WIJGALT
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2001
- Posts
- 190
- Likes
- 10
It's back & it's set up. Since I didn't give it any kind of substantial listen prior to shipping it off to MAR for repairs/upgrade I can't really A/B the unit vis-a-vis its pre-upgrade performance.
I've only listened to the unit for about 10 hours to this point (with new JJ tubes - so break-in factors may be relevant). Initial impressions (with Senn 600s) are quite positive. The sound is full & sweet & the Melos is dead quiet. There is some leanness in the nether regions of the frequency spectrum but not to the extent that it is deleterious to the overall enjoyment of the music - & in time this may very well improve.
One thing that does trouble me somewhat: I find I need to goose the volume control to about the level of 1-2 o'clock to achieve satisfactory amplitude. This is true for both headphone use & conventional preamp use. The volume control appears to lack sensitivity/linearity. Kind of akin to driving a car with a very loose steering wheel. Lots of twisting with minimal response. comments from other Melos folks on this point would be appreciated.
The MAR experience was not terrible. Contact was a bit iffy but once arrangements were made turnaround at their facilities was about a week. The upgrade ($360) included repairs to the unit. One of the included upgrades was supposedly the elimination of the muting waiting period - this was not done as the the unit still takes time before coming out of mute. I can only assume & trust that the other upgrade elements were performed. The unit when muted via the remote only mutes the left speaker. I don't know if this was a prior problem - that MAR missed while going over the unit & performing "all repairs" - or something MAR caused. I am using the active outputs on the SHA & will experiment to see if the muting problem appears on the passive outputs as well. I invite comments regarding the pros/cons on using the passives & balanced outputs vs. the actives. What are you guys using & why?
I've only listened to the unit for about 10 hours to this point (with new JJ tubes - so break-in factors may be relevant). Initial impressions (with Senn 600s) are quite positive. The sound is full & sweet & the Melos is dead quiet. There is some leanness in the nether regions of the frequency spectrum but not to the extent that it is deleterious to the overall enjoyment of the music - & in time this may very well improve.
One thing that does trouble me somewhat: I find I need to goose the volume control to about the level of 1-2 o'clock to achieve satisfactory amplitude. This is true for both headphone use & conventional preamp use. The volume control appears to lack sensitivity/linearity. Kind of akin to driving a car with a very loose steering wheel. Lots of twisting with minimal response. comments from other Melos folks on this point would be appreciated.
The MAR experience was not terrible. Contact was a bit iffy but once arrangements were made turnaround at their facilities was about a week. The upgrade ($360) included repairs to the unit. One of the included upgrades was supposedly the elimination of the muting waiting period - this was not done as the the unit still takes time before coming out of mute. I can only assume & trust that the other upgrade elements were performed. The unit when muted via the remote only mutes the left speaker. I don't know if this was a prior problem - that MAR missed while going over the unit & performing "all repairs" - or something MAR caused. I am using the active outputs on the SHA & will experiment to see if the muting problem appears on the passive outputs as well. I invite comments regarding the pros/cons on using the passives & balanced outputs vs. the actives. What are you guys using & why?