diminishing returns?

I borrowed a pair of Audionet Amp II monoblocks over the weekend to see a 'next level' power amp would give noticable benefits over my Alectos, driving Nautilus 802s. Other than interestingly, them informing me that my mains cables were wrongly phased, I was surpised at how little beneficial difference I found. Albeit more powerful at 200w and considerably more expensive, I didn't think they added much weight and slam (albeit maybe a bit more dynamic) and if anything were less smooth in the midrange.

I'm waiting to get hold of a pair of Bryston 7bsst's on dem to see if 600W would show a bigger impact...

 

MLC, you may yet be under whelmed again.
A good friend of mine has a 9bst on a pair of 2005 Kefs, very clean, matter of fact and dry.
He too was more than surprised by a quick comparision with a Belcanto.
If you like the Alecto's a lot, why not give Graham a call (Trichord) you may find he may well be able up the ante' some what

 

WM - what was the surprise in the comparison with the Belcanto?
Hadn't thought of talking to Trichord - good suggestion ...

 

could you explain mains cables wrongly phased?
this is a term i have never heard before.
many thanks

 

it's when say live on the mains plug wires back to neutral on the iec plug (same as 'polarity'?). the Audionet amps threw up a warning message but carried on working - I swapped the wiring over in the iec plug and they fired up again with no warning. the help manual was geared to European plugs - they said to simply flip the two-prong plug over in the wall socket..

 

deary me, directional mains leads

 

miswired rather than directionsl - but good point - maybe the amps should spot and warn if your cable was 'not directionally optimised'..

actually I forgot to mention to WM that the Audionets have blue LEDs but still didn't impress......

 

Actually, mains polarities, can be an issue with a lot of setups. It can cause ground hum, and all sorts of taboo phenomena.

Now, I'm not a convert to ley lines and all things audio-voodoo. The trouble is, we can't really discuss it openly, because like ground loops, you can't say generally how to cure anything, only suggestions - or your own experiences. Since the suggestions involve swapping primary wires in power supplies..I'm not about to put ideas into peoples heads. There is stuff on the WWW which is relevant, [though bear in mind electrical codes vary]. A starting point is to measure the case to case AC potential around your system. It doesn't tell you a lot, except that some kit lives in an eddy-current soup...

cheers

Graham C

 

MLC,

As I have said before, I think you'd have to spend a lot of money to significantly improve on the Alectos. They are very good amps. Why not do as Tony suggested and see if Graham from trichord can upgrade them.