Stereomour Sibilance?

[drewh1]

So first I want to say how impressed I am with this quality of this amp. It is so much more than I expected. I am plugging it into an existing system and have tried a number of other amps in my system.  The sound is quite wonderful, speed of attack, imaging, depth are all quite stunning actually.  Having played piano and bass, I am particularly picky about piano sound. Pianos sound really great with this one!

I am having an issue with sibilance and a kind of "crackly-ness" with certain frequencies - I noticed it especially with Crosby Stills Nash remix (24 bit 96khz).  Although I am somewhat skeptical of "break ins"  it is my understanding that new caps can sometimes exhibit this quality.

has anyone else experienced this or have any guidance?

thanks

drew.

[Paul Birkeland]

This sounds consistent with fresh caps.

[Grainger49]

Drew,

Which CSN album are you listening to?  If it is the first, I have an original pressing of the first album, vinyl, and a 180g of it as well.  There is no such sound on the recording.  I'll have to second PB on the caps. 

BTW, I have Paramours that are monoblock version of the Stereomour circuit.  Well, almost.  I think there might be some differences.

[drewh1]

Hi Grainger -  It is the one with the three of them on the cover - just called Crosby, Stills, Nash. -  I have a hi-res remix 24/96. I know it is not my system or the source as I have listened to it on my other amp and other SET's as well.

I did have my crossovers upgraded at one point and remember some similar issues that had to do with new caps.

[Grainger49]

That is a very good album too.  But it is not the first, named Crosby Stills & Nash.

Let's go with the caps right now. Let them settle in for a hundred hours and make a decision then.

[drewh1]

i have already noticed an improvement after 12 or 16 hours - bass seems to be getting better too.

[drewh1]

I just wanted to comment again after letting things settle in. I also started out with a faulty driver tube. the tube failed completely after about 3 days and was certainly affecting my sound prior to failing.

I am very pleased with the sound of this amplifier. It has far exceeded my expectations in every way. I have been a die hard SS guy for a long time (started as a Bass Player in the 60's) and every bit of tube gear I have tried has sounded "tube-ee or more euphonic than I like. What I realize now is that I have never tried a really well designed tube amplifier.

this amp does everything better than my well designed and expensive SS amp (and trust me, I hate to admit that). The only exception is when I really want to play loud. Nevertheless - it has plenty of volume for most of my music and I have not really found a genre of music that doesn't sound better on it. I can also say that I really appreciate my speakers more with this amp as well. It seems to bring out their best qualities. My concerns about efficiency were unfounded.

Now on to bigger and better? things, like the Paramounts!