Problems with my Berning ZH270

And one last thing George, if Allan hasn't talked you into the ERS as Khogugo notes, the cryoed 6jn6 outputs will move you up a notch but the ERS will just knock you out. It is the single largest improvement I have heard with this amp including various NOS input tubes, dampers, still points etc. The ERS really lowers an already low noise floor to allow you to hear further into the music. It sounds like you have your hands full for now but definitely consider this in the future, you won't regret it.

George it sounds like you might have a room problem if you are getting brightness out of that amp with the Golden Reference cables and Joule LA-100. I'm sure it isn't the Electrocompaniet either. What are your room dimensions including height? Positioning of speakers etc.

The Berning is not intrinsically bright and neither are any of the components you are using with the Merlin's.

Many have said the same Marakanetz, myself included when I first got my pair over 3 years ago. On the other hand many have ended up eating those words for lunch when they heard these speakers properly set-up. I know of several first hand. They are very intolerant of poor system matching, no forgiveness at all. As Duke notes, they can be a hassle but when things come together they are about as good as it gets in this hobby. This is the reason Bobby P. spends so much time with his customers, to help and advise them in this very critical part of owning the VSM. No one knows this more than he.

Hi George

So the speakers are placed 1 meter from the back and side walls on the 4 m wall? Where is your listening position relative to the speakers? As Duke notes, if you position the chair against or close to the back wall, see if the bass comes back. It does seem you are getting too much high frequency energy relative to the bass which would make things sound bright. But this usually can be fixed . The Merlins can astound you with their bass but it takes trial and error and minute changes in position to zero in on it.

Do you have any treatments at the reflection points on the side walls or absorption devices behind the speakers or in the corners? I was having a similar problem with my Merlin/Berning set-up, different pre and source but really improved the bass dramatically with the addition of some home brewed bass traps placed in the corners and behind and between the speakers. Another trick might be to run the speakers on the diagonal if you have the space.

Of course the tonal balance of the amp may not be something you are used to relative to the Gryphon. I would try moving things around and experimenting and definitely consider room treatments. A while back there was another Berning owner with similar problems you are describing that gave up way too soon, it is not the amp. Don't give into that temptation just yet. The Berning can sound lean if you aren't getting the bass you expect and should receive from this combo. And forget about tube rolling and tweeks for now and keep your focus on speaker placement, listening position and treatment. Check out this site for info on these devices, inexpensive but extremely effective.

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/a1.htm

There is also some very detailed information about bass traps and diy treatments at this link:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search.pl

Good luck and please keep up posted. Please don't give up though, the Berning is really stellar with the VSM when all is right, ask Bobby P., he'll give you the low down.