So…I’m a longtime, but recovering/reformed audiophile. When I was at my best/worst, lol…my system ran to the tune of about $25k; and I was a real churn-n-burn hobbyist. Meaning? I’ve probably owned/heard more kit, than a roomful of 'philes. That’s no kind of flex…just some context.
In the modest system I’m running in my LR, a recent change “necessitated” long-ish ICs (and therefore XLR)…in order to keep short-er/ish speaker cable runs. So…a pre-amp and power-amp/s were acquired. The Pre…a Stellar GCD; amps…just received some Fosi v3 monos I’m trying for the first time. They’re not playing nice together.
Currently, I’m running my streamer into the GCDs s/pdif Coax and ICs balanced-out to the Fosi. So…first, I get a terrible (and I mean loud) “thump” if I don’t correct for it. 2nd…and I’ve owned the SGCD before, albeit a long time ago and in a different configuration, so this may be inherent to the GainCell…but I’ve got terrible bleed-through at 0-5. At like 6, the volume drops to “normal”…and then starts to swell as you go up the dial. I’m working around ALL of these issues, by getting the GCD above the bleed-through before I power-on the monoblocks. Not ideal…but I could probably learn to live with that, were it not for my other (much more pressing) issue.
I don’t like the sound I’m getting. Now…I’m not married to either of these pieces. I was closer to getting a DSJD, but the price I got on the GCD was too good to pass. So…if there is something inherent to GainCell that isn’t going to make this a good fit, then I have options. On the other hand…while praise for the Fosi is near universal, and the measurement crowd would have you believe it is SNR/DR mana delivered from heaven; I’m happy to call it my culprit if need be.
What’s wrong with the sound? The best I can describe it, is it has that “overdriven” sound…like when an amp is punching way above its weight, but at normal/modest volume. Before you ask…speakers are 89.5/db and 8ohm nominal, so. All things being equal, I’d be happy to chalk it up to the Fosi but…when you throw in this “other” thing. Thoughts? Thank you