Get a SS amp with proper input to match your pre amp and I assure you, the issue will be gone. Matt, sonics **might** be better, but the noise issue (which the OP has stated is the main concern) will not be gone. See the posts above by me and by Ralph/Atmasphere. Also, before going to a more powerful amplifier it would be prudent to research how much power the particular speakers can handle without their sonics degrading, or worse. The only relevant spec I can readily find for the Rockport Mira Monitors is a minimum amplifier power recommendation of 50 watts. Regards, -- Al |
MARK, I agree with elevick... 85db speakers are not going to work well with tube power amps! I dont care what brand. Get a SS amp with proper input to match your pre amp and I assure you, the issue will be gone.
Matt M
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Ok, 6 ohms isn't so bad. However, 85db is pretty paltry. Your AR should be able to drive almost anything sufficiently. Although, if you do the match your max output will be about 104db-105db at 100 watts which is not close to THX or rock concert levels. 400 wpc will get you to the 110db range. You need to borrow a pair of BIG monoblocks...
Question: Have you had your tubes checked? One leak/short/old tube could be adding to this if you are getting noise or harmonics when pushing it.
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After tinkering with the placement of the phonostage and the gain settings, I am suspecting the preamp is the culprit.
Am
I wrong in feeling funny about 3 o'clock on the volume to get a rockin'
experience? Seems like the high dial position is pushing the ability of
the preamp too far. One would think that my pre and power amp should
be a good match though. They are both from the same era, same company,
and same price point.
as it is, the sound is excellent, I am just complaint about the noise floor, which could be reduced. What Al said, plus it might be that you have some noisy tubes. |
Am I wrong in feeling funny about 3 o’clock on the volume to get a rockin’ experience? Seems like the high dial position is pushing the ability of the preamp too far. No, I doubt that is the case, Mark. In fact many believe that having gains and sensitivities in a system such that the volume control is used at high settings within its range is to be preferred, assuming of course that there is never a desire to turn it up beyond the top of its range. The philosophy being that with at least some designs doing so will minimize whatever sonic effects may be introduced by the volume control mechanism itself. Regards, -- Al |
After tinkering with the placement of the phonostage and the gain settings, I am suspecting the preamp is the culprit.
Am I wrong in feeling funny about 3 o'clock on the volume to get a rockin' experience? Seems like the high dial position is pushing the ability of the preamp too far. One would think that my pre and power amp should be a good match though. They are both from the same era, same company, and same price point.
as it is, the sound is excellent, I am just complaint about the noise floor, which could be reduced.
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Hi Ralph,
Those were exactly my points! Although if I am recalling Mark’s previous thread(s) about the noise issue correctly, the noise performance of the phono stage is also suspect, as well as the performance of the preamplifier.
Best regards,
-- Al
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Al, when you turn up the volume and that results in noise, that is a preamplifier problem. Its true that the amp might have a certain low sensitivity requiring a higher volume setting, but even if the amp was more sensitive, you would still get the same noise even though you didn't turn up the volume as far on the preamp.
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Ahendler got it right. Not sure about that, Ralph. His statement that: You need either a preamp with more voltage output or a power amp with higher input sensitivity. ... does not appear to be consistent with what I said in my post above, and I therefore disagree. Best regards, -- Al |
This is not a power amplifier issue!
This is a noise problem in the preamp. Ahendler got it right.
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if you don't have enough phono gain no larger amp will help.
either higher output cartridge or higher gain phonostage will cure your problem. |
I don't think your issue is power but sensitivity. Sensitivity in a power amp means how much power out do you get for a number of volts in from the preamp. You need either a preamp with more voltage output or a power amp with higher input sensitivity. Doubling the power will not solve your gain problem
Alan |
Hi Mark,
If the noise only occurs when the volume control is turned up to a relatively high setting, it means that the noise is being introduced into the signal path "ahead of" ("upstream of") the volume control. A more powerful amp will often (although certainly not always) provide higher gain (the relation between its output voltage and its input voltage), which would cause you to utilize the volume control at lower settings. However the resulting noise level would be no different, since the amp is "downstream" of the volume control.
Unless, that is, the noise is being coupled into the upstream part of the signal path BY the power amp. But as I recall you’ve probably addressed that possibility already, by physically relocating the components in your setup.
Regards,
-- Al
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The answer is no related to your specific complaint. The input sensitivity of your current amp is 1.9V required to drive at full power. The Krell KSA 250 requires even more voltage at 2.3V for full output. One of my amps is a VAC Pa100 which only needs .775V for full output. So, to address your complaint of needing to crank the volume control way up which may reveal the inherent noise of the preamp, you should look for an amp which requires less voltage to achieve full power. Tube vs solid state has nothing to do with your complaint. However, tubes will always be happiest driving a speaker with higher impedance. I am unaware of how your speakers perform regarding impedance. |
Mikey8811, what does it mean exactly to have better control of the speakers? I have heard the term, but I do not fully understand the implications. |
They should give you better control of your speakers especially the Class A Krell, which is perhaps more of a high current design than the others.
All the amps you listed have different sonic signatures so best to try them out. |
Lak, more completely, the amp is plugged into a Shunyata Hydra Talos, which is plugged into a dedicated outlet which has a dedicated circuit in the breaker, done when I remodeled the house and upgraded the electric service.
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Lak, the amp is plugged into a Shunyata Hydra Talos.
Onhwy61, I played with the gain on the phono stage, and ultimately dropped it a touch. This amp idea is an extension of the same issue. I was thinking that if the power amp had more muscle, perhaps the gain on the phono stage and preamp will be just fine. Perhaps I am asking too much from the 2 preamps, and not enough of the power amp. What do you think? |
You posted earlier that you were having gain issues with your cartridge/phono preamp/preamp. How was that resolved?
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Marktomaras; out of curiosity, what is your amp plugged into for power?
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