Living@Rethm Club

Rega Amplifiers
agree with arj..

BTW - dont worry too much about "why "if you are enjoying the music. Retain all that you have - close the sale threads and buy some new music instead.
 
@arj - the Digital out is not working from the marantz . I will try to see if someone can fix it. I am currently using an unbranded coaxial cable.Should i try mogami then ?

@mpw - Agree with you completely.But i have to be doubly sure on what is the issue , so that I understand the upgrade path.
 
Kushanava -
From my experience with Rethms -
Start with the cables - ICs, speakers cables and power cords, they are an absolute must we Rethms.
I would recommend spending time with the components you have, probable in different combos. That way you would probably have a better understanding what each component does to the listening experience. Rethms are natural sounding speakers and will react to each change in component.
 
why would you need to upgrade if you are enjoying the music ?

is something awfully wrong ?
 
AVM, you first need to get the amp and speaker synergy right. Then the source. Cables come after that. If Kushnava is happy with the amp and the source, then he can start experimenting with cables

What's the point having great chutney and sambhar if the dosa is all wrong?:)
 
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Maybe the dosa can be improved a bit more:)

Anyways my point was get the amp speaker synergy and the source to ones liking first. The cables come at stage two:)
 
Kushanava said:
Hi all ..yesterday night was full of surprise...Ever since I got my ifi Micro Dac , I have been using a coaxial output from philips dvd player into the dac. I was playing the "Hazir 2" and suddenly the dac ran out of battery.I was desperate to listen to music and pulled out my old marantz cd 48 which has been sitting on the rack for the last 2 months.To my surprise , I was stunned by the natural /organic and real sound. The voices were more holographic and sounded really good and I felt that the details were there but more on the background rather than in your face.
Now this opened out a lot of questions.

1.Was it the sugden that made the sound thin or the ifi Micro dsd dac ? I remembered , Sugden Cd players using the same philips chip as in the marantz 48. Does that bring in greater synergy between source + amplification ?

2.marantz dac > ifi dac ?

3.Or is it because i am using an ordinary transport , with ordinary coaxial cable with the Ifi ?

Don't know the answer .
Click to expand...

This can be because of multiple factors

- The marantz dac (probably a multibit dac) is actually better than the burr brown delta sigma in the ifi micro dsd
- Poor transport section in your dvd player with a jitter prone spdif out vs a philips cd transport in the marantz
- Impedance mismatch in the coax out due to a poor quality quality digital cable.

After being in the DAC/computer audio game for very many years, I can say for certain that beating a well designed cd player using a dac and computer is not at all easy.
 
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Sure Prem. From my experience with IC, I intended to reflect on what Kushanava experienced with the change in the source components.

I just can't stop bragging about those IC :eek:hyeah:
 
Hi Guys,
The speakers have broken in and I have completed the final placements and the cross-over tunings.My setup is sounding 10 times better than it was previously , more open and wide.Absolutely loving the Rethm sound and the sugden is playing really with them now.The Bass has improved a lot and it is sounding much fuller than before.I have also managed to fix my Marantz spdif out and it has improved the source significantly. Loving every moment with the Rethms....
 
I am trying to correct some small areas in my setup and specially my room.I was getting echo when I clapped my hands. I introduced full carpeting of the floor and now it feels better. However it has not fully cured the echo/reverb.I have read through the net and it is said that clap is around '2200hz to 2800 hz' and a high frequency absorber may be used to kill it. I am reluctant to use absorbers. Can any one help on this. I need help on how to detect the root cause.Is there a way to naturally curb this echo's without using absorbers.
 
I had a chance to listen to Kushanava's setup recently. He has his setup in a rectangle library+listening room with the speakers placed closer to the middle of the room with enough space around them. The floor was carpeted and there were bookshelves filled with books on the rear wall.

This was my first listen to Rethms and they are every bit as good as others have opined. The soundstage was wide and deep with excellent microdynamics. They were driven by a class A Sugden amp and an IFI dac as source. I too have a Sugden class AB Mystro amp. I felt both the amps have similar signatures, with Kushnava's amp being cleaner and with superior control and brighter tone. This was my first listen of the DAC and it was a good entry level DAC.

I felt the overall sound was towards bright side, probably because I am used to warm sound of Harbeths. I also felt the DAC, though good, was not upto the level of other components. We later played some songs through a Marantz Cd player which paired better with the amp/speaker combo. I would suggest to upgrade the DAC to a good tube one instead of the amp. Another issue was the room. Though there was enough space around the speakers, the room was somewhat reverberant and may require some treatment.

Overall, it was an afternoon well spent.
 
I had a similar problem in an earlier apartment. A couple of large leafy plants along the side walls helped in taming it. The echo did not go away completely, but the ringing did subside to an appreciable extent.

Added benefit was that the plants made my stock rise sharply with the better half....

Hope this helps.
 
get a professional room treatment done.

Having spent so much on the amp + speakers - its better to do it professionally. Maybe the GIK acoustics dealer can help.

Get a better source - like an Auralic DAC or an maybe an Antelope audio ( just to name 2 - you may like something different )

This calls for some financial outlay but try to go the whole hog.

regards
 
Thanks Chirag!! Unfortunately , when you heard the speakers , there was positioning issue ,as i had to move the speakers before you came to make way for some carpentry work.Hope , you should have listened to them now. The placement changes have made significant improvement , specially on the tonal balance. I have moved the speakers back 6'' from the listening position & re-aligned the distance from the side walls from 2.5 ft to 2ft for each speaker. The sound stage is even wider now and strings are more airy.Also the mid range texture is more natural . The only issue is the little reverb in the room.I will try to post some pictures later.
 
Put 4 small triangular cotton pillows in the 4 top corners of the room where the ceiling meets the side walls. That should reduce the echo considerably

The Sugden will damp the Rethms a bit. The slightly bright sound will be because of that. If you want to go SS you need to look at First Watt. Else a SET amp
 
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Kushnava, if budget permits get the Gaanam. Sounds very nice with the Saadhanas. If you can get a used one, even better from a budget perspective:)

For power cables for the speakers use solid core. For speaker cables use solid core. If you end up buying Gaanam, use solid core power cable. The Gaanam and the Saadhanas have been voiced with solid core cables
 
Kushnava, the AP transport and dac sounds nice with the Saadhanas. I have heard them at AVM's place.
 
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