Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

I am in no way a Hi-Fi expert or Audiophile.

I have a 10 year old Rotel entry level Amp and 5 year old Aegis One
entry level speakers, with reasonable quality cables.

Inputs vary from my DVD player for Movies, through my MP3 player
sometimes, to my CD DJ Decks.

Something just doesn't sound right though. And I am not sure how long it
has not sounded right. And whatever source I use there is I think the
same level of not sounding rightness. (i.e. cutting out mixing desks
which must be the audiophiles worse nightmare, and using two different
CD players with the same CD and switching between them on different inputs).

I am not sure how to describe it apart from things like snares,
explosions and anything at the high end just sounds distorted. Sometimes
it doesn't seem noticeable. Sometimes it drives me nuts. I have tried
leaving the Amp on all the time. I think this helps but it is so hard to
tell.

I am not expecting pure wonders of crisp clear sound. I know you pays
your money and takes your choice, and I didn't buy CD decks expecting
audio wonders, I expected to DJ with them :-).

What I am wondering is if it is the Amplifier. Is it failing to
reproduce certain aspects. Does that seem likely?

At some point I would like to start down the road of having a truly
Hi-Fi system, as it seems silly to invest a huge amount in Albums
without fully appreciating what they can offer.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Eddie

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

"Edward Green" wrote in message
...
I am in no way a Hi-Fi expert or Audiophile.

I have a 10 year old Rotel entry level Amp and 5 year old Aegis One
entry level speakers, with reasonable quality cables.

Inputs vary from my DVD player for Movies, through my MP3 player
sometimes, to my CD DJ Decks.

Something just doesn't sound right though. And I am not sure how
long it
has not sounded right. And whatever source I use there is I think
the
same level of not sounding rightness. (i.e. cutting out mixing desks
which must be the audiophiles worse nightmare, and using two
different
CD players with the same CD and switching between them on different
inputs).

I am not sure how to describe it apart from things like snares,
explosions and anything at the high end just sounds distorted.
Sometimes
it doesn't seem noticeable. Sometimes it drives me nuts. I have
tried
leaving the Amp on all the time. I think this helps but it is so
hard to
tell.

I am not expecting pure wonders of crisp clear sound. I know you
pays
your money and takes your choice, and I didn't buy CD decks
expecting
audio wonders, I expected to DJ with them :-).

What I am wondering is if it is the Amplifier. Is it failing to
reproduce certain aspects. Does that seem likely?

At some point I would like to start down the road of having a truly
Hi-Fi system, as it seems silly to invest a huge amount in Albums
without fully appreciating what they can offer.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Eddie






Most Rotel amps are pretty good with anything. The Aegis speakers are
an acquired taste but are as good as most and better than many. Which
leaves your sources.

DVD players are notoriously poor at playing plain audio CDs into any
form of decent reproduction equipment.

MP3 is a compressed format that, generally speaking, sounds OK through
headphones or in the car but can sound awful through a hi-fi system

Quite what you mean by 'CD DJ decks' I am unsure, but again likely
they fall within the same area as DVD players.

After that try moving your speakers around. You don't say where they
are mounted, but most speakers - especially those with a rear-facing
port that IMSMC the Aegis One has - sound better away from a wall and
if possible on stands. Try putting the speakers on a couple of similar
chairs (that is hard dining-type chairs, not a sofa) 2ft or more clear
of any wall. Also make sure they are fed with a reasonably thick
cable, not bell wire.

After that you should beg, steal, or borrow a hi-fi rated CD player
and try that out; also, if you can, try an FM tuner with a reasonable
aerial. If you then still have audio problems I (personally) would
look to change the speakers first as it is unlikely to be the amp if
it otherwise appears to be functioning correctly.

Others will come on here, probably flame me, and say that in a 10
year-old amp there are likely things to be going wrong - specifically
reservoir capacitors drying out. Take no notice. In domestic use most
amps will continue to work long beyond 10 years without problem. If
the caps are drying out you would notice (possibly) hum and loss of
bass.


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

harrogate3 wrote:
"Edward Green" wrote in message

Most Rotel amps are pretty good with anything. The Aegis speakers are
an acquired taste but are as good as most and better than many. Which
leaves your sources.

DVD players are notoriously poor at playing plain audio CDs into any
form of decent reproduction equipment.

Although I get the same distortion in films, which is while I mentioned it.

MP3 is a compressed format that, generally speaking, sounds OK through
headphones or in the car but can sound awful through a hi-fi system.

I agree. MP3's are of the Devil.

Quite what you mean by 'CD DJ decks' I am unsure, but again likely
they fall within the same area as DVD players.

They are what CD DJ's use(http://tinyurl.com/y3hsr4)! Suffice to say
they are not designed for Audio quality.

After that try moving your speakers around. You don't say where they
are mounted, but most speakers - especially those with a rear-facing
port that IMSMC the Aegis One has - sound better away from a wall and
if possible on stands. Try putting the speakers on a couple of similar
chairs (that is hard dining-type chairs, not a sofa) 2ft or more clear
of any wall. Also make sure they are fed with a reasonably thick
cable, not bell wire.

The Speaker wires say 'QED balanced design concept' and are quite thick.
The Speakers are on stands. I have moved them an extra foot out of the
corners of the room, giving them two feet and I would say that there is
a noticeable improvement. Thanks for that.

After that you should beg, steal, or borrow a hi-fi rated CD player
and try that out; also, if you can, try an FM tuner with a reasonable
aerial. If you then still have audio problems I (personally) would
look to change the speakers first as it is unlikely to be the amp if
it otherwise appears to be functioning correctly.

Okay I can manage that. I will see what sort of quality I get. I might
borrow another amp as that will flag up if the speakers are the problem.

Others will come on here, probably flame me, and say that in a 10
year-old amp there are likely things to be going wrong - specifically
reservoir capacitors drying out. Take no notice. In domestic use most
amps will continue to work long beyond 10 years without problem. If
the caps are drying out you would notice (possibly) hum and loss of
bass.

Okay. I have had very old amps die on me in the past. But it does seem
unlikely.

Thank you for the reply.

Edward

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

Edward Green wrote:
Okay. I have had very old amps die on me in the past. But it does seem
unlikely.

I wonder if the distortion effect is the same in both channels? Evident
if using headphones, and related to volume? Has something happened to
your speaker's tweeters / crossover?

Perhaps, you were overdriving the inputs without realising you are doing
so? Or negative feedback circuitry component values have drifted and you
are listening to a loverly bit of crossover distortion? Maybe the output
transistors are going... but 10 years? I wonder if controls and switches
are introducing non-linear effects of their own making.

Do a post over to sci.electronics.repair

Yup, I've also got DJ equipment (Pioneer CMX-3000) feeding my HiFi, and
a Rotel separates CD player doing the same. The Rotel player sounds
better but is naff for scatching ;-)

--
Adrian C

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

Adrian C wrote:
Edward Green wrote:
Okay. I have had very old amps die on me in the past. But it does seem
unlikely.

I wonder if the distortion effect is the same in both channels? Evident
if using headphones, and related to volume? Has something happened to
your speaker's tweeters / crossover?

Strangely it seems less of a problem at louder volumes. But that may be
my imagination. Through headphones from the CD Decks via the mixer (more
sounds of Audiophiles passing out)it all seems to be much better. But I
don't exactly have top of the line Headphones for DJing.

The Distortion seems to be the same on both channels. However in testing
this I discovered that the Balance on the amp cuts one channel out
completely sometimes when you adjust it. Even if it is centered. This is
not a good sign.

I need to borrow another amp to test the speakers.

Perhaps, you were overdriving the inputs without realising you are doing
so? Or negative feedback circuitry component values have drifted and you
are listening to a loverly bit of crossover distortion? Maybe the output
transistors are going... but 10 years? I wonder if controls and switches
are introducing non-linear effects of their own making.

You are speaking in tongues! Is there anyway of testing any of this? The
Amp is pretty hefty and I wouldn't know where to start. Not after the
CRT capacitor incident!


Do a post over to sci.electronics.repair

Yup, I've also got DJ equipment (Pioneer CMX-3000) feeding my HiFi, and
a Rotel separates CD player doing the same. The Rotel player sounds
better but is naff for scatching ;-)

Glad I am not the only one.

Eddie

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

Edward Green wrote:
Adrian C wrote:
Edward Green wrote:
Okay. I have had very old amps die on me in the past. But it does
seem unlikely.

I wonder if the distortion effect is the same in both channels?
Evident if using headphones, and related to volume? Has something
happened to your speaker's tweeters / crossover?

It is all driving me crazy now. I am talking to myself. Taken it apart
and put it back together. Listening to music some bits sound great,
others seem to sound dreadful.

I need to do some comparisons with other equipment.

Eddie

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

"Edward Green" wrote in message
...
I am in no way a Hi-Fi expert or Audiophile.

I have a 10 year old Rotel entry level Amp and 5 year old Aegis One entry
level speakers, with reasonable quality cables.

Inputs vary from my DVD player for Movies, through my MP3 player
sometimes, to my CD DJ Decks.

Something just doesn't sound right though. And I am not sure how long it
has not sounded right. And whatever source I use there is I think the same
level of not sounding rightness. (i.e. cutting out mixing desks which must
be the audiophiles worse nightmare, and using two different CD players
with the same CD and switching between them on different inputs).

I am not sure how to describe it apart from things like snares, explosions
and anything at the high end just sounds distorted. Sometimes it doesn't
seem noticeable. Sometimes it drives me nuts. I have tried leaving the Amp
on all the time. I think this helps but it is so hard to tell.

I am not expecting pure wonders of crisp clear sound. I know you pays your
money and takes your choice, and I didn't buy CD decks expecting audio
wonders, I expected to DJ with them :-).

What I am wondering is if it is the Amplifier. Is it failing to reproduce
certain aspects. Does that seem likely?

At some point I would like to start down the road of having a truly Hi-Fi
system, as it seems silly to invest a huge amount in Albums without fully
appreciating what they can offer.


First off, unplug everything, and then plug it back together.

There could be some corrosion on one of the plugs or cables, and simply
taking everything apart and putting it back together may cut through it.

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

Arny Krueger wrote:
"Edward Green" wrote in message
...
I am in no way a Hi-Fi expert or Audiophile.

I have a 10 year old Rotel entry level Amp and 5 year old Aegis One
entry level speakers, with reasonable quality cables.

Inputs vary from my DVD player for Movies, through my MP3 player
sometimes, to my CD DJ Decks.

Something just doesn't sound right though. And I am not sure how
long it has not sounded right. And whatever source I use there is I
think the same level of not sounding rightness. (i.e. cutting out
mixing desks which must be the audiophiles worse nightmare, and
using two different CD players with the same CD and switching
between them on different inputs). I am not sure how to describe it apart
from things like snares,
explosions and anything at the high end just sounds distorted.
Sometimes it doesn't seem noticeable. Sometimes it drives me nuts. I
have tried leaving the Amp on all the time. I think this helps but
it is so hard to tell. I am not expecting pure wonders of crisp clear
sound. I know you
pays your money and takes your choice, and I didn't buy CD decks
expecting audio wonders, I expected to DJ with them :-).

What I am wondering is if it is the Amplifier. Is it failing to
reproduce certain aspects. Does that seem likely?

At some point I would like to start down the road of having a truly
Hi-Fi system, as it seems silly to invest a huge amount in Albums
without fully appreciating what they can offer.


First off, unplug everything, and then plug it back together.

There could be some corrosion on one of the plugs or cables, and
simply taking everything apart and putting it back together may cut
through it.

Also just check the polarity of your speaker connections - make sure +ve to
+ve, -ve to -ve (red-red, black-black). I know it's basic but
sometimes......

Rolo

Very Low End. It all Sounds Wrong. Be Gentle.
 

Adrian C wrote:

Perhaps, you were overdriving the inputs without realising you are doing
so? Or negative feedback circuitry component values have drifted and you
are listening to a loverly bit of crossover distortion? Maybe the output
transistors are going... but 10 years? I wonder if controls and switches
are introducing non-linear effects of their own making.

Update if anyone is still watching.

There is a real problem with the Amp on the balance control. Play with
the balance and one channel will cut in and out. Weird. So the Amplifier
is not 100%. It will need replacing at some point. Which is a pity as I
have an emotional attachment to it!

The distortion was most noticeable before with the DVD as the source
passing straight into the Aux input.

What I have now done is put all my inputs through my mixer, and reduced
the level of the input signal to the amp. This is from CD players, DVD
for video and the Digital TV.

It may be my imagination, but I am pretty sure that if I then turn the
Amp up to compensate I do not get the same distortion from the Tweeters
I was getting before. At first I thought maybe the match between Amp and
Speakers was bad at the high end (I seem to have read of such things),
but this does not make sense as a degradation over time. It is as if the
Amp cannot handle a normal input levels without distortion at the high end.

Does this make any sense?

It is hard to ask for second opinions as most friends say 'Your system
sounds so much better than my PC speakers' ...

Assuming I was to buy a new Amp is £300 worth spending with the quality
of my speakers?

Eddie