2+2
Member
All is NOT well with my new-to-me Vantages. While I like the airy feel of the music, I cannot get over the brightness and the resultant ear fatigue. I am used to a laid-back warm sound presentation. My Rotel RC1070 and RB1080 combo went well with the vifa ring radiator in my Polk LSi speakers but they are not well matched to the Vantages for my taste. After trying all different combo of wires that I have, and getting it toned down somewhat, it became apparent no amount of tweeking with cables is going to get me where I want to go. So I gave up and swapped in my Harman amp and it was much better but still not quite there. I swapped in an Harman AVR as a pre-pro to try to further tame the sound and it helped a bit more but not enough. I have a big Marantz AVR I could try but my impression is that it is more forward and ore neutral than my Harman stuff so I don't think it will help further.
So, I am selling one of my Rotel amps and adding a bit of funds in search of warm, laid-back, airy sound out of the Vantages that won't cause ear fatique. Harmon is known for that but apparently, not enough for the Vantages for me. I seem to recall B&K amps have warm and mellow sound to them, at least when I listened to them 10 yrs ago. Anyone use B&K here and if so, what model do you use? I am presuming that a replacement amp will make more of an impact as compared to a preamp but not sure ..may have to do both....My budget is limited to about $600. Any thoughts? TIA.
So, I am selling one of my Rotel amps and adding a bit of funds in search of warm, laid-back, airy sound out of the Vantages that won't cause ear fatique. Harmon is known for that but apparently, not enough for the Vantages for me. I seem to recall B&K amps have warm and mellow sound to them, at least when I listened to them 10 yrs ago. Anyone use B&K here and if so, what model do you use? I am presuming that a replacement amp will make more of an impact as compared to a preamp but not sure ..may have to do both....My budget is limited to about $600. Any thoughts? TIA.
Last edited: