The History Kid Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I posited this question on reddit - which was a huge mistake - but got no real good answers or resolution. Some of you may have seen my other thread talking about breaking up parts of my old big system and using it in an office space. To do that, I took the RB-5's that I have and matched them to a set of Parasound Z series gear (DAC v2, Pre3, and Amp v3). The problem is that whenever using the RB-5's, the sound is super processed sounding and lacks virtually any low end. Headphones do not produce this issue. I'm trying to figure out if this is a matter of some sort of configuration or a design flaw that I missed with these units when I bought them. Things I've tried so far: Reversing polarity on the RB-5's produced the same results. Running audio bypassing the DAC did not change the result. Running audio bypassing the Pre did not change the result. Putting the NC 2125 from the old system back into the fray did not produce any changes. Using my RF-3's instead of the RB-5's didn't really change much other than the sound was a bit more extended due to the nature of the RF-3's. I ensured that sound enhancements were turned off in Windows. Tone controls will extend the bass to a certain extent and treble increases the high to a point where they're too thin. I know how these RB-5's are supposed to sound. This ain't it. I also know how the rest of my Parasound gear has sounded. This ain't it either. Any other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opnly bafld Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 "Reversing polarity on the RB-5's produced the same results." You mean reversing the + and - on just ONE speaker? Is the amplifier switched to stereo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 The amplifier is switched to stereo, yes. When I say that I reserved polarity, I tried this in every different connection scenario possible with 2-conductor cabling. I also attempted to run the system in mono, and the same results were produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Have you tried taking the speakers back into the original room and trying them again? Have you tried bringing the electronics from that system into your office? edit: Just read that you brought the amp into the room. It could be just a matter of room acoustics. Have you tried moving the speakers and yourself around the room? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 Just now, Shakeydeal said: Have you tried taking the speakers back into the original room and trying them again? Have you tried bringing the electronics from that system into your office? I'm actually testing them in the same place. I haven't set the office up yet - so the electronics are setup here, and the speakers haven't moved yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 So all you did was unhook the old electronics and hook up the parasound stuff in the same room, and then put the old stuff back in? And you can’t get them to sound good again? Am I reading that right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 Yes. The old stuff was placed in their boxes to prep for moving. The speakers don't have their boxes, so they're still where they have been. I wanted a chance to test the new gear too before anything else. Basically I transitioned these speakers from a Parasound NC 200 PRE & 2125 to the rig mentioned in the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter P. Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 3 hours ago, Shakeydeal said: Have you tried taking the speakers back into the original room and trying them again? Have you tried bringing the electronics from that system into your office? edit: Just read that you brought the amp into the room. It could be just a matter of room acoustics. Have you tried moving the speakers and yourself around the room? That was going to be my suggestion. Either the acoustics or the dimensions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 On 8/10/2024 at 8:33 PM, Peter P. said: That was going to be my suggestion. Either the acoustics or the dimensions. Yeah, again - nothing in the room has changed other than the stack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Full Range Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Just a hunch - the parasound v0.3 may not a good match to the RB5 If possible and the most prudent way is try or borrow another amp to test and observe the difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 12 hours ago, Full Range said: Just a hunch - the parasound v0.3 may not a good match to the RB5 If possible and the most prudent way is try or borrow another amp to test and observe the difference On 8/10/2024 at 11:32 AM, The History Kid said: Putting the NC 2125 from the old system back into the fray did not produce any changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanksjim1 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 On 8/10/2024 at 5:05 PM, The History Kid said: Basically I transitioned these speakers from a Parasound NC 200 PRE & 2125 to the rig mentioned in the OP. Looks like you haven't ruled out the preamp being the issue yet...not sure that's it, but swapping the NC 200 back in might be worth a try (as opposed to pulling the pre3 out of the loop). I do find preamps make a big difference on sound in my systems... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 I had bypassed the pre already. But I will try putting the NC 200 back into the mix just to see if that could help. The Pre is in the mix mostly because of the tone controls. Will report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 So what you are saying is that you changed everything but the room and the speakers, then changed it all back, and now it sucks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 2 hours ago, hanksjim1 said: Looks like you haven't ruled out the preamp being the issue yet...not sure that's it, but swapping the NC 200 back in might be worth a try (as opposed to pulling the pre3 out of the loop). I do find preamps make a big difference on sound in my systems... We have a winner. So it appears that the Preamp is modulating and causing some hiccups in the tones as well. As mentioned, I had bypassed the pre, but that meant the system wasn't EQ'd at all. Putting the 200 into the mix added the tone control back, and that's where we sit. Now its a matter of figuring out what on earth is so different in the innards of the ZPre vs the 200. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 23 Author Share Posted August 23 Well this is disappointing. Parasound won't even *attempt* to offer support on their own products anymore. Seems like after whatever buyout a couple years back, the company has really gone down the tubes (no pun intended). What a shame. Does anyone have some good suggestions of something I could put between the DAC and Amp to allow for some modest tone control adjustments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanksjim1 Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 a lot of folks like the Schiit gear for this purpose (they also have the Loki at $149): https://www.schiit.com/products/lokius 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 So you have enough gain and I assume a volume control on the DAC? If so @hanksjim1 suggestion is a good one. But to digress. I would suggest addressing the room and/or system issues that make you think you need tone controls. Because I assure you they aren’t needed in a well thought out system unless you are on a steady diet of 1920s music. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted August 24 Author Share Posted August 24 It's not really cost effective to tackle that with the amount of work needed in any of these rooms, a pre is a simpler and more direct approach to the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolve2525 Posted Monday at 03:51 PM Share Posted Monday at 03:51 PM On 8/23/2024 at 12:43 PM, The History Kid said: Well this is disappointing. Parasound won't even *attempt* to offer support on their own products anymore. Seems like after whatever buyout a couple years back, the company has really gone down the tubes (no pun intended). What a shame. Does anyone have some good suggestions of something I could put between the DAC and Amp to allow for some modest tone control adjustments? Have you tried a tube buffer? I use one sometimes to add a bit of warmth. I changed out the stock tubes for some vintage Russian ones. I have an FX Audio Tube 01. There's one on ebay that includes a set of upgraded USA JAN tubes. They are good sounding tubes also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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