Next Upgrade

I had the demo. Firstly the Roksan, attached to Q Acoustics 3050. However, it was quickly apparent the speakers weren't up to the job, so I asked for some MA Silver 300.

I like the Roksan, but didn't think it was a huge step up over my current Arcam A19. I then tried the Arcam SR250, vocals were much clearer, but the low end maybe wasn't as pronounced as the Roksan.

I can get the Arcam for around £750, which is a bit of a steal. If I can sell my Arcam A19 for around £200, It seems like a reasonable upgrade for £500.

Very much so. £500 is a monster bargain.

Once you’ve got the hang of Dirac, you’ll be delighted.

The bass can be set to taste, without any overhang.
 
I also like the idea of being able to add a sub (if needed!).
 
I bit the bullet and purchased the Arcam, hoping it will be a good step up over my A19 at home. We will find out this week…..

@Paul7777x thanks for the gentle persuasion.
 
I’m sure you’ll like it.

It has excellent poweramps, Arcams class G, a shiningly clean preamp section and is a very good stereo amp/dac.

But add Dirac and the extra that brings makes the SR a serious bargain.

EDIT;

I note Arcam claim 50w for the A19 at 8 ohms, both channels. But only quote one channel at 4 ohms... dubious indeed.

Then SR 250 whips out at least twice that, so it’s a worthy upgrade for the extra power alone, never mind the extra quality of the class G.
 
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Ps, it also makes adding a sub, or two, no hassle at all. And the extra depth subs bring is a delight.

When they are added without the bloat that usually accompanies a sub addition the music really picks up gravitas.

I’ll never be without room correction again.
 
Pps, I’d also experiment using your current 1723s in the same place when you get the 250. You’ll know if you’ll like them there before lashing out.

A bit of a faff moving stuff about, but it helps make decisions without spending money first.
 
Ppps,

This may seem rather presumptions of me (but only because it is) however, have you tried turning the room round 90 degrees?

That way you’d be able to keep the speakers further from the side walls.

I’m pretty sure Dirac will be able to alleviate almost all of the issues caused by their current positioning, but if not...?
 
Good idea about the 1723s, I could move them downstairs for a listen. I was planning on getting the floorstanding versions, but the bookshelf (if you can call them that - they are huge!) would be a good test.

No chance on swapping the room around. My wife would kill me!
 
Good idea about the 1723s, I could move them downstairs for a listen. I was planning on getting the floorstanding versions, but the bookshelf (if you can call them that - they are huge!) would be a good test.

No chance on swapping the room around. My wife would kill me!

I suppose a wife upgrade is out if the question? :blush:

If the whopping ‘bookshelf’ 1723s sound good to your ears in that room, then the floorstanders are likely to do so too. Dirac will take care of the extra bass, and stop it from bloating out into the room.
 
That would cost too much….
 
Should the amp reset away from stereo direct each time I put it on standby? I don’t have it attached to a TV or monitor, so don’t know if there is a setting to adjust this.
 
It should not.

I can’t remember if there’s a setting for it...

A quick hdmi to the telly will sort you out.
 
Thanks for the response @Paul7777x. It was an open box from RS and I have been stung with them before, so I hope it isn’t an issue. I will move a computer monitor tomorrow and see if there is a setting. Not being able to see the menu on the front screen is a pain.
 
Thanks for the response @Paul7777x. It was an open box from RS and I have been stung with them before, so I hope it isn’t an issue. I will move a computer monitor tomorrow and see if there is a setting. Not being able to see the menu on the front screen is a pain.

It should have the rudimentary bits on there I agree.

The OSM is however the simplest thing I’ve ever seen, I’ve read people complaining it’s too simple. But I struggled to understand what that might mean.

I really hope RS haven’t shafted you. It’s a great amp, so returning it would be a bit of a fanny.

The answer to your conundrum is really sitting just behind the memory my ageing brain can access. It’s infuriating.
 
No problem. I have forgotten my own gate code twice in the past month. It is four digits long and I have lived in the house for 10 years. Age gets to us all….
 
No problem. I have forgotten my own gate code twice in the past month. It is four digits long and I have lived in the house for 10 years. Age gets to us all….

I know what you mean.

If I get halfway down the street and realise I’ve remembered to put my trousers on, I consider the day a roaring success from then on.
 
Did you sort out the Stereo Direct issue?

I’m feeling a bit guilty here...
 
Did you sort out the Stereo Direct issue?

I’m feeling a bit guilty here...
Sorry @Paul7777x I didn’t get back to you. I managed to sort it last night, it was a setting in the menu that allowed the initial setting to be stereo or stereo direct.

The next job is to run Dirac, I also discovered when I went into the menu there was an existing Dirac setup loaded, so I removed this.

I will do some critical listening over the next fortnight and a few A/B against my old Arcam A19 before making a final decision.
 
@NM20 - I don't know anything about Dirac, but I agree with everyone here who's posted about the positive gains that come from using Room Correction (I have a Lyngdorf amp that uses its own RC, Room Perfect.

What I will say from my own experience is:

1. I understand that Dirac can be endlessly tweakable - don't do that! Try and find a sound signature that works as a best compromise across different musical genres, because they're all mixed differently with different emphases on different frequencies. So one track can wonderful whilst the next can sound pretty awful, and you could be there forever fiddling about trying to find the "perfect" sound.

2. Be prepared to have to adjust to what you're hearing once it's all set up. Basically, your room has previously played its part in what you've been listening to, far more than you probably ever realised. With Dirac, you're effectively "removing" the room and you might be shocked at how different your music sounds - even songs you thought you knew like the back of your hand can sound unlike what you've previously heard and known.

Good luck and remember it's all about the music! :)
 
Sorry @Paul7777x I didn’t get back to you. I managed to sort it last night, it was a setting in the menu that allowed the initial setting to be stereo or stereo direct.

The next job is to run Dirac, I also discovered when I went into the menu there was an existing Dirac setup loaded, so I removed this.

I will do some critical listening over the next fortnight and a few A/B against my old Arcam A19 before making a final decision.

Good news...

The existing Dirac implementation must have been killing the sound... it can’t possibly have been more wrong. Different speakers in a different room 😳. Awful.

I do hope you enjoy it.

I loved mine, I found it to be a very clear, detailed and potent (when required) amp.

And as soon as I’d sorted out Dirac it was, naturally enough, even better.

The only reason I sold it was to buy my current Lyngdorf and I couldn’t quite afford to keep the SR250 for my other room.

I’ll be getting another as soon as I get the necessary cash.
 
More sticking points….

Downloaded Dirac Live 3 and ran a few sweeps. I then exported the file and it seemed to work, but there was no calibration file on the amp. I tried this a couple of times to no avail.

I then thought the firmware may be an issue, so I downloaded the latest version 7.15 (I think) installed this with no issues and factory reset the amp as per the instructions. Now when I run Dirac Live 3 it sees the amp, but won’t connect, saying the amp is acting in an unexpected way.

Edit:

I have restarted everything and it seems to have picked up the amp again. Now I will see if it will export the calibration file properly.
 
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Got it working and wow the tightness between the two settings (off and on) is great. With Dirac off I get a lot of boominess.

One thing I am not sure about is how to set the levels at the start of the process. Do I move the master value, do I move the speakers down? Do I move the microphone up (I am using a UMIK1).

Also, does Dirac not set distances like Audyssey? Do I need to do this myself in the menu setup first?

(sorry for all the questions)
 
Also, Dirac keeps turning off when I put the amp on standby. When I go into settings it is blanked out and I have two switch the settings from ‘analogue‘ to ‘digital’ and back again to get it to allow me to select the Room Eq again.
 
Phew. I’m glad you appreciate the difference... I love it to bits.

Dirac will set the distances of both speakers and subs, you need do nothing.

I used the mic slider to close to 0dB for gain and manage the overall volume with the master slider. I was happy using the master volume at around half and adjusting the amp volume to suit.

It’s easy to overdrive though, so I’d keep the amp volume really low and increase it after you’ve set the sliders.

If, this is too loud for Dirac, use the master slider to decrease the volume.

The turning off may have something to do with having used a calibration file that was made with the older firmware.

I think you’ll need to run another calibration.
 
Phew. I’m glad you appreciate the difference... I love it to bits.

Dirac will set the distances of both speakers and subs, you need do nothing.

I used the mic slider to close to 0dB for gain and manage the overall volume with the master slider. I was happy using the master volume at around half and adjusting the amp volume to suit.

It’s easy to overdrive though, so I’d keep the amp volume really low and increase it after you’ve set the sliders.

If, this is too loud for Dirac, use the master slider to decrease the volume.

The turning off may have something to do with having used a calibration file that was made with the older firmware.

I think you’ll need to run another calibration.
Ah yes, the older firmware was used for the original calibration - good thinking. Hopefully that will solve it as it does sound great, but if I have to faff around with it to use the Room EQ each time it will be going back.
 

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