2. amps-preamps
  3. 182202-171283

need amp recommendations for more separation of instruments

I've noticed that if I play music that only has a few instruments playing at the same time it generally sounds great, but, if it's got a lot of instruments playing different parts at the same time it all mushes together and you can't hear the individual instruments clearly. My current rig is a NAD M10 and Focal Aria 948s. At a store, I heard 948s paired with a front end costing about $100,000 and that system did not have this problem, at least it not to my ears. That tells me that with really good electronics this problem can be greatly reduced and that the problem is more with my electronics than it is with my speakers. But $100k is out of my budget. My questions are:

  1. Are there some classes or types of amplification that are notably better at getting separation between instruments in complex music?

2.  Are there some brands that are notably better at getting separation between instruments in complex music?

3.   How much would I need to spend to get something that solves this specific problem notably better than my NAD M10?

4. How much would I need to spend to get something that's a really good solution, where I probably wouldn't notice the problem unless I went out of my way to listen for it? (I know, this differs between people, but I'm still interested in your opinion).

Thanks,

ahuvia

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,471 posts
 

Speaker placement is critical for great performance as brought up above. If you have not done a lot of this… then think of placement taking hours of work over weeks. Not just move a few inches… listen, move, listen… done.

 

You might look up speaker placement you will find more than you want.

In short… you need space behind speakers, and away from walls, in equilateral triangle with listening position. Starting with them pointing behind your head. Move in and out left and right to open soundstage but not loose central image. Then optimize toe in. Less toe in opens the soundstage and separates images. Then get everything out of in between speakers and dampen the wall. This will unconfuse the images. If speakers too close to side wall, then dampening needed there… this goes on.

 

Anyway, I would recommend doing moves over very long sessions, over many sessionsm. Get to know the sound really well… then move… get to know the sound really well.

 

If all this fails. Then it will unlikely be tha amp as such… it will be the combination of source / preamp in your NAD. They all make a difference… but the amp would be the last place I would look. If you need improvements. I would consider trading in for separates. Too many functions in a single box make enormous compromises in sound quality.

ghdprentice
6,471 posts
 

OP,

Your mention of the flute getting lost in the sound of the strings. 
 

I attend a symphony every couple weeks.I have ideal seats 7th row center. And the flutes… and all instruments go from being solo to “massed” together. That is how it sounds in real life. But perhaps, you are saying this happens more that you think it should.

 

if you think this walking on top of each other. Then, it is probably most likely you need higher quality speakers. I think. Did you post any photos of your system and venue?

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