on that? u must be joking Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 To all you audiophiles out there: it's time to get myself onto the first rung of decent quality sound, and i'm looking at spending around £300 on a stereo amp. I'm currently looking at these two, have you any experience with them, and are there any other good ones out there for that sort of money? NAD C352CT Cambridge Audio Azur 640A Cheers, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The enchanted broomstick Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 (edited) go for PA and get some PA speakers, much louder much more bass and much more satisfying!! trust me its the way forward, especially if you dont get on with your neighbours if you can find em look for some celestion speakers, i have the CR 500 series they are brilliant, at 500watts RMS with 18 inch cones in the bottom a 10" mid range and a horn at the top (Y) Edited March 18, 2005 by The enchanted broomstick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyroo Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 (edited) NAD is a very good make, you may also consider the likes of Marantz, Arcam, and Denon. Sony also gives very good quality products for cheaper prices, but they concentrate more on their multi channel amplifier range than stereo amplifiers. Have a peek at some of the stuff on www.avland.co.uk This is a very nice amp for a little less money... Actually, thinking about it, you should consider buying a multichannel amplifier, you can run it as a stereo amp, but can upgrade it at a later date. It gives you the benefit of the newer technologies as high quality audio companies are turning their creative efforts towards the sound that surrounds Edited March 18, 2005 by andyroo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delusional Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 I'm not sold on the idea of PA systems for home audio. The problem with a PA in the home is that they're designed to fill very large spaces with sound and in the relatively enclosed space of a home they tend to just not sound that good. If all you're interested in is volume, sure go for a PA, but if you're looking at spending >£300 on an amp you're probably more interested in quality. Out of those two amps I'd go for the Nad. The company has an excellent reputation for making high quality, all round equipment and I rather like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The enchanted broomstick Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 i personally dont like nad because the amps seem to be fairly easy to blow up, technics have produced the best hi fi amps i have ever used, excellent quality, volume and they last years. denon amps are good but the likes of marantz and sony arent. harman/kardon do some very very nice amps but they are a wee bit on the expensive side of things. but ive even blown one of them, come to think of it technics is the only hifi amp ive had that hasnt blown, if you can get hold of one of their latest models that would be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 i personally dont like nad because the amps seem to be fairly easy to blow up, technics have produced the best hi fi amps i have ever used, excellent quality, volume and they last years. denon amps are good but the likes of marantz and sony arent. harman/kardon do some very very nice amps but they are a wee bit on the expensive side of things. but ive even blown one of them, come to think of it technics is the only hifi amp ive had that hasnt blown, if you can get hold of one of their latest models that would be good ← Dont mean to be funny, but it sounds like you dont know ow to use an amp properly..... Running it on full all the time with all the gains right up wont do it any good mate.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 I use a 4 channel Technics amp, with 2 x 125 watt speakers (12" Sub cones, 4.5" mids) and 2 x 250 watt 10" subs... Extremely loud, and the whole lot cost me roughly £350 looking for bargains :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
on that? u must be joking Posted March 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 My thinking is that I want a pure stereo amp because it's going to be (an admittedly 1 year late) coming of age 21st birthday present, and I want to get something that is going to last for a long time. Stereo technology seems pretty stagnated at the moment, so an amp bought now will still be good in a few years time, whereas if I buy a multichannel amp, i'll be wanting a newer better one in a few years. I'll take a look at the avland right now I'm after a really good quality sound, rather than one that is just stupidly loud, so the PA idea is out the window. Cheers for your help and advice so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Since I make "club" type music, I need the power and volume to test all frequencies at high volume, as it would be in a club... It's easy to make music sound good at low volume, but to keep it sounding good in a club can often distort or show one frequency too loud... If you just want to play Westlife in bed then fair enough :o Nah it's personal preference I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
on that? u must be joking Posted March 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 If you just want to play Westlife in bed then fair enough :"> You caught me out. Actually, i'm not averse to a bit of high volume now and again, but my primary aim is for really clear sound at a level where tinitus isn't an issue. I am a newcomer to HiFi having bought a set up for 60 quid off ebay just to see if i liked it. (Marantz amp, denon cd player, with the added bonus of my dad's beefy 30 year old 3 way rank wharfedale speakers). I was impressed by the power of the bass and clarity of sound compared with both my old aiwa mini system and my i-trigue 2.1 speakers. It really is amazing how much better a cd sounds when played through dedicated stuff. A converted Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank_rider Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 i am a great fan of cambridge audio for the budget end of the market, but have no experience with the higher end stuff, but if the build quality and sound is anything to go by then they will also be immense. As for NAD equipment, my uncle has a complete NAD setup and it seems very good indeed, the sound quality was extremely good at both low and high volumes for a range of music types. I see both your choices are available from richer sounds, i suggest you try and visit one of their shops that has both items available for test, and maybe take your speakers in with you if you intend to continue using them to see what the whole setup will sound like :o Oh and no comment about your music collection :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyroo Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 i personally dont like nad because the amps seem to be fairly easy to blow up, technics have produced the best hi fi amps i have ever used, excellent quality, volume and they last years. denon amps are good but the likes of marantz and sony arent. harman/kardon do some very very nice amps but they are a wee bit on the expensive side of things. but ive even blown one of them, come to think of it technics is the only hifi amp ive had that hasnt blown, if you can get hold of one of their latest models that would be good ← Why would What Hi-fi? Magazine amongst others give their equipment such high ratings then? I only buy equipment that What Hi-Fi? has given five out of five stars, and a lot of that is Sony, so what are you blabbering about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inzane_2 Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 How many speakers are you planning to run off the amp? How big is the room that you are going to put it in? A set up that i looked at was getting some wharfedale DIAMOND 9 speakers and a Denon amp (products, Audio Visual, have reciever) I found this setup was going to cost around the 300-400 mark and that the sound quality was amazing, and with that option i could add more speakers later on if i fancied it. http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/ http://www.denon.co.uk Have a good look around Also have a read of What Hi-FI i found that having a read of that helped no end to getting a good quality sound system at a low cost :o Jono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_P Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 I currenty have the Cambridge audio amp in my room with my technics CD player! It was great value for money and gives out a great sound! I aslo have KEF speakers which are nice! I got all mine form Richer sounds which are really cheap! Cheers Rob :o :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey_pork Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 My thinking is that I want a pure stereo amp because it's going to be (an admittedly 1 year late) coming of age 21st birthday present, and I want to get something that is going to last for a long time. Stereo technology seems pretty stagnated at the moment, so an amp bought now will still be good in a few years time, whereas if I buy a multichannel amp, i'll be wanting a newer better one in a few years. I'll take a look at the avland right now I'm after a really good quality sound, rather than one that is just stupidly loud, so the PA idea is out the window. Cheers for your help and advice so far. ← Nice, a well considered post ! Excellent plan to go for quality over volume, far more important to get an amp that can drive speakers properly that just hit them with wattage - and a decent stereo amp really will almost last you for ever - you can monkey around with cheap have stuff later if you only want it for films and stuff, multichannel amps don't really compare at all with decent stereo amps in my opinion (unless you throw money at it). You might like to look at Harmon Kardon stuff. Although I don't know what the current range is like (after a few years in the wilderness) but I have had a straightforward HK stereo amp for a good few years now and I have to say it is absolutely fantastic. It's teamed up with some old Mordant-Short stereo speakers (MS30's not have stuff) and is lovely to listen too (with the right source of course). I can't see I'll ever get rid of it (unless it dies :o ) Spend a bit of time setting the speakers up properly too and you'll be all set. Good work mate - a refreshing post (ok, to an old 'beardy' anyway) ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.