Shouty no more: How the Acurus DIA-100 changed my life.

neekomax · « **on:** 22 Jul 2011, 05:19 am »

So I just had my first brush with audiophiledom, and wanted to share my stoke...

Received my used (you'd never know, thing is mint) Acurus DIA-100 solid state 100W amp from Echo Hifi in Portland delivered along with some AudioQuest Slate speaker cables.

Up to now, I've been using a Peachtree Audio Decco to listen to digital audio (ripped redbook (AIFF) and high bitrate AAC from my two Macs via USB or streaming). But I found it was 'shouty' at volume, with almost zero stereo separation (muddled staging), fatiguing, and just not very engaging.

The new config: Decco is now my DAC/preamp feeding the Acurus, and out to my Def Tech BP8020s. The sound is light years' improvement over what I was hearing using the Decco's ss power amp stage.

The Acurus has changed everything. Plus the new cables, I'm sure. Now the sound is agile, airy with spaces between instruments, and pretty tonally well rounded, with a slight punchy shimmer that I'm digging. Plus I can just feel the headroom that the extra wattage provides, it gives it a certain solidity. Listening fatigue has been greatly diminished.

I had been considering a tube amp like a Glow Amp One or a Tecon Model 55, but when I saw the Acurus come up for sale, it looked like it might be good, and the price was right. Anyone else have/love one these babies?

PS- this amp is built like a tank. Literally. I don't think I could dent that chassis if I tried.

richidoo · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 02:02 pm »

Congrats and welcome to Audiophiledom!

http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/1193acurus/index.html

The Decco is a chip amp inside, so pushing it for power is not a good idea. You were hearing it distort as it approached its power limit. Amps will tighten up and sound anxious as they approach their limit. That's why it is important to have "headroom" between your maximum expected power needs and the limit of your amplifier. The more headroom, the more relaxed and natural the music will sound when you turn it up. The more you turn it up (to a point) the bigger emotional impact the music can have on you, but not if it is distorting. Enjoy your new sound. You will grow accustomed to it shortly and start hearing other things you want to change. Go slow and have fun, avoid the dark side of audiophilism, upgraditis. Keep the music the top priority and have fun!

neekomax · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 04:22 pm »

Thanks for the welcome and wise words, very cool of you.

It is hard to keep from wanting to constantly upgrade stuff, because better sound seems a bit addictive. Even now, I imagine a better preamp or dac etc... But I'm going to force myself to just be with my current setup for a while, and get new music instead. It's cheaper that way, too

. The only thing I might do now is look into a tube upgrade for the Decco.

Not too clear on the technical difference between a chip amp and solid state (but I sure can hear it)...

tesseract · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 07:59 pm »

Nice amp there, neekomax! That Acurus is what first got me interested in the advantages passive pre integrateds have. I have that Stereophile article around here somewhere...

Too bad Klipsch Group shut Mondial down.

richidoo · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 08:52 pm »

Quote from: neekomax on 22 Jul 2011, 04:22 pm

It is hard to keep from wanting to constantly upgrade stuff, because better sound seems a bit addictive.

Not too clear on the technical difference between a chip amp and solid state (but I sure can hear it)...

Sound quality is addictive. You are a wise man! Also, upgrading the system makes the remaining flaws more noticeable, which can become a vicious cycle. Music doesn't require extreme resolution to enjoy.

A chip amp is a whole amplifier on a single integrated circuit (chip.) In the Decco I think it is National Overture LM3875.The Acurus is a discreet amp where all the parts are discreet, soldered together on a PCB, which has many advantages, but costs more. The Decco can sound good within it's comfort zone.

neekomax · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 09:55 pm »

Quote from: tesseract on 22 Jul 2011, 07:59 pm

Nice amp there, neekomax! That Acurus is what first got me interested in the advantages passive pre integrateds have. I have that Stereophile article around here somewhere...

Too bad Klipsch Group shut Mondial down.

Did you have one? If so, did you plug your sources into it directly, or did you an external pre or dac? Or do you have experience with other passive pre integrated amps?

neekomax · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 10:01 pm »

Quote from: richidoo on 22 Jul 2011, 08:52 pm

A chip amp is a whole amplifier on a single integrated circuit (chip.) In the Decco I think it is National Overture LM3875.The Acurus is a discreet amp where all the parts are discreet, soldered together on a PCB, which has many advantages, but costs more. The Decco can sound good within it's comfort zone.

Thanks for that. I definitely have everything to learn about electronics as it relates to audio. How did you learn?

tesseract · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Jul 2011, 11:24 pm »

Quote from: neekomax on 22 Jul 2011, 09:55 pm

Did you have one? If so, did you plug your sources into it directly, or did you an external pre or dac? Or do you have experience with other passive pre integrated amps?

I own the Exposure 2010S. Got a dealer demo unit for half price.

I dump all of my sources into it. No external DAC, I only have one digital source, a Marantz universal player.

neekomax · « **Reply #8 on:** 23 Jul 2011, 01:44 am »

Tesseract, the Exposure sounds like a great piece of gear.

Hearing that you go direct into it makes me wonder what would happen if I found a way to cut the Decco preamp out of the equation; would the sound get drier or cleaner? Maybe both?

cedman1 · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Jul 2011, 02:01 am »

Quote from: tesseract on 22 Jul 2011, 07:59 pm

Nice amp there, neekomax! That Acurus is what first got me interested in the advantages passive pre integrateds have. I have that Stereophile article around here somewhere...

Too bad Klipsch Group shut Mondial down.

While I do not have the DIA gear I do have a couple of the acurus amps and their pre-amp in a couple of systems as well. Nice gear and never had a problem driving any speaker. I did find out early on with their amps that the pre-amp is pretty much where the different tonal flavors will come from. As you stated as well, lots of air with stable, solid imaging and scary headroom if your not careful with the volume knob.

Also Acurus and Aragon and back in biz with some of the original employees (no Anthony though) purchasing the name and tech from Klipsch a couple of years ago. There new gear/updated gear should be out now and in dealers. Just visit Indy Audio Labs.

Enjoy

richidoo · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Jul 2011, 02:31 am »

Quote from: neekomax on 22 Jul 2011, 10:01 pm

How did you learn?

I just love audio, and learning. A friend who is a radio engineer and audio designer helps me a lot.

JLM · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 01:40 am »

There are many fine examples of chip amps but they are normally limited to 40 wpc (you didn't specify which Peachtree you're using). Regardless I'm a bit surprised that with 93 dB/w/m speakers that include a powered subwoofer that you'd run out of juice. I'm an old audio fart and rarely get north of 100 dB, OTOH I'm also a big believer of having plenty of juice to maintain a commanding grip on the speakers.

Like any technology there are good and bad applications. Audiosector is a very good chip amp. The Channel Island Audio VMB-1 monoblocks I own are pretty good too. There has been a huge following over at DIYaudio.com. But general concensus is that the weak link of the Peachtrees is their power amps. The problem with all in one products is that there always seems to be a weak link, hence the audiophile interest in separates.

tesseract · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 05:49 am »

Quote from: neekomax on 23 Jul 2011, 01:44 am

Tesseract, the Exposure sounds like a great piece of gear.

Hearing that you go direct into it makes me wonder what would happen if I found a way to cut the Decco preamp out of the equation; would the sound get drier or cleaner? Maybe both?

You asked if I have a DAC. I do not. That's what I meant when I said I run direct to the amp.

If you eliminate the Decco, you will still need another DAC, right?

tesseract · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 05:50 am »

Quote from: cedman1 on 23 Jul 2011, 02:01 am

Also Acurus and Aragon and back in biz with some of the original employees (no Anthony though) purchasing the name and tech from Klipsch a couple of years ago. There new gear/updated gear should be out now and in dealers. Just visit Indy Audio Labs.

Good news!

JLM · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 11:52 am »

The Peachtree stuff resales well enough if you want to simplify/downsize a bit and keep the Acurus.

Check out the Cheap and Cheerful circle for at least 3 different threads for DACs.

Lots of good DAC choices out there, best not to bundle (or over invest) as fast as the technology keeps coming on.

neekomax · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 01:17 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 25 Jul 2011, 01:40 am

There are many fine examples of chip amps but they are normally limited to 40 wpc (you didn't specify which Peachtree you're using). Regardless I'm a bit surprised that with 93 dB/w/m speakers that include a powered subwoofer that you'd run out of juice. I'm an old audio fart and rarely get north of 100 dB, OTOH I'm also a big believer of having plenty of juice to maintain a commanding grip on the speakers.

Like any technology there are good and bad applications. Audiosector is a very good chip amp. The Channel Island Audio VMB-1 monoblocks I own are pretty good too. There has been a huge following over at DIYaudio.com. But general concensus is that the weak link of the Peachtrees is their power amps. The problem with all in one products is that there always seems to be a weak link, hence the audiophile interest in separates.

The Decco's amp is indeed rated 40wpc, but volume wasn't really my issue with it; indeed, it drove the Def Techs to levels above what I need. Rather it's the sound I was getting when using it as my amp. As described initially, I felt that the stereo soundstage was severely lacking separation, instruments sounded like they were all just one on top of the other, and overall it was just kind of a veiled sound. The 'shoutiness' at volume was a sort of fatiguing, annoying, impression that made me just want to turn it down, or off

. So I don't know if that, and the fact that the Acurus seemed to fix it, is related to power, or something in the chip amp's signal path that the ss amp doesn't do/have.

Based on my experience, I would have to concur that the power amp stage of the Decco is the weak link. What the Decco is great for is the convenience of digital and analog inputs, all volume controlled by remote, as a sort of hub for my system. I'm going to try some different tubes in it as well, to see if I can dial the preamp's sound a bit. Since the Acurus is very neutral, I do like having the tube in the signal path.

neekomax · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 01:25 pm »

Quote from: tesseract on 25 Jul 2011, 05:49 am

You asked if I have a DAC. I do not. That's what I meant when I said I run direct to the amp.

If you eliminate the Decco, you will still need another DAC, right?

Yes, I have considered getting another DAC and eliminating the Decco's preamp from the path. It would be a pretty cheap DAC (maybe $200, because this is getting expensive). I don't know. I do know that I like/need remote volume and input switching control, which I get from the Decco, and that I don't see many low cost DACs having. How do you deal with volume and source switching?

neekomax · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 04:30 pm »

By the way, I realize now that the Acurus I have is in fact the DIA-100 MkII

tesseract · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 04:57 pm »

Quote from: neekomax on 25 Jul 2011, 01:25 pm

How do you deal with volume and source switching?

The Exposure is an integrated with a line stage pre. Like the Acurus.

neekomax · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 Jul 2011, 05:00 pm »

No remote, I imagine?