I appreciate the feedback and suggestions from everyone. It's discouraging to upgrade (e.g., spend good $$$) then find the "solution" presented new issues to overcome. Oh well. In hindsight it would appear the McIntosh masked some problems in my system and room. The Coda, OTOH, is bringing a great deal more to the table but is causing me to now address some of the problems to make my ears happy.
Back when I started upgrading my home theatre to play quality audio, I was encouraged by the Agon community to use a preamp, rather than my HT processor, to squeeze the best sound from the system. I took a few tentative steps then went for my Backert. I am happy with it, as it adds a presence, smoothness and pizzazz that was absent before. Tubes mold the sound and it’s great to have ability to change a tube and alter the sound. In addition to a new tube that is en route, removing the preamp from the chain altogether by using the preamp section of my DAC has been added to the (growing) list of things to try. The thought of bypassing a major investment really hurts, but is worthy of experimentation.
My room is a shared space (my wife’s daytime office). There is too much furniture in the wrong places limiting placement of speakers, 3 windows, 2 doors, it's slightly L shaped, large framed posters on the walls, listening position slightly off center… hardly ideal. I reached out to one of the acoustic panel companies, sent them pics, await their feedback and recommendations on room treatments. In the meantime, I placed a heavy throw over the TV between the speakers, which helped focus sound a bit; balanced a poster with a towel draped over it on the back of the chair near the first reflection point on one side, and suspended a heavy towel from the curtain rod over the window on the other side. Those trials made a marginal positive difference. More trial and error, outside guidance and proper room treatments will no doubt help.
I’ve tried various combinations of cables. Had a loom of Audience Front Row IC’s, speaker cables, USB and ethernet. The IC’s in combo were too much of a good thing, sold them. I tried various other speaker cables and the Front Rows, to my surprise, have risen above the others for all around good sound: not too much on the top, solid mids and plenty of oomph in the bass. Surprising from such a skinny cable. I have Cardas Cygnus for my home theatre connections and they are good. Tried Reflection IC’s and they were OK, but not keepers. The Reflection speaker cable ran a poor second to the Audience, a real disappointment. Bumped up to the Clear IC’s and they have been good in the mix. Acoustic Zen IC's are a recent addition and they helped tame some edge. There is no shortage of cables and manufacturers, but it requires patience to wade through them, a trait that often eludes me. Plus, my music memory stinks, so A-B trials, especially with time in between, is a lesson in frustration.
Focal’s documentation states it best to aim the speakers towards the listener as part of an equilateral triangle. I’ve aimed high and low, straight to the back wall, toed out and toed in, and there are subtle changes. Currently I am slightly toed in, but it’s easy enough to play with that again. Unfortunately, I’m wearing off the polish on the hardwood floor below them with the changes, but such is life in the fast audio lane.
Per a suggestion above, I swapped XLR for RCA cables from preamp to amp and there was a surprising (and welcome) improvement. Thanks @audphile1 ! I managed to get hold of Mr. Coda and he said the XLR connection adds 3db of gain. My preamp also adds gain, so having less of it calmed things considerably. After a conversation with Backert, I will likely send them my preamp to have the gain dialed back, to provide more gradations, or steps, in volume adjustment. The Coda provides quite a wallop, more than I experienced with any amp before it, and the ability to have finer control of the volume will be a big asset.
Lots to do, lots to try. Thanks again for the support.
Robert
