Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 11, 2019 17:55:28 GMT
A mate of mine asked me to put a budget Vinyl system together for his daughter. I settled on this for the amplifier and phonostage duties.   I am really impressed by it in my system. Its got a great foot tapping quality about it. Imaging is really good too with a lot of boogie factor. Vocals are clear and have a good degree of "human" about them. Doesn't reach the levels that are available with my Neurochrome stuff but for £200 (10% of the 686 cost), and in mint condition, I think it's a cracking amplifier. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2019 19:10:10 GMT
Good sounding amp! Very open and dynamic. Better than the Nait 1 and 2 IMO.
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 11, 2019 19:21:06 GMT
Good sounding amp! Very open and dynamic. Better than the Nait 1 and 2 IMO. S. I was listening to it for a good hour and half, and it just sounded great! No nasties, loads of dynamism and good foot tapping inducing boogy. I think I want one in the armoury lol |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2019 22:05:18 GMT
My brother also has a cheap vinyl system built around this amp.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 0:05:25 GMT
Good sounding amp! Very open and dynamic. Better than the Nait 1 and 2 IMO. S. I was listening to it for a good hour and half, and it just sounded great! No nasties, loads of dynamism and good foot tapping inducing boogy. I think I want one in the armoury lol I always liked them. They ruined them when they went to all metal cases. They lost the spark. Phono stage is decent too. You do have to take care with speaker matching as they can be toppy and hard if you don't match them well. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 0:06:01 GMT
Oh, btw £200 is too much, even for a minter.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 6:58:20 GMT
@westie
Yes, you could be right about the price but he wanted it for Christmas and this one was from a guy with top feedback and a RTB money back type thing so I stumped for it.
To be honest, I tried the amp on the Celestion DL6's. The B&W 602 MK2 and the Mordaunt Short 880's and it sounded like a proper amplifier through all three.
No bloom or emphasis, just good clean sound. I've spotted one for sale as a spare or repair. I may snap it up and ask Alan to see if he can fix it.
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Post by firebottle on Dec 12, 2019 9:09:10 GMT
Not more work!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 9:09:45 GMT
I have used one, but found it a bit 'bright 'n breezy', as in, lacking decent weight and presence.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 9:39:42 GMT
Hahaha, maybe, but highly unlikely. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 9:41:17 GMT
I have used one, but found it a bit 'bright 'n breezy', as in, lacking decent weight and presence. Hmmm, I wouldn't say it had the impact of the 686 or the power, but on smaller speakers it didn't lack any bass drive or sound under powered. More than enough punch to keep me listening. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 10:01:42 GMT
Well it was up against the big 200 watt Audio Concepts P300 'Legend' MOSFET power amp I was using at the time, so maybe a bit of an unfair comparison.  (and apart from stuff by me, you won't find much about that power amp online, it's rare) |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 10:12:06 GMT
Well it was up against the big 200 watt Audio Concepts P300 'Legend' MOSFET power amp I was using at the time, so maybe a bit of an unfair comparison. (and apart from stuff by me, you won't find much about that power amp online, it's rare) I'd say so lol Yup, I will have a look for it and no doubt find you lol |
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Post by dsjr on Dec 12, 2019 11:25:14 GMT
In the store, we found thew Cyrus One a bit lean and no reserves if pushed a touch too hard. This obviously depends on speaker efficiency of course. The phono stage was ok on MM but noisy on MC. They did prove to be reliable as long as 'tape' was selected in source and record with a deck connected set to record or source monitor. We had one presented to us half melted as a result, BUT, but was repairable by Mission as they were then. Earlier in its life, the 1 and 2 phono stage supply caps failed (the two tall electrolytics on the phono board), but this was often a warranty repair and it involved replacing said 47V? caps for 63V types.
If anyone likes this package, I would recommend the Cyrus 2 though. Still a bit lean and clean sounding, the extra power is helpful and the phono stage was much better on MC. A PSX did seem to add a bit of weight too and at the end of production, it was the only way this amp could compete with the likes of the Audiolab 8000S, Myryad MI-120 and even the basic Quad 77, which is a sleeper still.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 11:31:09 GMT
In the store, we found thew Cyrus One a bit lean and no reserves if pushed a touch too hard. This obviously depends on speaker efficiency of course. The phono stage was ok on MM but noisy on MC. They did prove to be reliable as long as 'tape' was selected in source and record with a deck connected set to record or source monitor. We had one presented to us half melted as a result, BUT, but was repairable by Mission as they were then. Earlier in its life, the 1 and 2 phono stage supply caps failed (the two tall electrolytics on the phono board), but this was often a warranty repair and it involved replacing said 47V? caps for 63V types. If anyone likes this package, I would recommend the Cyrus 2 though. Still a bit lean and clean sounding, the extra power is helpful and the phono stage was much better on MC. A PSX did seem to add a bit of weight too and at the end of production, it was the only way this amp could compete with the likes of the Audiolab 8000S, Myryad MI-120 and even the basic Quad 77, which is a sleeper still. It's good to remember that this is a really basic setup for an 18yo, who recently inherited her grandad's vinyl. It's not necessarily going to be scrutinised against the best amps in the world, all that often. It ticked all the boxes for compatibility, is in fantastic condition and more Importantly, is still really enjoyable. In the realms of budget systems, this amp can do a great job for anyone. |
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Post by macca on Dec 12, 2019 12:34:07 GMT
In the store, we found thew Cyrus One a bit lean and no reserves if pushed a touch too hard. This obviously depends on speaker efficiency of course. The phono stage was ok on MM but noisy on MC. They did prove to be reliable as long as 'tape' was selected in source and record with a deck connected set to record or source monitor. We had one presented to us half melted as a result, BUT, but was repairable by Mission as they were then. Earlier in its life, the 1 and 2 phono stage supply caps failed (the two tall electrolytics on the phono board), but this was often a warranty repair and it involved replacing said 47V? caps for 63V types. If anyone likes this package, I would recommend the Cyrus 2 though. Still a bit lean and clean sounding, the extra power is helpful and the phono stage was much better on MC. A PSX did seem to add a bit of weight too and at the end of production, it was the only way this amp could compete with the likes of the Audiolab 8000S, Myryad MI-120 and even the basic Quad 77, which is a sleeper still. It's good to remember that this is a really basic setup for an 18yo, who recently inherited her grandad's vinyl. It's not necessarily going to be scrutinised against the best amps in the world, It is here! |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 13:04:08 GMT
It's good to remember that this is a really basic setup for an 18yo, who recently inherited her grandad's vinyl. It's not necessarily going to be scrutinised against the best amps in the world, It is here! That's very true lol |
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Post by dsjr on Dec 12, 2019 16:52:35 GMT
Please just use (or not) what I've said as a guide for good matching efficient 'ballsy sounding' speakers for instance. What's the rest of the system please?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 17:40:28 GMT
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,063
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 18:17:55 GMT
Project element turntable and some wharfdale 9.1 speakers
Tried it all out today it I thought it was very respectable
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Post by macca on Dec 12, 2019 20:52:37 GMT
Sounds like it should be petty good. Wish someone had bought me that for xmas when I was a teenager!
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Post by dsjr on Dec 12, 2019 21:21:09 GMT
Those Wharfedales (from Richer?) should be pretty good and safe as houses for a quality low cost system. Richer currently have the Diamond 220's cheap and I bet in a non-sighted comparison, they'd embarrass a good few exalted smaller stand-mounts.. That Peter Comeau chappie's done some stonking speakers in his time (starting with his Heybrook classics)
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,063
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 21:23:56 GMT
Sounds like it should be petty good. Wish someone had bought me that for xmas when I was a teenager! It sounded very respectable Martin, honestly. I was quite surprised, but it's a romm similar in size to mine and the sound stage was pretty good and the imaging was not the worst I've heard from far more exotic goods. I enjoyedbthe sound, no flab no boom and all very tight and tidy. The TT is good too, for the money! £145 |
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,063
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2019 21:25:19 GMT
Those Wharfedales (from Richer?) should be pretty good and safe as houses for a quality low cost system. Richer currently have the Diamond 220's cheap and I bet in a non-sighted comparison, they'd embarrass a good few exalted smaller stand-mounts.. That Peter Comeau chappie's done some stonking speakers in his time (starting with his Heybrook classics) Yes, from richer. I am very impressed with them. You have to remember, as far as budget systems go, this one is damn good. Not by accident either 😉 I'm with Macca. I'd have loved someone to put this lot together for my first system. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 21:44:00 GMT
Enjoyed watching this unboxing video of some 9.1.
S.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2019 22:12:47 GMT
I wonder how high on a sadnessometer enjoying watching someone else unbox a pair of speakers scores ? 🤭.
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Stevielad made me say it. 😙
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2019 12:16:58 GMT
About as exciting as watching paint dry?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2019 13:20:49 GMT
Good amp the Cyrus, I auditioned one yonks ago at a dealers but left with the Audiolab 8000.
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