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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-06 | I've got a pair of Linn Ninkas in a small, concrete room -- which means too much low-end, and/or brittle highs, if the electronics aren't perfect. I've tried a Rotel RB980, a Parasound A23, a Bryston 3B, a Linn AV-5105, and an ancient Arcam A60. The Arcam sounds the best by a country mile but it's too small and it's broken. I'd like some advice before I go buying eleven different things on EBay and Audiogon and then have to turn around and sell them all. Candidates include a beefier Arcam, an Onkyo M-504/508/510, a PS-Audio, a Quad 909, or a newer Rotel. Lean, crisp sound with outstanding micro-detail is the key. If I don't hear fingers squeaking across guitar strings, I'm not happy. Suggestions? Reply direct to author@escapeclause.net if you prefer. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 8321 Registered: Dec-04 | Move. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 8322 Registered: Dec-04 | Heavily investigate room treatments. If the WAF is involved, move. Try another room. |
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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 3 Registered: Oct-06 | Room treatments are definitely in my future, no doubt. In the meantime the Arcam sounds great -- even with the limitations of the space -- but it clips all over the place and periodically ceases to function all together. I was hoping for a reaction driven by: 1) strong preference for detail, 2) avoidance of bottom-heavy components, 3) adverse experiences with cited brands. Something less along the lines of "move," and more along the lines of, "Well, gosh, if you like the detail of the Arcam and don't mind a lean bottom end, you might want to listen to a...." Thanks just the same, though. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 8323 Registered: Dec-04 | Clips all over the place? Ay carumba, we gotta work on this. Are ya listening to rock or reggae David? |
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Gold Member Username: Stu_pittIrvington, New York USA Post Number: 2066 Registered: May-05 | Have you tried Linn amplification? |
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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 4 Registered: Oct-06 | First amplifier I tried after the Parasound A-23 (which I'd had even before I got the Ninkas) was a Linn AV-5105. It's in my best friend's system now, driving a pair of Katans, and he and I agree that the sound over there at his place is first-class all the way. But the 5105, running my Ninkas, in my room, just didn't have nearly enough focus at the bottom. The way we were able to determine that was by switching it with the Arcam, which sounded infinitely more controlled and detailed. The only reason I'm writing at all is because the Arcam is desperately underpowered (in answer to the other question, running 2.0 home theater, in particular) and not actually working properly. Also tried an old Rotel 980 and it wasn't as good as the Arcam, either. I'm hoping someone out there can tell me, based on preferring a lean bottom with lots of detail, whether or not I'd like the Quad 909, an Onkyo M-series, a newer and/or beefier Arcam, the Bryston 2B, the PS Audio 200CX, or something else made by Linn or Rotel. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 11121 Registered: May-04 | . There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image; make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the outer limits. . |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 8327 Registered: Dec-04 | David, how close are you to your dealer? |
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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 5 Registered: Oct-06 | To my Linn dealer or my Arcam dealer? There's an Arcam dealer here in town -- sort of. |
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Gold Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 1491 Registered: Nov-05 | David It seems the Arcam sound is your preference so there in lies your answer maybe? And don't worry about Jan, he's just wearing his silver foil helmut again. |
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Bronze Member Username: SanioSouth Wester... Canada Post Number: 30 Registered: Jul-07 | How about a really good set of headphones (hate the word cans). I am not saying this as a joke I mean it. If the room sucks and there is no chance that you can move... what is wrong with buying great head phones..... |
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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 6 Registered: Oct-06 | Well, let's not throw the baby out with the bath-water. The room doesn't completely suck, and there have been combinations that have worked well. In answer to John's question, the principal application of the whole rig is to entertain company, so headphones wouldn't work. I'm set up to snipe an Arcam A-90 but I'm also in discussion with a British retailer who has a demo-unit integrated from Arcam's FMJ line, and I'm suddenly hearing great things about the Onkyo A-9555. PS-Audio seems to be doing good things with their GCC-100, but it's WAY out of my price range. Any reactions to those four? I'd also be interested to know if anyone has any opinions comparing any of these pieces to a Linn Classik, which I heard once about six months ago but can't quite bring myself to believe, because there's too many things going on in the same box. |
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Bronze Member Username: SanioSouth Wester... Canada Post Number: 31 Registered: Jul-07 | I gotta tellya.. unless the company is really REALLY REALLY HOT... I would consider headphones... |
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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 7 Registered: Oct-06 | Uh, let's try this again. "Hi, everybody, I'm in a pickle because I've got this big stereo rig with a big TV and lots of company, and right now the amplification isn't a good match for the speakers and the room acoustics. What I need primarily is clean crisp detail, lean, well-disciplined low end, durability, and value. Of these, detail is number one. Now, I could buy a bunch of stuff and then turn around and sell it, but I was hoping someone out there could help me narrow the field to reduce my financial exposure. The candidates are a Quad 909, a Linn Classik, an Onkyo A-9555, a PS Audio GSC-100, a newer Rotel, or a newer, beefier Arcam than the little A60 that seems to do the best job when it works at all and doesn't clip. Does anyone have any specific, comparative experience with these pieces and/or some other models to recommend, on the basis of those priorities? Oh, and you might be interested to know: I'm not moving. I'm not switching to a different room. And I'm not ditching the entire concept behind five or six grand worth of gear, to switch to headphones. I'm buying new amplification, and I'm looking for suggestions that will narrow that field. Thanks so much." ...There. How's that? Are we all on the same page, now? :-) |
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Bronze Member Username: SanioSouth Wester... Canada Post Number: 32 Registered: Jul-07 | All Kidding aside you should also considered the NAD. Esp. the NAD C162/C272. You can bridge the C272 to get roughly 400W at 8ohms per channel. For Stereo, I run mine bi-amped. Sound quality is as described, Clean crisp, Highly detailed. Biamped the soundstage is awesome, it rivals in my mind a number of higher amps including Bryston and Naim. Finally they are an excellent value. I have seen listings for these online C162 $600 Cdn C272 $900 Cdn |
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New member Username: DogormanGainesville, Florida USA Post Number: 8 Registered: Oct-06 | THANK YOU! Just the sort of advice I was looking for. Have you heard anything about build quality? I had an NAD monitor 4300 tuner in the late 80's and had lots of problems with it. |
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Bronze Member Username: SanioSouth Wester... Canada Post Number: 33 Registered: Jul-07 | Quality??? Quality??? That is a good question, I would rate the fit and finish as excellent, after sales support here in Canada is also excellent. A capacitor blew in an earlier version of the amp (C270) I had purchased. This amp was no longer under warranty NAD shipped me a brand new model, the C272. When I complained to NAD that this now caused my system to be unbalanced, (the 272 was 100 watts more powerful then the 270) NAD worked out a deal with my local retailer, the retailer took my old undamaged 270, and replace it with a new C272. I now have 2 new warrantied C272, as a result of a blown capacitor, costing me $300 cdn. The price difference between my undamaged 270 and the new 272. All in under 3 weeks. The reason I question the quality is because the capacitor blew, when the amp, was turned on, BUT NOT playing. I gotta question the quality of the old capicators, that said NAD stood by the product and made sure I was satisfied. |