Upgrade speaker cables OR amp for Dynaudio C4's?

Pass Labs amps are an outstanding match with Dynaudio loudspeakers.

Unfortunately, the Aesthetix Calypso preamp is a bad impedance match with Pass Labs amplifiers, with the likely result being light weight or rolled-off bass.

In this case, Alberporter may have the best recommendation based on your present components.

Pdreher..I know that Tvad is possibly right because he has a better understanding on the tech side of things than I do but Ive never had any issues with impedence matching with any gear Ive ever owned over the past 30 years...Take that preamp of yours and audition with Pass...My preamp im sure didnt match impedence wise with the Pass amp I sold and it sounded great... Just my opinion..let us know what you do and enjoy.

Impedance mismatch can be tough to identify unless you know what a good match sounds like. I mean absolutely no disrespect to Missioncoonery when I say this.

I didn't understand what impedance mismatch sounded like until the past year, and honestly, now I understand why some of the combinations I tried over the years were better than others. In my system, a god impedance match results in deep, well defined bass, and a sound that is not tipped up. A bad match has bass that sounds a bit muddy and ill defined, and sometimes has slightly less volume than the mids and highs, which results in a "bright" sound.

Don't take my word for it. Read John Atkinson's test measurements section of the Stereophile Calypso review. He clearly states the issue, and he mentions what the minimum input impedance that any amplifier should have if used with the Calypso.

I'm clueless when it comes to impedance matching... I know... pretty pathetic :( . I assumed there was no mismatch at the time I went with this combo based upon this older link... http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1196031341&read&keyw&zzcalypso+plinius

Atkinson says in his Calypso review, " the Calypso will need to be used with a power amplifier offering an input impedance of at least 30k ohms if the bass is not to sound lean."

If your amp's input impedance is higher than 30K ohms, then you're fine.

Pass Labs' balanced inputs are 30k ohms.

So, I was incorrect in my statement about the Aesthetix/Pass Labs impedance match, as long as one is running balanced and not single ended.