Act2/P350 treble ?

[lotus340r]

How do people find the upper end of the Act series 2 and/or 350 ?

Maybe theres been a small cable or setup change in my system which has gone unoticed or maybe I am just finally starting to 'hear my system' fully and the honeymoon period is on the wane, but on some CD's I do find the treble a little strident or hot. Bright isn't really the word and its not harsh at all but just a little forward and overpresent.

I read some opinions on the whatsbestforum which suggest that this character is present in the ACT2.2 and is especially noticeable when upgrading to the GAT. Can anyone share any opinons ? I have tried repositioning some equipment and some cable options but I still hear it. This is in an acoustically treated room where I always considered the sound on the slighty darker side if anything (avalon ascendants which are full in the upper bass and definitely not a bright speaker).

Perhaps there's some tube rolling that can be done ?

[joeinid]

I noticed the same thing. The Premier 350 in combination with my TAD CR-1's was just too much of a good thing. My TADs were already a bit forward and the Pr. 350 made it worse for me. On my Dynaudio C1's, it was better but not gone. Puma cat aka Stephen noticed a similar thing. I think extensive break in helped his situation. I hope he will update his findings.

[lotus340r]

Thanks Joe. There is something steely and hard about the mid treble. I am really puzzled as to whether it was always there or not before. My gut feeling is that it wasn't. Not so long ago I could play pretty much anyhting and it sounded glorious, my mind never drawn to any part of the music or analysing it at all.

I think I will take a look at the tubes in my CDP and maybe after then get the CJ gear looked over.

One thing I did notice is that one day (around the time this all seemed to start), I went out and turned the ACt off but when I came back in although it was turned off the tubes were still glowing which I thought was a bit odd. Also my 350 has awlays hummed and its not a ground thing as it hums on its own with nothing even connected and still hums when you try all the tricks like shorting teh inputs and using a cheater plug and trying to ground to other bits of kit etc.

[joeinid]

If the hum is from the amps transformer, it could be dc on you electrical lines. I had similar issues with other gear and PS Audio Humbuster III's solved the transformer hum. Also, it may hum because it doesn't know all the words. If the hum is coming through the speakers, then ac/grounding issues are present. When I had great cds and music, the Pr. 350 was superb. On those less than stellar recordings, it was a little tough on the ear. I think it's the amp, not the preamp.

[ronenash]

If I had to guess the treble brightness comes from the Pr350 and not the ACT2. I never had any such thing with my ACT2. Using the CA200 as a power amp with the ACT2 never raised such a problem. The treble has always been pure beauty.

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by ronenash

If I had to guess the treble brightness comes from the Pr350 and not the ACT2. I never had any such thing with my ACT2. Using the CA200 as a power amp with the ACT2 never raised such a problem. The treble has always been pure beauty.

The CA200 was/is superb from day one.

[microstrip]

Originally Posted by lotus340r

(...) Thanks Joe. There is something steely and hard about the mid treble. (...)

Impossible!

A good friend of mine is using exactly the same combination with the Audio Physics Kronos - a great speaker that emphasizes any stridency and there is no vestige of hardness in the mide treble.

The ACT2 series 2 was an improvement is this area over the former ACT2 - it sounded more sweet in this zone than the original. Some people even complained it became too polite!

IMHO, you have to look elsewhere - perhaps the cables.

[lotus340r]

Thanks guys .... thanks Micro, I take your point but if there was something amiss with my P350 then that might change things.

I will swap a few components out and see what happens. Incidentally when I first set up the system I was actually struck by how tame the top end was through the avalons which if anything sounded like theuy could have done with a fair bit more air. I feel something has definitely changed.

[jimtranr]

Maybe the key here is--and it's only just "maybe"--that you notice the problem on "some CD's." It's possible that what you're hearing is the mix through an ultra-revealing particular combination of components. A good thing when the source is relatively pristine, not so much when it's been hyped to achieve a particular effect.

Do your "best-sounding" CD's exhibit a tad of however-mildly-hyped upper midrange emphasis as well? Or does the presentation with those best ones strike you as both highly resolved and "natural"-sounding? If that emphasis characteristic is consistent across your CD collection, then it's probably a system issue (note that I didn't say "necessarily a 350 issue"). If not, then the source and/or the media playback device may be your culprit.

I say "may", "maybe", or "might" because it goes without saying that we have to deal with any number of variables in this hobby, among them voicing at both the recording (e.g., mike selection and placement as well as mixing-stage pan potting, the monitors used, etc.) and the component manufacturing (e.g., with what speakers, cables, etc., does c-j voice its preamps and amps) ends.

[turntable]

I have the GAT and prem350. No brightness whatsoever.

Fully run in prem350 inhibits zero brightness.

Btw, do you suffer any of the issues with your turntable and vinyl?