Amps and overheating?

I'd think twice about it. I had one, you see, and when I moved from Portugal I gave it to a friend.

Now I'm back I won't buy a second one because: 1st) Its too noisy: it can really get on your nerves 2nd) unless things changed a lot, they simply haven't the power to cool an entire room, chiefly because you have to keep one window slightly open and isolation is very poor. You may place yourself in the air flow (and then feel cold rather than cool), but the room temperature, if the outside is really hot, won't really change.

Better get a true air conditioning system that cools your lounge, your bedroom and your study. I had that kind of stuff when I lived in Brazil and it worked very well - and it got seriously hot there - 43º and 100% humidity!

I'm planning that for a while, but right now I'm more interested in getting myself a harpsichord.

 

Try the Lavardin before the BelCanto. It is more musical (that is to say: I like it better), and it doesn't run hot at all. It is true my home is rather cool.

As a matter of fact, I strongly feel everyone interested in acoustical music ought to seriously consider the Lavardins. Never quite listened to anything with comparable transparency and tone accuracy.

 

I think it very much depends on what kind of music you listen to. The lavardin is an excellent amp that is well respected, and is wonderful for small to medium scale stuff, but if you want to listen to full scale orchestras at concert level, or rock/pop/electronica with seismic bass, the lavardin is not the best choice as it has limited power. due to its unique output topology It also rolls off in the bass at below 40 hz and has high distortion in the bass region (mainly second harmonic) IIRC, so bass freaks need not apply.

Robbo

 

So it looks like it's all round to RdS' to check out the Lavvy (and those ProAcs)

Inaugural meeting of the ZeroGain bake-off club (Lisbon branch)?

What an international lot (Iberia, Anglo/Swiss, Far-eastern(maybe), even the odd member from the strange land that is Scotland )

 

chris,
there is a company that makes valve lights but i can't find it...
however if you like the smell of burning solder there's always..
http://www.electronixandmore.com/project/2.html

cheers

julian

 

I'd defintely like to listen to the Lavardin some time. At the moment I'm just building an imaginary short list of amps I'd like to try in the £2-3K region (inc s/h) I probably won't actually be getting one until at least the end of the year, possibly a bit later. It also depends on what I decide to do on the source front

ISTR that RdS listens to a lot of organ music and surely that has subterranean bass registers that the Lavardin must be handling well enough for his taste!

RdS - Vermeer on the "Clube do Audio" also is a big baroque fiend and an audiophile (of course!) so maybe we should arrange a get together sometime?

Michael.

 

RdS, Michael,

Count me in... :MILD:

 

Michael and António: PM me and we'll arrange that. Thanks Graham for being polite before I did it...

 

That'll be Faye then, will it? Women and machinery do not mix

Mind you, it's only an Arcam (ducks!). No - seriously, that system (I dunno why) was all boom'n'tizz last time I heard it - unlistenable in my opinion (possibly the speaker/amp combination?).

Naim amps will shut down if they get too hot (or at least the NAP250 does). I think it generally tends to be power amps that have this protection circuitry though. My Rega Mira runs VERY cool - but that good ole Audiolab 8000A tends to run boiling even with no signal going through it (and no, it's not Class A!).

24 degrees is MINGING - I shut down at anything above 20 degrees and would much prefer it stayed 15 degrees all year round. My bedroom window is open even if it's snowing outside...