I recently upgraded from from an Ayre AX-7e integrated amp to a pair of BHK 300s and BHK pre. My speakers are Martin Logan Impression 11A, with recommended amp power of 20—550 watts per channel, at 4 ohms. It was my understanding that a slightly more watts in the amp would not be an issue when driving the speakers.
With the Ayre, my system always felt lacking in bass, and I mostly attributed this to the electrostatic speakers. I used the ARC room correction on the speakers. The Martin Logan’s also have a knob to adjust the bass level, and I would set it to +1db.
After the upgrade there is way way more energy in the system and the lower frequencies. Basically it makes my ears hurt at normal volumes unless I turn down the base level knob on the speakers down to the -10db lower limit, and even then the bass thins out, but the system is still fatiguing.
Is it expected to get such a a drastic change on amp upgrade? Could it be a faulty component or, a component mismatch causing this? Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks.
My full system:
(Powered by Power Plant 3)
Ayre QB-9 DAC
Ayre Signature XLR Cables
PSA BHK Preamp
Transparent Reference XL XLR Cables
(Powered by Power Plant 15)
2 x BHK 300
Audioquest Wild Wood Speaker cables
2 x Martin Logan Impression ESL 11A