What amps were you thinking about?
I am currently moving away from Naim amplification.
I have a Naim 300 power amp, with its power supply and also a Naim 282 Preamp. Into Kudos 606 speakers.
I have had a look at Vitus and CH, but I’d have to do an additional paper round to afford them!
Did I imagine this, that if you clicked on a dCS members profile, it would show what system they had?? I am always interested in what others use.
It depends if the member has listed his ( her?) system in their profile. Most do not and, in any case, to what degree will it help? You may get a better idea of what is being used by scrolling through the " Showing Off" thread but this raises the same query.
First of all you need to narrow your choices to realistic ones. You are saying that some brands are too expensive. So what is your limit ( bearing n mind resale of your Naim)? Let us know.
This is a forum with members all round the globe. So it is probably not much help if the brand is not available where you live. Which is, I understand ,the UK. How far are you willing to travel? You are in the wonderful county of Norfolk. But would you be happy to go to Edinburgh if needed? Or Amsterdam? what about online only? We only have a small number of really high end dealers over here so this again narrows your choice.
Of course what other members use may simply not be to your taste. You can be pretty sure that just about all of the top brands are going to offer you models that are technically excellent and superbly made. So your personal preferences are going to be dominant and this means listening which also has great bearing on the above questions.
Do you have a particular genre of music that you listen to? An amp that is great for chamber music in a small room ( that’s me BTW) will be less attractive if you are really wanting heavy rock at 90dB.
What about your speakers? How sensitive are they?
Have you decided if you want an integrated amp or is the cost of the pre-amp section better put towards a stereo power amp? I have to say that without trying a comparison figuring it out as an exercise on paper may well mislead .
What about used ?
Some great advice, and valid points there.
I have gone right through “Showing off your dCS kit”.
Some incredibly lovely systems out there. Many costing more than my house!
As for my speakers on how sensitive they are, they resemble my wife!
Hi Pete
Lots of things to consider in your post.
Many good brands are not made in the UK. I initially started my Hi-Fi journey with Naim, back in 2010. Naim are based in Salisbury, UK. So no worries contacting them. Phil H (dCS) used to work for them.
This was on recommendation from a friend and also listening to his system.
I only have one source, the Bartók Apex. Not interested in CD, Vinyl or tape.
It’s a case doing lots of reading, creating a short list, then a bit of listening.
Accuphase.
Just keeping the speakers and changing the amps may lead you into a wrong direction.
[quote=“meltemi, post:45, topic:7515”]
Just keeping the speakers and changing the amps may lead you into a wrong direction.
There is one thing for sure, I can’t do both.
I agree, just have to listen and let my ears decide.
I can understand this, given the price-bracket of the brands you mentioned.
I’d suggest, you create a hypothetical but realistic budget including possible sales earnings for your current amp/speaker combo. Go to some dCS dealers and listen to their recommendations within your hypothetical budget for an amp/speaker combo matching your Bartok (no preamp).
I never heard Kudos 606 speakers. I only noticed , that in test reports there were Naim or Exposure amps used. So why change the Naim amps at all?.
Without re opening the discussion of with, or without a preamp, which appears to be about 50/50. Most state, it’s personal choice, some say it’s dependent on one’s setup/system and balance.
My amplification is a Naim NAP300DR power amp and a Naim 282 Preamp.
Because I’ve only had the Bartók for two weeks, it’s still burning in, but it’s my intention to remove the Preamp and just see what happens, using just the power amp.
Many forum members have Integrated amps, as they have multiple sources. I have just the one.
So I’m thinking, if it sounds okayish, I’ll upgrade the power amp to complement the Bartók.
I’ve no idea, but it’s possible my Naim amp is holding back what the Bartók can do, especially now with the Apex.
You are right, I do have to go to my dealer and do some demoing. If I like what I hear, I’ll take it home and try it.
I believe the best place to demo, is one’s home.
As for budgets, we all know they often go out the window when it comes to HiFi…and cars!
The best sounding output on dCS DACs is balanced XLR. This is because , unlike most products, dCS use distinct output circuit designs for XLR or RCA and although RCA is good, XLR is better ( and sounds better). In fact an improved version of this output is a significant part of the Apex upgrade.
However Naim is known for its use of non-standard XLR connector wiring on its amps. So it is not a simple case of just plugging Bartok into a 300DR.
Other power amps use one of two standards. The AES one ( e.g. USA and Europe) sing Pin 2 positive but Japanese continuing to use Pin 3.
May be it’s the Naim amp, which is holding back, may be it’s the Kudos 606, which are holding back (a possibility you strictly seem to exclude right away), may be it’s both, which are holding back.
My idea of the hypothetical budget was, to find out, what you could get for this money, without sticking to the Naim and/or the Kudos first hand.
Please just do not underestimate the Bartok APEX.
The naim pre amp will certainly be doing something the bartok probably won’t be liking, ie holding back the lovely dCS dac.
Your 300dr amps should be fine along with the kudos 606’s.
But as i have already told you, going for an amp that is truly balanced will bring you more. As you will also be able to use the balanced outputs from the bartok then, rather than the rca’s you will have to use with the naim amps.
The kudos speakers will once again be ok.
Thanks Pete. I was aware of that. Hopefully @Dunc will make me up the correct cables.
I do want to move away from Naim, as I feel it may be holding back the Bartók.
I don’t, as it gets better by the day.
I totally agree Dunc, which is why I am moving away from Naim.