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 1 response by mceljo

mceljo
1,357 posts
 

I have no way to know how your setup sounds compared to mine, but we have a few things in common. 
 

My setup is a Pathos Classic One Mkiii (similar price point to your NAD) and I have Focal 836v speakers. I also had the opportunity to audition my speakers on the Krell mono block gear that intended for the Focal Grande Utopia speakers. You could say that I “heard things” that I’ve never heard since. I actually selected the 836v over the 816v primary based on the sound of a harp in a Josh Groban song. 
 

I recently upgraded my source to a Denafrips Ares II and them moved to a Morrow Audio MA4 balanced interconnect and the combination of the two really improved the instrument separation for me.  My setup is far from optimized due to the physical limitations of a relatively small house, but I would consider a better source (depending on what you have) as a potential place to make a big improvement. 

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