McIntosh MC302 Puzzling observation

[Msegal]

Originally Posted by FreddieFerric

FWIW, Costco and Sam's Club will do a complete hearing test for free and even give you a graph of the results. Be prepared. I'm 61 and had one a couple of years ago. Ouch!

Still can't abide the though of hearing aids though.

I am not sure what a hearing test will accomplish except to heighten ones fear of getting older.

Your hearing is what it is. A quick look with an otoscope will rule out excessive wax but there is no treatment for neurological or conductive hearing loss.

Just my $.02.

Mike

[stereo_5]

I am wondering if the perceived lack of sharpness in thetreble is due to my hearing and not the system. That is what I am hoping to achieve.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by stereo_5

I am wondering if the perceived lack of sharpness in thetreble is due to my hearing and not the system. That is what I am hoping to achieve.

I sincerely hope the culprit is the amp. You'd rather think the system is performing less than expected rather than your hearing. The first you can fix, the second you're stuck with.

[Charles]

Don't know what the problem is but tone controls are not the solution. Suspect it has to do with the bass emphasis. Again tone controls should not be used as a compensation for this.

[stereo_5]

I received a second hand pair of Nordost Red Dawn 1.5 meter interconnects today. After I inserted them into the system, it was quite apparent that These cables are a little livelier as expected and seems to have done the trick. The treble is extended and has that little bit of sharpness that I was missing before. The bass still sounds deep and tight and I really didn't hear any loss of that.

Now my problem. Before I put the new cables in, my system was always dead quiet, not even a bit of hum. Now I am getting a hum in one channel (it was both until I rerouted the cables) only when the tube preamp is first turned on during the warming up process. Once the system is ready to play music, the hum is gone. Since these are flat cables, it's doubtful there is any shielding. What do you guys make of this, should I let it go and just enjoy or dig deeper?

[brownbear]

Originally Posted by Charles

Don't know what the problem is but tone controls are not the solution. Suspect it has to do with the bass emphasis. Again tone controls should not be used as a compensation for this.

That's where I was going with my post about turning down the subs a smidge that are inside the speakers. I'm curious if the highs would rear their heads again by doing this.

[stereo_5]

I tried that, I turned the woofer levels as far as I could before the bass became non existent. The Nordost Red Dawn cable I put between the preamp and amp seems to have done the trick, and I got rid of the hum as well that I was first having with the cables.

[brownbear]

Glad you got it figured out!

[stereo_5]

Thank you. I have been listening to the system with the new cable for 4 hours and my ears aren’t bleeding yet. I don’t find these cables too bright as others have stated.