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Integrated tube amp has no bass Cayin A50T

Hi folks,

So I just bought a Cayin A50T (used, but well looked after), I have set it up at home and found that there is extremely little low end. it's very very noticeable.

Im powering Energy pro series 3.5 bookshelf speakers so nothing too crazy.

I'm very new to this hobby so I would greatly appreciate some help. I doubt the seller will take the amp back.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Nick
nicdob
50jess
21 posts
 
I have the cayin A-50T and it has good bass. A value for money amp.
boband212's avatar
boband212
62 posts
 
if your speakers are out of phase- no bass. that is pos to neg and neg to pos- reversed phasing. also, inefficient speakers are not recommended for a modest powered tube amp. back in the day a lot of the solid state gear put out by pioneer and Marantz fell in the 25 to 35 wpc range with a 45wpc amp/receiver considered pretty powerful. Those sounded so pleasant, but speakers then were different too. today some speakers are really inefficient requiring a lot of power just do drive them. Why? Beats me. I sell Jolida gear and vintage Klipsch speakers, and vintage Advents. This amp should sound great with some Klipsch reference speakers. Some speakers are just best with high powered SS amps. Paradigm, PSB speakers, Klipsch. There are some good buys on vintage Klipsch. Set the bias on the amp, and check reset tubes. If problem persists, take it to a shop.
nicdob OP
1 posts
 
Hi All,

Thank you for all the responses and sorry about the 2 year delay in reply!

I am still with my amp, despite my bass complaints - as I just love the way it sounds otherwise. But yes, I'm still lacking bass.

I have tried swapping over the cables of one speaker to test the phase, I lost more bass - so I guess I had that right :)

For the Triode/Ultralinear I'm not clear when it is in each mode - is the indicator light red when in ultralinear? If so this makes sense as I hear a slight improvement.

So, it sounds like I need to address my speakers? Will impedance make a difference, or should I just focus on sensitivity?

Thanks again!

Nick
saki70
907 posts
 
Both , high stable impedance without major fluctuations , try to not go below 6 ohms .
An efficiency at least in the low 90's .

Good luck
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

Nicdob hi.

Can't believe nobody has asked this yet.

But have you tried the 4ohm speaker tap on the amp?? You will loose half the wattage, but what's there may drive the bass much better. Triode mode/4ohm tap is it's lowest output impedance, which may fix the bass problem, but leave you short on big loudness levels.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/cayin-50t-integrated-amplifier-measurements#fMrbLoy4HGiKxcxV.97

As if these speakers dip down to 4ohm in the bass and have a heavy negative phase angle as well this will kill the bass of the amp.

Cheers George
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