Simple advice

Hi all. Looking for a little help. (Green as a cabbage)
Been using an old sugden A48. This has been really marvelous at pulling out every little sound, but there has always been a sort of irritating disatisfying crispness to the overall sound.
I recently came across a Nad C370. Gone is the irritation, this has been replaced with smoothness, but sadly its ability to focus in on every instrument is not quite as good as the sugden.

Is there any way I can tie these two friends together in the hope of getting the best of each. If so, How?(simple terms)

By the way, this is all happening through a Marantz cd63se & a pair of Kef reference 103.2 monitors.

Thanks in advance
Keith

 

Which interconnects are you using? I imagine changing these would help you achieve more focus / detail from the NAD. Let me know what you have and I'll give a suggestion or two (rapidly followed by many others I imagine ....)

 

interconnects?

Just using standard audio leads between cd output & amp input. Pretty heavy braided speaker wire, perhaps 2 - 2.5mm.
Keith

 

Speaker wire

Can't quite make out the brand, (50 yr old eyes), but the cable says "C52.3 speaker cable - UHP-OFC 259 strands 3.00 square mm x 2 - Multi award winning cable.
Sounds good, but is it?

 

Given its age the amp could simply be in need of a service and/or maybe the PSU caps replacing; these wll tend to have a shortened life in an amp that runs hot.

You obviously really like the A48 you have and what it does - it's certainly worth a call to Sugdens anyway, and probably cheaper than chopping and changing boxes.

 

Thanx

Thanx Felix. Sad thing is, there is no reference other than percieved perfection. I don't know if I need to begin this road.

 

I'd try different connecting wire between cd and amp - if you know any enthusiasts close to you you could borrow one or two (are you near me - Newport-on-Tay, Fife?) alternatively 'Zanash' on this forum is an expert at making up cables. An amp service is a good idea but I'd try swapping cables first - I think your speaker cable is OK.

 

Cheers Neil

Cheers Neil, I'll definately look into this. I do think I prefer the Nad to the old Sugden & I don't want to get into spending heaps on problems that may not exist.

 

am I the only one thinking 'sell them both and get a better amp with the money' ?

 

Fair Point

What would you get with the maybe £300 I'd get for these two bottleneck? Whats out there?

 

Sugden will servcie the amp for around £60 (my dad has a MkII version). does the amp have 5 din connections? Chord sell cables terminated in these at reasonable prices, if you go to one of the hi fi shows they usually flog them for half price. I'd consider these routes before swapping the amp, as you may have to pay substantially more to get the same build quality (and looks!!).

 

hmm.

well according to kef, your speakers are ' Suitable for use with amplifiers capable of providing between 50 and 200W into 4 ohms resistive load. '

most amp manufacturers quote for an 8 ohm load, so you're looking at needing 100-400w.

The question then I guess, is 'what great sounding little power house can I get for £300?'

options galore.

There are 2 of these on ebay, you could get them both for about £150-£200 (altogether) and bridge then for 180w per side

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rotel-RB-971-...8QQihZ013QQcategoryZ14973QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

you would then have about £150 for a pre.

I'd rather reccomend a big integrated Rotel or Nad, but can't see the models I'd reccomend on ebay at the moment.

Technosound had the integrated version of a Rotel 1080 for sale, you could contact them to see if it's still there. Im sorry I've forgotten the model number.

http://www.technosound.co.uk/nav.php?pageid=offers

1080's are available sometimes on ebay, and again you'd need a pre. It's a stonking powerhouse of an amp.
This is a 1080 pwr amp.

http://www.luchosmith.com/ebay/rotel/catalog4272.jpg

I notice Technosound have a Talk Hurricane 2 which might be worth a look at £299. It sounded nice when I heard it at a show, but I don't know if it has the power you need.

I genuinely don't believe the amps you've got are man enough for the speakers you have.
cheers
chris

 

I enjoy looking at classifieds

there is a Linn LK1/LK2 pre/power at the hifi trading station for £398.

A bit over budget. I'm no linnie, so cant mention the pwr rating. Quality should be better than what you have though.

http://www.hifitradingstation.com/prodims/2510.jpg

 

i think bottleneck is right, my dads amp sounds superb...driving a pair or bookshelf cyrus or spendor's..but it is a little on the lean side (and the MkII knocks 45w rms p e channel, which is more than the MkI).

 

I'm not surprised that the difference in sound quality between the Sugden and the NAD is "chalk and cheese", given that the Sugden is a low power class A amplifier from 1974, and the NAD is a (relatively)high power class B(possibly AB) amplifier from 2001. There are several issues that spring to mind.
1. The Sugden was designed before CD was invented, and therefore one asks oneself - How does it cope with a 2V input voltage?
2. The change in speaker control(grip) between low power class A and high power class B.
3. The difference in sound between the amplifiers when a different source(e.g. vinyl or tuner) is used.
I have to ask this question - Did you buy the NAD C370, or were you sold it? They are SO different.

 

first, apologies - I've just learned the C370 is 120w per channel into an 8 ohm load

http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/633/

As has been said, perhaps the lack of 'edge' with the NAD reflects that you are unlikely to make it clip into your speakers.

It looks like you will need to maintain this power level (as before), but go for something of better quality.

I can't help but think since you want more detail (and power) a digital amp would be perfect (the new generation of Rotel power amps would be ideal). Unfortunately you would need to expand your budget.

Tact do a good range in not-horrendously expensive digital amps, but again, not for £300!

http://www.stereotimes.com/amp100103.shtml

 

If you are not already using it try the tuner input for cd. It worked better on a naim 32.5 i had which was also not setup for cd.

Rod