Best Old Audiophile Equipment

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Anonymous

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And what is the Naim Nait 5i like? It seems as if I could get one of these new!
 

drummerman

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The best? Best at what? Everything in HIFI is an exercise in compromise if you get my drift.

You have a million and one options. From Audiolabs, to the mentioned linn stuff, AVI etc etc.

Really depends what aspects of playback are important to you. Then I may also suggest you look at some good valve amps.

The old preconception of Tube amplification sounding warm, muddled and 'nice' ... forget it. Bad and/or cheap valve gear may sound like that, so do certain types of the breed such as some of the hopelessly underpowered 300B's. There are technical reasons for that but find a good one, and you could find audio heaven and in the process dont feel like upgrading for a long time! Good examples of the genre sound more dynamic, explosive and alive than most SS alternatives! Do yourself a favour and, if you can, listen to a couple. You might never look back. If you need pointers, let me know.
 
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Anonymous

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Might just sneak MF A370 + MVX for that kind of money? Allegedly the A370 Mk1 is actually better than the Mk2 as it actually is Class A all the way whereas the Mk2 isn't - but the change was made to improve reliability and lower the air-conditioning bill which is worth noting if you have small ones (i.e. they get Hot). Careful to get a good one though.
 

drummerman

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Just an add-on. In one of the mags, I think it was the current or last HIFI News & RR, they visited a bloke that used a Top of the range Naim system and it really was at or near the pinnacle of what Salisbury's finest make ...

until he heard a friends valve amplified system. Out went Naim in came Valves. Admittedly, it cost him more than 700 quid but it was substantially cheaper than what he had before.

My point? Valves do it just as well as trannies and the compromises are easier to live with!
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="drummerman"]
Just an add-on. In one of the mags, I think it was the current or last HIFI News & RR, they visited a bloke that used a Top of the range Naim system and it really was at or near the pinnacle of what Salisbury's finest make ...

until he heard a friends valve amplified system. Out went Naim in came Valves. Admittedly, it cost him more than 700 quid but it was substantially cheaper than what he had before.

My point? Valves do it just as well as trannies and the compromises are easier to live with!
[/quote]

I can't say from experience as I have never heard a valve amp - you are most likely correct! But what puts me off them is that I would not be able to afford a powerful one, unless you don't need as much power with valves cause my speakers are 89db sensitivity. I have been looking at the NAIM NAIT 5i (italic) amplifier and it is really nice! The only problem is it does'n't have a phono stage or a headphone output. Now phono wise, there is no problem, i'll just get a project phono box thing, but I don't think I can stick a headphone amp on it cause it says you can't monitor the tape output (am I wrong?)

Cheers!
 

drummerman

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[quote user="Hughes123"](am I wrong?) [/quote]

Well, there's no educating some people eh? If you like the naim I'm not going to argue with you.

But with regards to power you really have to hear what a good valve amp can do with 25 or 30 watts next to a hundred watt Transistor amp. Still, I guess eventually, when you're fed up with 'upgrading' the same old SS amps, you might find an hour to listen to one ... does'nt cost you anything.

By the way, I use SS but soon valves again, so I'm not biased towards one or the other but it is a real alternative and sadly hardly ever mentioned in this particular forum.

No I got a headache and cant be bothered with you anymore. Pizza instead.
 

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