2. amps-preamps
  3. 1321932893

Solid state warm up?

I recently Put in a BAT vk-250SE with bat pack into my system to power Dynaudio Contour S 3.4 speakers. I was using a B&K reference amp with pretty good results, but I wanted more detail and subtlety. I got both, but I also got a darker, almost mushy sound. Some material is worse than others. I have pulled the speakers a few more inches from the back wall which helped a bit. The sound may actually get better the longer the amP is on...hours. Could the amp just need to warm-up and maybe be left on 24/7? It does get quite warm. I use the 12v trigger to put it in standby. Any ideas?
phoenix469

Showing 7 responses by marakanetz

marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Don't know which B&K reference, but it seems that your speakers need more power beyond vk-250SE capabilities.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
It's not the best model of VK and more than certainly it can't do 300/4Ohms(sorry only on 'holidays':-)). It does better job with lighter speakers than you have. So I suspect mismatch of components.
An upgrade to your B&K might be Wyred4Sound SX1000 monos
I was lucky to get Crown 3600 powerhouse(1200W/4Ohms) for low hundreds from thrift store and this piece pleasantly surprised me with stunning and solid performance/Aerial 10t! Fan is literally unaudible, undisputed crispy detail on any volume level. If you find it for cheap I'd recommend you to play with it...
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Daverz,
leaving the amp on or off 24/7 is absolutely irrelevant to this issue.

you can trust BAT specs but only for very short duration and for quiet music such as small jazz band, chamber(where OP describes sweetness of sound). in all other cases you need much more continuous power with OP speakers.

mentioning 'not the best model' implies that there are better ones for the same price range and value. BAT is superb gear but there are certainly a number of better ones for the money spent than VK250SE.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
It's not the blame that the amp can't drive speakers. Certainly it can, but it's a fact that there are amps that can drive these speakers better than VK250SE and the llist is HUGE even if taken the same budget point.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Highend4me,

Tubes need only 5...10min to get all DC voltages steady while transistors need at least 25min to reach operating specified parameters.

In fact tubes are not sensitive to temperature at all while transistors are. That's why they need radiators so their temperature does not go above certain point otherwise the power will produce heat instead of current.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Thanks Raquel,
That's what I meant about tube parameters.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I use Sunfire SRA amps and they like to be on 24/7. They only consume 20W of idle power. Otherwise I have very boomy bass and undeveloped mids. I guess class D or Tripath amps are best to be turned on always.
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