How to make the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers sing?

First, thanks for all the good info — most helpful and appreciated as most people asking for advice here don’t provide nearly enough to go on (dig ur handle here BTW)! Agree with treating the room no matter what else you decide to do. IMHO you have a bit of a mismatch with the EverSolo as a pre and Audiophonics class D driving the Kantas and not surprised at all that you’re hearing what you do, so I’d either change the speakers or the electronics. The simplest solution might be a hybrid integrated amp from the likes of Unison Research Unico, Pathos, etc., which at your budget is what I’d do if you don’t want to change the speakers. That way you stop using the streamer as a pre and get the benefits of tubes in the preamp stage that don’t require much maintenance and give you the flexibility to “tune” your system by swapping tubes. Or, as you mention, you could just add a tube preamp and also get much better results. I’d also upgrade to a better standalone DAC when budget allows.  BTW, I forbid you from inserting an AVR into your 2-channel signal path so please just take that option off the table.

If you’re open to changing speakers Joseph Audio, ProAc, and Usher are a few I’d recommend hearing as they have great detail but they don’t deliver it as starkly as the Kantas and likely have some more warmth in the mids as well. Ok, just throwing’ some stuff out there FWIW and hope it’s somewhat useful. Best of luck in getting the sound more to your liking however you decide to get there.

that receiver is a full featured/polished up streamer+good DAC implementation+great preamp sections and.... poweramp sections which are a bit weak (as is typical of multichannel receivers)

@deep_333 So, a $1700 AVR has a great preamp section???  I beg to differ, and a good stereo preamp is absolutely critical.  I’m a fan of Yammy AVRs, but no $1700 AVR has a “great” preamp section.  Period. 

He also didn’t read the part where i mentioned that the dude’s upgrade path should go to a Yamaha flagship prepro (since he has a hybrid stereo/multichannel setup), which holds its own against any preamp out there.

@deep_333 So, a $2700 pre pro holds its own against any preamp out there?  No. Just…no.  That’s just silly talk.  There’s no way a $2700 pre pro can match the parts quality, power supply, etc. of the better stereo preamps out there.  No way.  And yes I did read and understand your prior post where you said the Yamaha RXA2080 has a “great” preamp section.  It does not and you’re just flat out wrong for saying it.  You can talk all you want, but your words are your words, and maybe you should just choose them more carefully when spewing out stuff here.

You seem that to think that as you keep spending on the powersupply, caps, parts quality or whatever (facepalm) till you hit a 100k, sonic nirvana will continue to flow expansively like the Niagara beyond any limits of perceptibility.
 

@deep_333 I think better parts quality properly implemented will outperform a properly implemented preamp with cheap parts.  Yeah, parts matter, and they matter a lot.  Compare an ARC preamp to an upgraded SE version or a McCormack amp upgraded by SMcAudio with better parts and you learn that lesson right quick.

You seem to not understand the diminishing returns or the limitations of a preamp section itself in a chain, a treated room, etc (no matter how much you spend)…To me, the extent of what a preamp can achieve in a chain ain’t all that much (as you seem to imagine).

Well, you seem to not understand the importance of a preamp in the context of overall system performance, and no one with any level of experience that you profess to have would ever say what you said.  And it’s not what I imagine but what I’ve heard in my system, and IME a preamp is one of the most critical components in a system.  If you think a preamp doesn’t achieve all that much in the context of a system I think you’re absolutely mistaken and that you’ll find most here very much on the opposite side of that argument. 

On the same note, don't be fooled by the misinformation and the fact that  some of these insanely featured high quality prepros are still offered at "relatively affordable" prices (compared to purist gear). They are heavily subsidized for you by the motherload of hometheater people

Well that’s just utter crap.  If a mass market prepro incorporated anywhere near the level of parts quality of a good stereo preamp its price would go up several times, which is exactly why the better prepros out there that actually do a decent job as a stereo preamp cost multiples of what mass market units go for.  You’re totally misrepresenting what economies of scale can accomplish, and saying a $2700 prepro can hold its own against the better stereo preamps out there is seriously misguided and is misleading the OP here.  That you can somehow use DSP to cover up the warts of a component designed to offer a host of features and meet a low price point is just polishing the turd, but it’s still a turd. 

Hey guys, is there any way on this forum to put one clueless barking bozo (who follows me around on threads like a rabid creature) in a permanent ignore blackhole?

Yeah. Stop posting clueless and silly crap like what you’ve been posting here. That’ll work.

I’d try to demo a tube preamp at home if at all possible.

BTW, soix can be a bruising combatant—I’ve been on the receiving end—but he is an experienced listener with informed viewpoints. It’s usually beneficial when he rings in.

@aquint Heh heh. Thanks, I think. FWIW I think you’re one of the best pure writers in the audio biz and am always impressed with (and, if I’m being honest, a bit jealous of) your writing talent. Really enjoyed your video review of the BACCH tech BTW — supremely interesting stuff that. I’m frankly afraid to try it for fear of being wrecked for life as an audiophile. It seems almost that big from what you and others have said. Not to sidetrack this, but what say you on that?

Dude, you realize you’re now bending over backwards and going through a lotta crap to try to accommodate speakers that clearly aren’t inline with your tastes, system, and/or room. The writing is clearly on the wall — stop contorting yourself into uncomfortable positions/situations and just ditch the damn speakers! You’re just polishing the turd, so accept it and get rid of the turd and get on with your audiophile life. Or keep trying to polish the obvious turd in the room. You’re fighting a losing and potentially expensive battle here for no good reason. Move on and be happy.  Sorry, but it’s now obvious and somebody’s just gotta just say it.  

I hear you! And you are probably right. 😀 I plan to better up the room acoustics a bit and borrow a pre and a power amp. If that doesn't do it, then I at least have a decently treated room prepared for a new set of speakers.

Sounds like a very good plan!  Hey man, I’m just here rooting for you to get there however you get there 🤞🤞🤞.  Keep us posted if you could.