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Post by hifinutt on Mar 26, 2022 20:26:19 GMT
Not too long ago i enjoyed the marvellous sugden a21se ... very fast amp sounding very muscular and enjoyable . just been watching this video of the lower power
a21a signature
another favourite is the arcam a75 which although very modest in price really matches my horns very well , very good transients and impressive imaging [ with a valve dac]
many will know of sonneteer amps which i have never tried but its on the list . haider has been quiet recently but he said this the other day so things looking exciting
Firstly apologies for being under the radar of late.
A couple of years ago we had planned to come up with some new amps and a number of other little things cooking in the pot. COVID came and steered us a little in a different direction. There are a number of reasons for this, but a big one being is time and another big one was that a few of the suppliers of custom parts for the amps in particular had either gone under or were on very long lead times. Some electronics parts are also now obsolete. So since there are only two of us designing and I (Haider) spent a lot of the last year and a half helping with home schooling, new things were getting done very slowly. The baby phono stage and the Headspace were supposed to be only fun, interesting sideshows. Though they have become mainstayers in their own right. Thank you to all who have bought them so far.
Ok so saying that, the reference Orton and Alabaster amps still live. So so the designers. I also have the reference Alpha 7/8 and Alpha One for those who said Arcam amps sound similar. Well I had a hand (not sole hand) in some of them. Those who bought the 7SE CD player may regard the Bronte and Byron CD players as the more high end follow ups too.
Anyway, just keep this between us, but we have a few things cooking properly again. pecs have changed as times have too. So not everything will see the light of day.
Here is a mini list of some. I can't promise more than one, maybe two in the year. If time and luck allow then others will and maybe a surprise not mentioned.
in no particular order:
1. A two box amp based on original Campion/Alabaster/Orton circuits. Preamp may include digital elements.
2. Sedley 2 phonostage. A complete redesign but the heart of the original circuit still at the core. Might call it something else. Dunno.
3. Headphone amp/DAC for desktop PC. I work at home a lot now and I would find something like this handy.
4. A guitar amp. I'm first and foremost a guitarist outside of work and parenting. So if I only ever make one, it's for me. But it'll be good, because it's for me!
5. Might do some more headphonie stuff. Remo might not be keen, but my kids are.
6. Maybe a little digital amp to sit next to a PC? Does anyone remember the Bard3 or the Morpheus? The amps in there were not too bad were they?
7. Maybe we finally bring out the big high end amp we have had on the bench for a few years now? It would be so expensive though. It's one of the reasons we've been reluctant. We've always tried to bring hi end substance to a wider audience. Just the cost of making one of these big babies would be out of reach for most (including me!)
8. Totally a secret too is I have been dabbling with a headphone guitar amp belt clip-on thingy. Not got it quite right yet. But again, I want one and I don't like what can be bought. Sooo....
It's all a bt speculative I know so shhhhhhhh ;-)
Anyways. Just to let you know we are very much alive. A lot of new people must know about us now, but probably don't know our full history and probably think we make headphone gadgets. I am currently testing a batch of baby phono stages to ship to Japan next week. Am listening through an Alabaster.
whats your favourite british amp ?
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Post by macca on Mar 26, 2022 20:58:00 GMT
Just trying to think what I've had that was British.
Leak 2000 receiver, that wasn't so hot. Blew a channel, sent it in for repair and the repair shop burned down.
Creek 4040 - solid little thing but not much power.
Cambridge P70 - that was a good one, had that a fair few years. Sold it to a mate, last time I saw him he said he'd written it off.
That's it really, always gone for Jap amps mostly.
Have to say my favourite would be the A&R A60. Due to many great nights at a mate's in 1991 listening to Nirvana, Mudhoney, Chilli Peppers, Pixies, all that stuff and getting mashed. When the pub closed loads of people would turn up and there'd be an impromptu party. That amp never sounded wrong.
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Post by alit on Mar 26, 2022 21:01:08 GMT
Had an original wooden sleeve A21 which was a great little amp. Also any of the several World Audio Design valve amp kits I’ve had- all have been very good. Still have a pair of 300b monoblocks, must give them a run out sometime.
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Post by antonio on Mar 27, 2022 5:35:00 GMT
I'm using a NVA PA/90sa/A60 at the moment so I guess this is my favourite amp.
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Post by lurch on Mar 27, 2022 7:05:08 GMT
For me it has to be my Stan Curtis era Cambridge C50 and A50 pre/pwr combo that I've had from new. 34 years now and still going strong in my 2nd system, they sound superb with SQ well beyond their original purchase price of £400.
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Post by macca on Mar 27, 2022 9:45:37 GMT
I'm using a NVA PA/90sa/A60 at the moment so I guess this is my favourite amp. oh yeah I forgot I had an NVA pre-power. Trouble is that coincided with me getting those JM Labs and the little A30 couldn't really drive them properly. Although neither can most of my amplifiers. |
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Post by macca on Mar 27, 2022 9:47:28 GMT
For me it has to be my Stan Curtis era Cambridge C50 and A50 pre/pwr combo that I've had from new. 34 years now and still going strong in my 2nd system, they sound superb with SQ well beyond their original purchase price of £400. My P70 was from the Stan Curtis era too. I bought that in about 1995 and it had been sat in the dealer's stockroom for years at that point. |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 27, 2022 13:07:36 GMT
I've had a few Brit amps.
My faves...
A whole bunch of Quads have come and generally rather rapidly gone, the best of which was (and is, I've still got it) a refurbed 303 power amp. Exceptionally, it doesn't have the traditional laidback, overly cumfy Quad sound. Lively and vibrant, I definitely want to plumb it back in sometime soon.
CR Development Romulus 6L6GC valve integrated. Scrumptiously transparent and involving mids.
Croft 4SA power amp. My first ever valve amp, bowled me over with its vibrancy. But that was 35 years ago, I'm a bit curious as to what I'd think of it now.
Leak Stereo 20 power amp. Made me fall in love with el84 valves.
Lumley M120 valve monoblocks. Sturdy rather than particularly inspired, I guess, but I did enjoy them.
EAR 509mk2 valve monos. Gorgeous copper chassis. They were probably the Lumley done properly.
Oddly, I've not tried a recent Sugden. I had a getting on for vintage power amp, the model name eludes me, and that was distinctly bland and put me off the brand. Which is a bit daft given their general rep. Maybe I'll try a more modern one some day.
The Quad 303 gets my vote as the pick of the bunch. Remarkably and surprisingly musical.
Fairly closely followed by the CR Romulus. Perhaps.
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Post by antonio on Mar 27, 2022 17:30:10 GMT
I've had a few Brit amps. My faves... A whole bunch of Quads have come and generally rather rapidly gone, the best of which was (and is, I've still got it) a refurbed 303 power amp. Exceptionally, it doesn't have the traditional laidback, overly cumfy Quad sound. Lively and vibrant, I definitely want to plumb it back in sometime soon. CR Development Romulus 6L6GC valve integrated. Scrumptiously transparent and involving mids. Croft 4SA power amp. My first ever valve amp, bowled me over with its vibrancy. But that was 35 years ago, I'm a bit curious as to what I'd think of it now. Leak Stereo 20 power amp. Made me fall in love with el84 valves. Lumley M120 valve monoblocks. Sturdy rather than particularly inspired, I guess, but I did enjoy them. EAR 509mk2 valve monos. Gorgeous copper chassis. They were probably the Lumley done properly. Oddly, I've not tried a recent Sugden. I had a getting on for vintage power amp, the model name eludes me, and that was distinctly bland and put me off the brand. Which is a bit daft given their general rep. Maybe I'll try a more modern one some day. The Quad 303 gets my vote as the pick of the bunch. Remarkably and surprisingly musical. Fairly closely followed by the CR Romulus. Perhaps. CR Development Romulus 6L6GC - Nice review for HiFi Pig Jerry  |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 27, 2022 17:58:18 GMT
Ah, right. I'd forgotten I'd done that!
Very nice amp.
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optical
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Post by optical on Mar 27, 2022 19:28:20 GMT
I've had a few Brit amps. My faves... A whole bunch of Quads have come and generally rather rapidly gone, the best of which was (and is, I've still got it) a refurbed 303 power amp. Exceptionally, it doesn't have the traditional laidback, overly cumfy Quad sound. Lively and vibrant, I definitely want to plumb it back in sometime soon. CR Development Romulus 6L6GC valve integrated. Scrumptiously transparent and involving mids. Croft 4SA power amp. My first ever valve amp, bowled me over with its vibrancy. But that was 35 years ago, I'm a bit curious as to what I'd think of it now. Leak Stereo 20 power amp. Made me fall in love with el84 valves. Lumley M120 valve monoblocks. Sturdy rather than particularly inspired, I guess, but I did enjoy them. EAR 509mk2 valve monos. Gorgeous copper chassis. They were probably the Lumley done properly. Oddly, I've not tried a recent Sugden. I had a getting on for vintage power amp, the model name eludes me, and that was distinctly bland and put me off the brand. Which is a bit daft given their general rep. Maybe I'll try a more modern one some day. The Quad 303 gets my vote as the pick of the bunch. Remarkably and surprisingly musical. Fairly closely followed by the CR Romulus. Perhaps. Interesting about the CR Developments there Jerry. I had a kalypso (EL84's) and still regret selling it to this day. With some relatively efficient Ruark Rhapsody speakers (also regretfully sold) it was a genuinely beguiling sound. I'd have both back in a heartbeat actually! |
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Post by antonio on Mar 27, 2022 19:55:41 GMT
I'm using a NVA PA/90sa/A60 at the moment so I guess this is my favourite amp. oh yeah I forgot I had an NVA pre-power. Trouble is that coincided with me getting those JM Labs and the little A30 couldn't really drive them properly. Although neither can most of my amplifiers. Yes, I think you'd need more than an A30 and my A60 to get the best from them, although I don't think those JM Labs are classed as difficult to drive. |
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Post by edward on Mar 27, 2022 21:19:09 GMT
For me it has to be Radford STA25 and Sugden. Different in presentation but both immense presence. Very much influenced by the sound of my teenage years - NAD, Quad, Leak and so forth.
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Post by misterc on Mar 28, 2022 8:50:53 GMT
Sorry it's not meant to be a self promotion, Coherent Systems Liquid music amplifiers, they just remove themself from the replay chain with out fuss.
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Post by macca on Mar 28, 2022 10:45:25 GMT
oh yeah I forgot I had an NVA pre-power. Trouble is that coincided with me getting those JM Labs and the little A30 couldn't really drive them properly. Although neither can most of my amplifiers. Yes, I think you'd need more than an A30 and my A60 to get the best from them, although I don't think those JM Labs are classed as difficult to drive. sensitivity is relatively high at 90dB but impedance drops to 2.2 ohms and there are some steep phase angles. They'll go loud enough with a 30 watt amp but you won't get optimal sound quality out of them unless the amp can maintain voltage into that load. Of all the amplifiers I have here only the Krells will cope with that. The Neurochorome 686 also managed it with no issues. You mainly notice it in the bass response. Without an amp that will cope you'd probably just think that the bass performance of the speakers was not so great, which is what I mistakenly thought when I first got them, and if I hadn't also coincidentally bought a Krell I would almost certainly have sold them on. The danger of jumping to conclusions! |
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Post by macca on Mar 28, 2022 10:53:06 GMT
For me it has to be Radford STA25 and Sugden. Different in presentation but both immense presence. Very much influenced by the sound of my teenage years - NAD, Quad, Leak and so forth. I forgot about Radford. I'd put the STA15 up there with my favourites, and the QUAD 303 (if you can find speakers it's happy with). |
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Post by optical on Mar 28, 2022 10:57:06 GMT
Sorry it's not meant to be a self promotion, Coherent Systems Liquid music amplifiers, they just remove themself from the replay chain with out fuss. No shame in standing behind your products Tony, nice to see manufacturers that have the faith to do so actually. It fits the brief, its British and it's your favorite. When does the loan scheme commence  |
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Post by misterc on Mar 28, 2022 11:49:43 GMT
Sorry it's not meant to be a self promotion, Coherent Systems Liquid music amplifiers, they just remove themself from the replay chain with out fuss. No shame in standing behind your products Tony, nice to see manufacturers that have the faith to do so actually. It fits the brief, its British and it's your favorite. When does the loan scheme commence  Hi Chris
That a fair assentment, we genuinelly do have belief in all our products, although we are proud of our Liquid Music amplifiers, the best way of describing them is purity of sound. Not for everone, however they have a way with music that puts a smile on your face. Even Edward thought it wasn't to shabby 
It is designed, manufactured and built here in the UK, and uses 82% UK parts, soon to be more after we finish off our own IEC / Fuse holder inlets and rca/xlr input sockets.
It s interesting Chris, we do get asked a lot now about the provence of new products next to green crenentials
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Post by edward on Mar 28, 2022 11:59:22 GMT
No shame in standing behind your products Tony, nice to see manufacturers that have the faith to do so actually. It fits the brief, its British and it's your favorite. When does the loan scheme commence Hi Chris
That a fair assentment, we genuinelly do have belief in all our products, although we are proud of our Liquid Music amplifiers, the best way of describing them is purity of sound. Not for everone, however they have a way with music that puts a smile on your face. Even Edward thought it wasn't to shabby 
It is designed, manufactured and built here in the UK, and uses 82% UK parts, soon to be more after we finish off our own IEC / Fuse holder inlets and rca/xlr input sockets.
It s interesting Chris, we do get asked a lot now about the provence of new products next to green crenentials
oh I had forgotten you kindly loaned me one of your amps Tony. It did that disappearing trick. Tried it in two different systems (with someone who's ears I trust) and we both saw how the soundstage extended both sideways and backwards. |
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Post by optical on Mar 28, 2022 11:59:50 GMT
No shame in standing behind your products Tony, nice to see manufacturers that have the faith to do so actually. It fits the brief, its British and it's your favorite. When does the loan scheme commence Hi Chris
That a fair assentment, we genuinelly do have belief in all our products, although we are proud of our Liquid Music amplifiers, the best way of describing them is purity of sound. Not for everone, however they have a way with music that puts a smile on your face. Even Edward thought it wasn't to shabby
It is designed, manufactured and built here in the UK, and uses 82% UK parts, soon to be more after we finish off our own IEC / Fuse holder inlets and rca/xlr input sockets.
It s interesting Chris, we do get asked a lot now about the provence of new products next to green crenentials
Hi Tony, with factors in play such as price hikes of power/fuel increasing the cost of everything else along with the uncertainty of parts availability etc, it makes complete sense to have as much as possible manufactured or sourced close to home, preferably in house. As you elude to, customers will be becoming increasingly more interested in a products/manufacturers green aspirations. Fair play to anyone pioneering further into that sector which it sounds like you are. |
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Post by misterc on Mar 28, 2022 12:17:12 GMT
Hi Chris
To be honest we genuinely wished to produced a wholely British products as much as humanly possible, the cost wasn't a considered due to the low volume production amounts, though it seems we may have under estimated that. Green energy is another portion of our business so where possible without audio compromise, we utilise these design into the audio products.
Edward
The small form factor early prototype helped us in creating the LM 1 model now fully refined and making pleasing sounds.
We recently sold one to a gent who used Audio Note (UK) Gakuon's (211's) up until that point. This chap has plates running through his viens, so it competely caught me off guard when he refused to let the loan unit come back!
Another British amp designed Ilike a lot is the original Onix 21 series, very musical and engaging without any naim drawbacks cracking little amps.
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Post by nonuffin on Mar 28, 2022 12:54:32 GMT
My favourite British amps of all time was the Tresham Audio DR2 pre, DR102 power and PS102 power supply. Fast and powerful, it was never a pipe and slippers amplifier.
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Post by hifinutt on Jun 28, 2022 9:42:48 GMT
have to say that i am using a arcam a85 as a power amp with a bel canto c5i as a pre [ which is far better than i thought it would be ] this 250 quid amp is quite a good match for the sensitive impulse [ 93db] its warmer than the F5 monos and i must say i rather like it . amazing what you can get for not much cash .
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Post by jandl100 on Jun 29, 2022 10:46:51 GMT
I got myself an Arcam A85 integrated largely because of hifinutt's enthusiasm for it.
As an integrated it was OK/mediocre.
As a preamp it was frankly poor.
But, as hifinutt implies, it really is very decent as a power amp.
But as a whole package, I don't rate it as a favourite.
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Post by macca on Jun 29, 2022 11:02:19 GMT
A lot of integrated amps seem to be held back by the pre-amp section. Same with the NAD 320BEE, power section is great, pre-amp is noisy and drags the whole thing down a notch.
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Post by Pigmy Pony on Jun 29, 2022 14:51:49 GMT
For me it has to be the Cyrus 1 I bought back in 1984. If you stared at the volume and selector knobs too long the paint fell off, but it just did everything right. Even the phono stage was pretty good, better than the one on the MF Electra E100 I changed it for I think. One reviewer at the time likened it to a hot hatch - most of the performance of a sports car for a fraction of the cost.
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Post by macca on Jun 29, 2022 15:16:17 GMT
My mate Big Al had the full Mission system when we were at University. He worked all summer in a foundry to pay for it.
Misson CD player, Cyrus 1 amp and I think the '760i' speakers. It was dreadful, but I know that was the speakers - although you still see people rave about them, the poor deaf bastards.
He moved to Manchester, got burgled and had the amp and CD player nicked but they left the speakers. Obviously they were experienced hi-fi enthusiasts.
Anyway he still has the speakers to this day, on a system set up in his home gym. They sound W#nk on that too.
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Post by Pigmy Pony on Jun 29, 2022 16:24:33 GMT
Anyway he still has the speakers to this day, on a system set up in his home gym. They sound W#nk on that too. Probably can't hear their shortcomings when he's straining with the barbells. I don't hear much when I'm straining either, except Anita shouting "Are you allright in there?" |
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Post by hifinutt on Jun 29, 2022 16:42:39 GMT
I got myself an Arcam A85 integrated largely because of hifinutt's enthusiasm for it. As an integrated it was OK/mediocre. As a preamp it was frankly poor. But, as hifinutt implies, it really is very decent as a power amp. But as a whole package, I don't rate it as a favourite. yes agreed as a integrated its ok/mediocre although tried it with some B&w and it was pretty good however i am rather impressed with it as a power amp . sound for pound its excellent . of course the a38 and many other arcam would better it but if one is on a budget its a good option |
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Post by diggygun on Oct 14, 2022 18:13:03 GMT
Been using Naim for a number of years now and like their sound.
Prior to that it was Arcam.
DG…
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