Why does my system now have shrill top end.

I'm just thinking about how frustrated I'd be getting a lot of advice that doesn't much apply. Been there, done that, not fun. I had a discussion with a mod and I'm making it a point to be less aggressive, but I have no intention of not questioning and challenging things I don't agree with. 

@uberwaltz  pardon me for saying so but now you’re the one doing it. Walk a mile in my shoes. 👣

Regarding the exchange Jim (Jea48) and I had a few posts back about the "Ortofon Black" cartridge listed in the OP, and the possibility of trying the phono stage connected directly to the power amp:

In addition to the high output 2M Black moving magnet cartridge, which as I indicated would be unsuitable for use with the non-adjustable loading of the Linto phono stage, Ortofon has two low output moving coil models having the word "Black" in their name. Those are the Cadenza Black and the Quintet Black (or Quintet Black S). Both have rated outputs under the standard test conditions of about 0.3 mv.

I assume the OP’s cartridge is one of those two models, and if so I assume he is using the high gain (64 db) setting of the phono stage. 64 db would boost 0.3 mv to about 0.48 volts, which is about 2/3 of the voltage that would drive the amp to full power. So while performing an experiment with the preamp removed from the signal path is probably within reason, especially if a recording known to have low volume is used, and if care is taken to avoid a large transient when the stylus makes contact with the record, personally I would still feel somewhat uncomfortable about doing that.

Reducing the gain of this phono stage to its low gain (54 db) setting, btw, apparently involves cutting a wire internally, so that wouldn’t seem to be a good way of performing the experiment.

Regards,
-- Al

SPEAKERS ! After trying another amp and/or cables I'd try another set of speakers that a friend can bring over. The tweets may've gotten damaged somehow - if that's the case there's nothing you can do to get sweet music back. Find out.

Hi Al,

After reading your last post it’s obvious I did not consider the resulting initial impact of dropping the stylus onto the record. I agree with your assessment and wouldn’t want the OP to possibly cause damage to his speakers.
Al, thanks for your time spent looking into the specs of the cartridge and phono preamp loading.
.

So where are we in this thread?

Waiting for the OP to try his HT amp in his 2ch system.

Try different speaker cables. (I probably would have started here first.)

Maybe try the front speakers from his HT system, depending on their quality.

Try removing the P5.

Temporarily, for a test, turn off all the breakers in the electrical panel that feed the new kitchen remodel. Especially kitchen appliances/equipment with micro processors. Turn off the LED ceiling lights. (It’s not the LED that can cause noise going back out on the AC mains it’s the electronic transformer in the base of the lamp. Cheap electronic transformers will cause more noise x the number of lamps used.

almarg
7,657 posts                                                                   12-01-2017 3:48pm

Kosst, my hypothesis is not predicated on the cables having changed in any way whatsoever. If it wasn’t clear, when I referred to the condition being "sufficiently marginal that minor aging effects or perhaps even a change in AC line voltage have put it over the edge," resulting in ringing or oscillation, I was referring to minor aging effects in the amplifier. Which in turn might have made the amplifier more prone to ringing or oscillation as a result of the heavy capacitive load.

Something I don’t recall the OP stating in any of his responses is how his 2ch system is powered. Is it just plugged into an outlet fed from a 15 amp convenience outlet circuit that feeds other items possibly including ceiling lighting?
A dedicated branch circuit/s? 15 amp? 20 amp?

Is the P5 plugged into the same duplex receptacle outlet? Does the P5 indicate the input AC mains voltage? If so has the OP checked the AC line voltage at the wall outlet while listening to his system? Does the AC mains voltage maintain a steady state voltage for the Pass amp? Especially when listening to his system (amp) at an above moderate volume level?

Jim