Warm or clinical sounding amplifiers - £500 - £900 range
Happy new year all!
I'm in the market for a new amplifier, upgrading from a NAD C350. I'm hearing lots about some of the amplifiers I've identified as contenders. I'd like to know people's thoughts on whether they think (or have heard) if any of the following amplifiers are warm sounding or more clinical:
Audiolab 8200A
Creek Evolution 2
Cyrus 6a
Marantz PM-KI Pearl Lite
Naim Nait 5i
Roksan Kandy K2
Rotel RA-1520
(I know this will also depend on my speakers and every other component etc)
Why the change ?
Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.
Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.
Why the change ?
Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.
Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.
Agree. There is always a technical explanation on why things sound the way they do. It can be, as you say, an amplifier struggling to cope with a reactive load, it may be bandwidth limited by design or it has a distortion pattern which is audible. It may have a high output impedance which affects its frequency response into different speakers or its frequency response is volume dependent because of the pot/volume control used.
Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.
regards
"Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities."
Well amps do sound different. NAD have a rep for sounding warm so do ARCam, Audiolab are more neatral/clinical.
One more to add to list is Rega Brio R around £500.
Are you looking to change the NAD because you don't like the sound?
Creek Evolution 5350 currently being sold at £679
http://www.lintone.co.uk/special-offers/creek-evolution-5350-integrated-...
Creek Evolution 5350 currently being sold at £679
http://www.lintone.co.uk/special-offers/creek-evolution-5350-integrated-...
The OP is located in the far east...
i guess his hangover is currently not as bad as mine then.
Why the change ?
Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.
Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.
Agree. There is always a technical explanation on why things sound the way they do. It can be, as you say, an amplifier struggling to cope with a reactive load, it may be bandwidth limited by design or it has a distortion pattern which is audible. It may have a high output impedance which affects its frequency response into different speakers or its frequency response is volume dependent because of the pot/volume control used.
Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.
regards
Not helpful IMO, I read the penguins post before yours and it was helpful to the OP, simple and straight forward.
How about adding some laymans tech talk to each of the products above to understand the characteristics PP has posted about and help the OP and anyone else reading understand?
I think plastic penguin answered the question, not sure about some of the other answers. Amps sound different I don't think the reason why are really relevant unless you want to know. From what I have heard/read I tend to agree with PP.
The OP is located in the far east...
Shirley there must be hifi shops in or around the Ness Point area ?
Shirley there must be hifi shops in or around the Ness Point area ?
Who is Shirley? 
I had k2 and brio but I prefer ki pearl lite much more... and you have some adjusting possibilities too. so many bad records out there...
Marantz CD6004--Chord cobra Plus IC--Marantz KI Pearl Lite Amp--Tellurium Q Black Speaker Cables--Monitor Audio BX5s....happy hours 
Why the change ?
Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.
Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.
Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.
regards
Nothing wrong in keeping things in layperson's terms. Life's complicated enough, so why over-complicate a hobby?
Why the change ?
Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.
Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.
Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.
regards
Nothing wrong in keeping things in layperson's terms. Life's complicated enough, so why over-complicate a hobby?
Because things are not as simple as that. Your 'description' of amplifiers, totally subjective and probably mostly with your speakers, will almost certainly not apply on every occasion.
Perhaps keeping it 'simple' is more in line with this Forum. I guess for the more technically minded there are others.
regards
[drummerman]
Well many reviews will say similar thimgs about those amps, take Audiolab, WHF says clinical or too clinical.
Based on my existing equipement and certain models:
Audiolab 8000 = Clinical
Creek Evo2 = smooth/neutral
Cyrus = Where's the bin?
Marantz 8003 = warm and cuddly. The budget end is smooth
Naim = Neutral/ in ya face
Kandy K2 = smooth but attacking
Rotel RA-06 = very neutral/bright.
Leema Pulse MKII-S; Naim CD5i MKII; Denon TU-260L MKII; MA RS6 speakers; Pro-ject Xpression 1; loads of different cables...
Formerly known as plastic penguin