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Post by jandl100 on May 27, 2020 9:57:50 GMT
I think the secret of living a happy life is to like dust, the more the merrier.
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Post by macca on May 27, 2020 11:20:21 GMT
What did you make of the Primaluna Jerry?
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Post by jandl100 on May 27, 2020 11:54:21 GMT
What did you make of the Primaluna Jerry? Very good, I like it a lot. It rather changes its presentation depending what power valves you put in. It's got a clever autobias circuit so you can use el34, 6l6, kt88, kt90, KT120, 6550, 5881 and maybe some others. It came with Edicron 6550,and so far I've also tried TAD EL34, TAD 6l6, TAD 5881 and Tung Sol KT120. (I like TAD valves!) The best for my tastes are the kt120; quite a big, bold and energetic sound. I'm not usually an El34 fan boy but they came a fairly close 2nd favourite. I plan it as my long term valve amp. It's as good as any I've heard and better than most. And its valve flexibility appeals to my inner box swapper.
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Post by macca on May 27, 2020 13:53:33 GMT
A valve roller's paradise then
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 12, 2020 9:44:01 GMT
System update. Today's power amp contenders... Sorry about the crap photo! - the light will be better later on. Top - Acoustic Reality 1001-REF monoblocks class D ICE 500wpc [with Nobsound NS-08P preamp and MyST 1866 R2R DAC] Bottom - Temple Audio Monoblocks with Supercharger PSUs class D ~120wpc, and Primaluna Prologue 5 valves 45wpc. The Acoustic Reality monoblocks are new to me and adjusting to room temperature for an hour or so after being in cold storage for a few days.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2020 9:53:03 GMT
System update. Today's power amp contenders... Sorry about the crap photo! - the light will be better later on. Top - Acoustic Reality 1001-REF monoblocks class D ICE 500wpc [with Nobsound NS-08P preamp and MyST 1866 R2R DAC] Bottom - Temple Audio Monoblocks with Supercharger PSUs class D ~120wpc, and Primaluna Prologue 5 valves 45wpc. The Acoustic Reality monoblocks are new to me and adjusting to room temperature for an hour or so after being in cold storage for a few days. Nice to see the Primaluna still in situ.
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 12, 2020 10:08:30 GMT
Yup, the PL is fave amp atm, will be interesting to hear what the ICE amps do. There was a lot of condensation on them when I brought them into the warm house, so leaving them to warm up and dry out for a good few hours before connecting the leccy.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2020 10:46:30 GMT
Yup, the PL is fave amp atm, will be interesting to hear what the ICE amps do. There was a lot of condensation on them when I brought them into the warm house, so leaving them to warm up and dry out for a good few hours before connecting the leccy. Good idea I've tried those ICE modules and they weren't for me.
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 12, 2020 10:50:56 GMT
Looking forward to your opinion of these Jerry
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 12, 2020 14:16:37 GMT
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 12, 2021 16:05:00 GMT
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Post by macca on Jan 12, 2021 18:55:16 GMT
You using it as a pre-amp too Jerry?
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 12, 2021 19:30:13 GMT
Yep, balanced from RME straight into ICE monoblocks. Lucid and powerful sound.
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Post by macca on Mar 4, 2021 7:33:56 GMT
The NAD amp turn up yet Jerry?
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 4, 2021 10:14:49 GMT
The NAD amp turn up yet Jerry? Yup, arrived yesterday. But pretty much everything that arrives here goes into 5 day quarantine, so I'll get to play with it next Monday. Must admit I was surprised how heavy the box felt.
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Post by macca on Mar 4, 2021 12:17:02 GMT
5 days! Taking no chances then, probably sensible.
yes they do weight a bit, decent size traffo in them. Usually manufacturers skimp on the traffo with budget amps so there's a reason to buy the more expensive one in the range, plus the traffo is the expensive bit. I suppose since NAD at the time didn't do a more expensive one I guess they felt there was no need to build it down.
67 watts continuous before clipping so it's pretty sturdy in that respect.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 8, 2021 13:52:23 GMT
My new (used but VGC) NAD C325BEE integrated amp has been playing for a couple of hours now. It's a fairly direct lineal descendant of the C320BEE owned and admired by Martin maccaImmediate impression was positive, nothing obviously horrible! Started off playing some unfamiliar albums just to get a non-competetive view on its music making with no strong expectations of how it "should" sound.. . . . Not bad at all. A bit thin tonally. A bit flat spacially. Plenty of power but dynamic changes a bit constrained/tamed? OK, onto familiar material.... Certainly enjoyable in its own right. Could I be happy with it if I didn't have experience of other (usually more costly) amps? Hmm, not sure. The issues being; - Nicely defined left right imaging but no 3D depth to the sound. Bypassing the preamp section helped a bit with this but not hugely. - Lack of... what to call it?... dynamic heft maybe. There is loudness aplenty, but little feeling of sheer power and weight of sound when appropriate. This leaves me rather uninvolved with the music. -Transients / leading edges are a bit rounded off. Plucked strings don't have the 'spang' I know to be there. Rapid runs tend to blend the notes together. -Tonally the impression remains that it's a bit sparse. Overall, pretty decent, a long way from being unlistenable. For a £ton or so with remote control - yes, good value. I could go with it if limited to a £100 amp budget, but would choose one of the class D t-amps in preference. Compared to my Primaluna Prologue 5 power amp? Many small to moderate shortfalls leave the NAD a long way behind imo. Back on eBay today!
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Post by macca on Mar 8, 2021 14:50:11 GMT
I can't really argue with much of that especially as your speakers are better than mine and are going to show up the shortfalls more easily. I notice the lack of depth certainly, and the top end is not all that top ends can be, that's true also.
Also I think your speakers are less sensitive than my JM Labs too so maybe why you found power/dynamics lacking? I don't find that at all. The opposite really, it continues to surprise me in that regard. Okay not quite Krell level but not far off.
Although I would absolutely take one of these NADs over the T amps I have heard. There's no contest there IMV. Took me two weeks to acclimatise to the loss of SQ when I was using one of those things.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 8, 2021 15:00:44 GMT
Git yourself a bargin, folks. On ebay now starting at 50 quid.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 8, 2021 15:05:44 GMT
Rather than going back to the Primaluna I thought I'd give my Audio Reality REF-1001 class D monos a blast. No possible shortage of power here, 1000wpc into the 4 ohm load of my speakers. ICE modules, which can be a bit Marmite. But I like the sound of these.
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Post by antonio on Mar 9, 2021 2:25:33 GMT
Should keep you happy for a couple of days Jerry before you see another amp on ebay
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 9, 2021 6:34:04 GMT
Should keep you happy for a couple of days Jerry before you see another amp on ebay Hee Hee. That's probably true. I've got 2 other power amps that seem to have taken up longer term residence - a fully refurbed Quad 303 and a Quad 606ii. I like both, a lot. Very surprised by the 303. I was expecting laid back and relaxed. What I've got is one of the most taut and explicit amps in my experience. Not an everyday amp for me, but when the mood is right it's a real ear opener. I'll put up a pic or 3 concerning recent system evolution later today.
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Post by jimbo on Mar 9, 2021 6:55:59 GMT
My daily runner was an old Quad 606 which I had for 25 years without it ever giving me any issues. It was a good power amp and preferred it to the 405 mK2 I had previously.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 9, 2021 8:02:28 GMT
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Mar 9, 2021 8:19:07 GMT
Shiny amps?
What are they?
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 9, 2021 10:17:31 GMT
They're the Acoustic Reality REF-1001 class D monos with ICE modules that you say you wouldn't like.
Actually they sound very good. Maybe it's down to the implementation, they were an early no holds barred design. 3200 Euros a pair in the early/mid noughties.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Mar 9, 2021 10:21:33 GMT
They're the Acoustic Reality REF-1001 class D monos with ICE modules that you say you wouldn't like. Actually they sound very good. Maybe it's down to the implementation, they were an early no holds barred design. 3200 Euros a pair in the early/mid noughties. Thats quite possible, Jerry. The ICE modules i heard were in a more "budget" looking amp but i couldn't tell you what it was. Maybe i judged to quickly
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 9, 2021 10:48:16 GMT
And just snapped this one of the current setup. Internet streamed to the DW Labs reclocker, then to either the MyST R2R DAC (the little box on the top right, positioned slantwise because the cables are too stiff to get it facing forward!) or straight into the DAC in the Cyrus XPd Qx preamp, then into the ICE monos drivng MBL 116f speakers. Quite surprised by the Cyrus, very lucid and detailed and fast. Big powerful bass, which I defo wasn't expecting. Impressed enough to now have a PSX-R add-on supply en route to me, to see how far it can be taken. Maybe Signature version next?
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Mar 9, 2021 10:56:20 GMT
And just snapped this one of the current setup. Internet streamed to the DW Labs reclocker, then to either the MyST R2R DAC (the little box on the top right, positioned slantwise because the cables are too stiff to get it facing forward!) or straight into the DAC in the Cyrus XPd Qx preamp, then into the ICE monos drivng MBL 116f speakers. Quite surprised by the Cyrus, very lucid and detailed and fast. Big powerful bass, which I defo wasn't expecting. Impressed enough to now have a PSX-R add-on supply en route to me, to see how far it can be taken. Maybe Signature version next? Very nice. Cyrus are not bad! Had a couple of bits here that I really enjoyed. The Cyrus one integrated is a huge bargain imo
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Post by antonio on Mar 9, 2021 16:00:18 GMT
Looks like you could have used those four shelves Bigman had going spare Jerry
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