My amp suddenly sounds poo and I don't know why - help!

[Fried buffalo wings]

Hiya audio- junkies!

I've got a Primare i21 amp, and up until now I've been very happy with it - wonderful transparency, sound-staging and clarity of sound. I recently replaced my Marantz cd52 mkiii se with a Primare DVD26 - I was expecting great things, but the sound quality was noticeably worse - the detail and sparkle was gone, and i was having to crank up the amp higher to achieve the same volume. I assumed that it was because the DVD26 was worse quality than the cd52 (despite the rrp being over 4 times as much) the cd52 is very highly regarded for what it is after all. Anyway, in the meantime I've played music through my dab radio and iPhone since then, and I've got the same problem - the amp sounds way worse than it did before and needing to cranked higher for the same output whats going on?! Please help!!!

[struth]

I think the output sockets are directly mounted on the pcb with that amp, so when you changed over is it possible that some damage has been done or that there is a dry joint causing this. If at all possible try another amp as an experiment and see if things improve a fair bit sonically ....Certainly sounds like an amp problem.

[Fried buffalo wings]

Zyoiks! Is that repairable d'you think? I have zero electronics experience, so would need to take it to a repair shop....

[Ali Tait]

Yes easily repairable if that is the cause.

[Firebottle]

Have you tried it again with the Marantz as the source? It could be the DVD26 isn't up to the same quality of sound, never mind the price :scratch:

The difference in volume could be just the output signal level being different, the older CD players had very high level output of 2 volts.

[Macca]

Sounds like the same problem I had.Ttry a different amp you will soon know.

[Marco]

I thought you were going to phone me last night, daftee? ;)

Marco.

[Macca]

I had an unexpected visitor. I'll try you tonight if you are in.

[Marco]

Ah, Lindsay popped in again for a coffee, on the way to Bingo.... Gotcha. Understandable :eyebrows:

Tonight? Yeah, no worries. Look forward to it.

As you were, folks!

Marco.

[Reffc]

I'd wind back a little as the damage isn't proven, just speculative. Many many amps use PCB mount output/input sockets and last donkeys years without problems.

It might simply be because the Marantz is a CDP noted for being, err, a little brighter shall we say than the Primare. I've always found primare gear to be a little laid back of neutral, and if the Marantz output was also higher, then this would explain the relative change to volume.

[struth]

Yeah but he says all sources are poor now

[walpurgis]

Just a thought. Have you tried another mains lead?