2. amps-preamps
  3. 168833-156447

What is wrong with my system?

Hi everyone -

I’m posting here because individually I think my components are all good, but together my system is not making music, rather is is making bright bass less noise. Honestly, I’m thinking it’s no one component, but the matching of components that is causing this issue. I would like to get everyone’s opinion as to what I’m hearing. My components are as follows:

B&W 802D (first generation diamond)
Audioquest bi-wired Indigo speaker cables

Classe CAM-200 monoblock amplifiers
Audioquest Water XLR interconnect

Bryston BP26 preamp
Audioquest Water XLR interconnect

Mark Levinson 5100 cd player (PCM slow minimum phase)

thanks in advance.

Mark Levinson 5100 CD player


onehorsepony

Showing 3 responses by avitacom

avitacom
90 posts
 
If I’m not mistaken, this is all Class AB Solid State.  IMO, your SQ will not be warm & musical until you go to tubes and/or to Class D-GAN.  Tweaking the stuff you have won’t get you there. Cables will have no influence.
avitacom
90 posts
 
Several writers have suggested substituting a vacuum tube preamp.  I would recommend a device based on the 6SN7 such as one of the superb Cary units or Roy Mottram’s Vacuum Tube Audio SP14, which is an excellent bargain.
avitacom
90 posts
 
Compared to putting in a new major component, such as an amp or preamp, it is relatively easier and less expensive to swap out fuses, interconnects and speaker cables but these latter changes yield little, if any, improvement in SQ.
More to discover