The Two Channel Advice Thread

Yeah I got these on eBay. 6SN7GTB x4. New ones, I think.

Compared to the stock, they sound less horrific.

 

Bought a Parasound HCA-750A based on this post and others about their older gear. It is indeed built like a tank and was a noticeable improvement over the old Crown D75 I had in there before - should have been, it has twice the power. Should be a good holdover until a Vidar, and an excellent sub or HT amp in the future.

 

Anyone have experience with Conrad Johnson stuff? Got a chance to get a PV12 pre / Premier 11A power combo for a nice price. Random picture from the web...

 

Probably about to pick up a nad c 326bee for the 4ohm monitor audio silver 8s I have on the way. I'll most likely be pairing it with my Modi Multibit. The source for these will be a Blu-ray player with Bluetooth capabilities. This is my upstairs so the set up has to function for movies, YouTube etc. My question is if I should be considering a stand alone Bluetooth dongle like an arcam blink or audio engine b1? Or is there an integrated I've overlooked that has it all? Looking for a fun warmish sound with this system, I have the headphone set up if I want neutral audio.

 

I definitely have plenty of experience with their preamps, but not the PV-12. I've had long experience with the PV-5, PV-10, and the PF-2. They're not the last word on resolution and speed, but timbre is usually spot on. They're brilliant for long listening sessions. Their full-function preamps have good phono sections as well - though MM/high output MC only.

Did you end up purchasing the combo?

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm picking them up from a mate soon for a loaner and may hang onto them if they work out.

 

I should note, that the only tube amp I've paired with one of the CJ preamps is my modded Dynaco ST-70 (which isn't particularly bloomy), but I've generally found that they pair better with SS poweramps. That being said, most of my impressions of CJ preamps have been on Martin Logan Aries i, Ascent i, or B&W Matrix 803. Those are all around 90db(1w/1m) and generally do better with >100w and a healthy dose of current/damping. I'm sure the poweramp synergy would be dependent upon the speakers used. Anyway, good luck! I hope you like them!

 

I love the CJ sound I have owned the premier 4 Pv5 setup when they first came out.I owned the 11a amp,then moved on to the Premier 12 mono blocks later on.
One thing the Cjs are exceptional at is holographic imaging on vocals as if the performers are in the room with you.
You can also use KT88 tubes as well as 6550 tubes with the 11a

 

Thanks chaps. Yes, @Daveheart I've read that their preamps can be a bit gooey...I'm more interested in the power amp tbh, particularly as I have some very nice KT88 tubes I could use. If the preamp doesn't work out then I'll put a Saga or Freya in front of it...might do that anyway for the remote control if nothing else.

The holographic imaging is exactly what I'm hoping to achieve with the Premier 11A, great to hear that's your experience @bozebuttons .

 

Looking forward to your impressions.

 

Possibly about to pickup some Hoyt-Bedford Type 4 speakers or Omega Alnicos and the amp choices are expansive. I can get a really good deal on a Trafomatic Aries but I'm open to options. I believe I read somewhere that @shaizada preferred push-pull to SET with these particular speakers. Im probably looking around $1700ish and 5+ WPC

Tell me about your adventures in Class A / SET / First Watt / Audiophoolery land please SBAFS!

 

I have the Omega Super 7 monitors and they are a great match with my First Watt J2. If you go on the audiocircle forum for Omegas you will get a lot of good advice.

Not sure how other First Watt amps will sound, but Omega owners tend to love them.

 

Gotta look into Decware.

 

@Merrick
Just browsed Decware. Affordable tube pleasure. Oh my. Tubes are like those girls born with natural looks and can't help themselves at being nothing but beautiful.

 

Which amp caught your eye@Big D Design ?

Also, @Rockin_Zombie I like the Torii Jr from Decware for your needs, but you'd have to find one second hand. The lifetime warranty doesn't transfer automatically, but you can have a seller send it to Decware before going to you for recertification for a $75 (I think) fee.

 

Dear Audiophiles!

May I respectfully suggest considering Acurus A250 power amplifier to compare against Schiit stuff when it comes out?

In my modest Hi-Fi setup it works quite nicely with Primare PRE30 preamplifier and Monitor Audio RS-6 speakers. The only reason for upgrade I will be looking for is that I would like to build a balanced system…

 

Sorry to necro but I ran across this thread/post and just had to respond.

I have Martin Logan Montis and just picked up a Nuprime IDA-16 on a whim to try out. I was using a NAD Masters M-22 previously so I feel this comparison is pretty relevant. I like the idea of good sounding Class D in a modern package over huge A/B behemoths.

Let me just say that out of the box the Nuprime IDA-16 was the worst sounding amp I think I've ever heard. It was cold, harsh, grainy, bright, and completely un-involving. So I thought ok maybe this really needs to break in.

100 hours later and....it's the second worst sounding amp I've heard.

I checked frequency response and sure enough there was a huge rise from 5khz - 10khz and then the Montis's low impedance load just eats this thing for breakfast. The response is non existent past 10khz, completely off a cliff it falls. Perhaps this amp is ok on an easier load to drive but my word, this has thing has all the class D negative stereotypes packed into one unit. Do not recommend. I thought at 200 wpc it may have a shot, but not even close.

The NAD M22 on the other hand is everything the Nuprime is not. It is unflinching with the Montis. It rolls off smoothly at 10khz just as a proper amp should with Montis. It has an unreal grip on the bass and is faultlessly nuetral and linear in tonal balance. It has NONE of the digital harshness and grain of Class D of yesteryear. It is musical, it is involving, and it brings emotion. This is real tech and real hi-fi.

The NAD puts the IDA-16 to shame with a low impedance load, and I'd bet the farm it sounds considerably better on any speaker.

 

I'm admittedly in the minority here as someone who actually likes Nuforce/NuPrime gear, so I don't want to make it look like I'm trying to defend them... but is there something actually broken with your unit? Not liking the sound is one thing, and I can understand it tapping out when the impedance drops (though I've read impressions of it handling other ML's just fine), but a rise in frequency response from 5-10 kHz seems like very odd behaviour.

 

Maybe it's impedance issues? I think the Montis has a pretty wild impedance vs frequency plot.

• 18Ω at ~800Hz
• somewhere around 3Ω at 5kHz
• falls below 2Ω at ~8kHz
• under 1Ω at 20kHz