Help me make sense of this - Midfi system sounding better hifi.


   I have a few systems but recently I changed the setup and pleasantly accidentally I came up with a really enjoyable system from midfi gears like Onkyo M-306 power amp, acurus pre, Klipsch kg 1.2 speakers, Topping E-30 DAC, and Ixos cables. 

   My main hifi system consists of Krell pre/power, B&W 802 D speakers, Firestone upstreaming DAC, and Transparent cables.

   The former system is considrably more dynamic and exciting to listen to - why?

   Is the Onkyo power amp M-306 that good? It's 300 watts per ch compared to Krell 200 watts - is that why the difference in dynamic exciting quaility?

 

   Any insight will be greatly appreciated as I am not enjoying my Uber system that costs as much as a luxury car, and getting me upset - I enjoy the midfi system that can be assembled for 1/30th of the cost...alas!

gonglee3

Showing 1 response by buckhorn_cortez

802 speakers want a lot of current to perform well and can present a difficult load for some amplifiers.  I tried several amplifiers with my 802s and finally found one that will deliver the current required. 

You can easily tell when the amplifier is not providing enough current to drive the speakers properly.  Use a piece of music you're familiar with that has a lot of instruments with passages where the music has a series of crescendos. 

An example would be the Andre Previn version of "Rhapsody in Blue."  What you will notice is the sound stage collapse and the crescendos becoming less and less dynamic.  The power supply cannot provide the current needed in the output section of the amplifier to sustain the repeated demands of the music.

I'm not familiar with the Krell amplifier you have so I cannot make any judgment on its ability to drive the 802s.  The amplifier I use has completely separate amplifiers and power supplies for each channel in single chassis.  In this configuration, a channel cannot rob the other channel of the current needed to sustain the musical demands.

The 802s are very good speakers and will provide accurate and dynamic music reproduction once paired with an amplifier capable of meeting the current demands and Ohm loads presented by the speakers.