. The top end of the A3.2 is going to be a little softer than the 2252. Give yourself some time to adjust to the new presentation. Also work on your speaker placement. If you can make your room a little brighter with more reflection that will pick up the top end a bit. And just to throw this out there a cable change might help but work with what you have for now. 

meow.... I mean new:

used (in great shape visibly) A3.2

old:

2252B 

I am going to research what goes best with Musical Fidelity integrated amps.

MF amps sound best with many loudspeakers. I'm going to guess but you had a solid state amp of perhaps not the best quality. I think you just need a little time to acquire the taste for the new amp and maybe a little break-in time? I'm just guessing but nobody dislikes the sound of a well matched MF integrated that I know. So let the cat out of the bag, what MF is it and what was your old amp? 

@jetter

46 hours ago

" once you are used to the new presentation " that's fair but what's wrong with wanting to be wowed the moment I press play?

@mlsstl

I still have the old amp. I bought a new amp because my local vintage audio repair guy has gone mad. And there are not many of them around so mid and long term, I would not have support. My brother (who is the nerd behind my audio decisions) told me to buy it.

I was honestly hoping for a magic boost.

With old amp half the music sounded OK (speaker: Dynaudio Evoke 20s) such as rock, heavily instrumental music, classical, Jazz, the other half: vocal, folk, 70s rock sounds great, It kind of flipped with the new amp. The magic of the vocals is gone

Also, you don't mention how long ago you added the newer integrated.  If not that long ago why not give it a month to see if your ears acclimate to the new sound.  You might be surprised and change your mind once you are used to the new presentation.

Assuming the new amp is not defective or incorrectly setup, it sounds like your new amp is just a mismatch for the rest of your system.

You said you loved the sound of your old system. Can you go back to your old amp? Was the purchase of the new amp in search of something specific or just the attraction of a new toy?

You'll need to decide which is more important to you -- the sound of your music or the gear itself.

@jetter I guess I have to "face the music"!

@sandstone Since my options and budget is limited, but above all, my audio knowledge is very limited, I first wanted to get a high level advice. I used to think of myself as a speaker guy (spend 5 times more on speakers than the amp for the best result) and I realize I was wrong.

I am going to research what goes best with Musical Fidelity integrated amps.

@grislybutter

In short: I loved the sound of my modest system, until I upgraded my amp. Now it sounds pretty horrible.

You often read about members with the same experience.  People were just planning on upgrading one piece of equipment but inevitably the dominos keep falling and half a system ends up being replaced in order to again achieve a sense of system symbiosis.

Not much that folks can comment on without more particulars about your system.

Recommend you do nothing for 2-3 weeks except play your new amp, using both turntable and CD source pathways.  Then evaluate again.