2. amps-preamps
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Wyred 4 Sound experience with 804Ds

I purchased a W4S ST-500 a couple of months ago for my 804Ds. I found an immediate improvement on my NAD amp in terms of soundtsage depth and width, clarity and detail from lows to highs. What I have noticed though is that, music dependent, the sound's can be little cold and lean. With warmth in the recordings it's not an issue and the sound is fantastic. I don't use a tube pre.

I thought I'd mention this for the benefit of those considering a W4S amp, and potentially other Class D amps. I suspect that these amps work best with "full bodied" speakers, and there might also be a lot to be said for synergy with tube pre's. In my case I'm sniffing around a Mcintosh MC302 to bring some of the warmth I had with the NAD back. I can absolutely see why these W4S amps are so highly praised, but my experience suggests there might be room for some qualification/care when choosing them.

Any experience from other 804D owners also valued.
ullodea

Showing 3 responses by ullodea

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ullodea OP
18 posts
 
I also find that odd, in fact his review was very influential when making my choice. Just posting my experience for the benefit of potential purchasers, as I know I'm not imagining it.
ullodea's avatar
ullodea OP
18 posts
 
Jult52, Charles1dad: it probably is a unique product of my system, I think the problem's in the mids. Could be that they're being sucked out by my (probably not so well matched in pedigree) CA dacmagic. Back to the drawing board.
ullodea's avatar
ullodea OP
18 posts
 
Just to close the loop on this, my MC302 arrived this week. The MC302 is the better amp in just about every way (and it should be as it's 3x as expensive as the ST-500). Above all though, I was right in detecting a certain cold and detached quality to the ST-500. Kind of like the kid who gets the instrument technically right but isn't conveying emotion. The MC302 has much better mids, deeper, more satisfying bass, and I get way more emotionally "into" the music than I did when listening to the ST-500. It may lose to the ST-500 on the width of its soundstage, but I've only had it running a few hours.

Does make me wonder whether there's something to the oldschool criticism of Class D amps..
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