I think I have a compatibility problem...

[Treble Clef]

I currently own Pass Labs X260.5, Burmester 099 pre with dac, Montis and two Paradigm Sub 1. And Nordost Frey 2 XLR and speaker cables.

My bass and treble works very good. But in between, the mid is thin on some material. I have tried two other XLR cables with surprising results. The mid body increased a lot. But the treble quality was reduced.

I do not believe the Frey 2 is causing this. I believe that my amps and my pre are no good match.

My local vendor says I should go for a Burmester 956. I prefer this route instead of putting in a Pass Labs pre. The bigger Burmester 911 is more powerful in watts than the 956. But the 956 offers more voltage out. They say that the smaller German amp has a higher damping factor than the bigger 911.

I wonder if someone in this forum have tested these two amps with Martin Logan. How do they match ESL?

And if you have a comment on Nordost as well - you're welcome to comment...

I will do amp testing in January.

 

[Bernard]

I can't comment on the compatibility, but your local vendor should let you try out equipment at home to help in the analysis before you commit money to any new equipment.

 

[Rich]

Dump the Burmester. Dryest sounding equipment I have ever heard. There are lots of great Preamps out there. The Pass should have loads of body in the mids. I have an X-350.5 and it has a ton of body in the mids, and this is with a very neutral Sanders Sound preamp.

 

[bluenote56]

Dump the Burmester. Dryest sounding equipment I have ever heard.

There is some truth in this. My Burmester 877 MK2 XLR did not go well along with different amps i've tried. Worst combination was with Krell FBP. Very thin and analytic.

I did like the way the Burmester was built. Really perfect. But switching to another preamp caused the problem to disappear. I feed my Krell with an E.A.R. tube preamp or a Jeff Rowland Consonance. I like that kind of old stuff....

 

[Treble Clef]

In January I will test a Burmester amp. If it works, I will replace my Pass Labs with a Burmester amp.

I prefer Burmester before Pass Labs. Pass Labs is not available in my country. I have to but a Pass pre from Denmark. My setup is in my living room. Burmester looks better than Pass - in my eyes.

 

[Treble Clef]

Dump the Burmester. Dryest sounding equipment I have ever heard. There are lots of great Preamps out there. The Pass should have loads of body in the mids. I have an X-350.5 and it has a ton of body in the mids, and this is with a very neutral Sanders Sound preamp.

Hi Rich
I had Burmester integrated amps for more than 10 years. I loved this sound. Not dry in my ears...

I am sure the Pass amps I use have plenty of mid body. I think the body is lost because my Burmester pre is not matching x260.5. Could this be the case, anyone?

 

[Rich]

So your complaint is about thin mids on some material. You have an amp that is known for its excellent mids, and a preamp of a brand that is not really known for its mids. And your solution is to dump the amp for an amp made by the same manufacturer as your pre.

 

[MPS]

I wouldn't say that Frey's strength exactly is putting meat in to the mids and that goes for most of the other Nordost offerings too. However I'm quite satisfied with Nordost + ARC combination.

 

[amey01]

I too would dump the Burmerster and go for a valve preamp maybe. Something from ARC perhaps?

 

[Gordon Gray]

TC,

Seems like one of the following is the culprit.

1) Preamp

2) Cables

3) Room issue / lack of treatment

4) Speaker position including rake angle

5) Component vibration

6) Dirty connections

7) Montis bass adjustment

8) Sub integration with Montis

9) All of the above or a combination thereof.

Since I own the 250.5, dumping it would be the last thing I would do. Rest assured that it's highly unlikely that is the cause of your problem.

Good luck.

GG

 

[edwinr]

I would keep the Pass Labs amp. From personal experience, Pass Labs and Audio Research go together like hand and glove. Even the older Audio Research models are worth trying - I've had great success with my old SP9.

 

[Gordon Gray]

So do Pass Labs and Conrad Johnson.

 

[Treble Clef]

Thank you all for good advice. I will test different combinations in January!