CAMBRIDGE AUDIO TOPAZ SR10

Burnz0

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Hi All. Im in the market for a new amp and the chap at Richersounds suggested the Topaz SR10. Ive got a pair of Eltax Silverstone 200w floorstanders which aren't the best but more than adequate for my ears. Ive been running these on my dad's vintage Yamaha receiver with an output of 30w which Mr Richersounds said isn't particularly suitable as its not powerful enough. I may possible upgarde the speakers at some point in the future but for now i want to get a decent amp that will last me for a while. My dad's Yamaha was quite expensive at the time so i think it's pretty decent quality so ideally i'd like the new amp to be half decent - whether or not this is achievable on a £200/300 budget i don't know?

Can anyone advise if the Cambridge Audio will be a good choice or suggest any alternatives? id also consider second hand if that'd be a good shout? in an ideal world the amp would have an ipod connection but the main priority is the sound.
 

Burnz0

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its a Yamaha CR600. He remembers it costing in excess of £1000 about 30 years ago (although i cant find anything on the internet to verify this) so im assuming its pretty good. Ive got a pair of old B&W speakers and to my ears it sounds good - certainly better than the Eltax. The only advantage of the Eltax is the volume which is useful if i ever play music into the garden.

If it makes any odds i mainly listen to garage, dnb and hiphop but im not one for turning up the bass. Ive also looked at the Yamaha AS500 which is what they recommended the last time i was in there - slightly more expensive but gets good reviews from what i can see and is a similar spec in terms of power
 

Burnz0

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its a Yamaha CR600. He remembers it costing in excess of £1000 about 30 years ago (although i cant find anything on the internet to verify this) so im assuming its pretty good. Ive got a pair of old B&W speakers and to my ears it sounds good - certainly better than the Eltax. The only advantage of the Eltax is the volume which is useful if i ever play music into the garden.

If it makes any odds i mainly listen to garage, dnb and hiphop but im not one for turning up the bass. Ive also looked at the Yamaha AS500 which is what they recommended the last time i was in there - slightly more expensive but gets good reviews from what i can see and is a similar spec in terms of power
 

matthewpiano

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It depends what you want out of it, but I'd be very wary about spending on the Topaz range. The Topaz components I've come across have been uniformly rubbish and I doubt you'll find the SR10 competes well with the Yamaha CR600 for out-and-out quality. Likewise the Eltax speakers in comparison to the B&Ws. Your Yamaha/B&W system is a decent one and I fear you are risking deserting it for rubbish.
 

Burnz0

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I've no intention of getting rid of the old stuff, instead this will be a second system. Basically, i want the ability to play music in both my kitchen and living room. I had always planned on using the same amp and putting the cable under the floor to feed the speakers in the kitchen but that is no longer possible so short of drilling through the wall its going to have to be two separate systems - which is quite annoying really.

I was planning on connecting my TV to the system in the living room as im told this will give a noticeably better sound than the tvs built in speakers? the b&w are bookshelf speakers so unless i can get some stands for them the living room system will have to include the Eltax.

If im not going to get the same sort of quality i may be better re exploring how to get cable into the kitchen and just use the same amp for all?
 

Burnz0

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they're B&W D5 - a similar age to the receiver. Again to my ears at least they sound good - a lot crisper than the Eltax especially the bass
 

matthewpiano

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You should get the best out of the speakers you prefer for your main listening system, so look to get some stands for the B&Ws. Probably worth looking at open frame ones second hand on Ebay.

To elaborate on the Topaz comments, these are cheaply made products with volume controls that don't track balance properly. They aren't a patch on Cambridge's Azur range kit and I'd avoid them. If you want to buy a new amplifier for your second system the A-S500 or one of the current Pioneers would be a better buy. If you like the sound of vintage stuff, why not save some money and get something older?
 

Burnz0

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to be completely honest, i have no idea what im buying or looking and wouldn't really know where to start but it's an idea. At least with buying new you can get some kind of direction from the people in the shop or sites like this but there isn't the same resource for vintage equipment. The other added bonus of the newer stuff is having the remote and ipod connectivity but if, as it sounds, id need to up the budget to get decent quality then i can do without these extras
 

matthewpiano

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You'll get decent enough quality in the £200-£300 range new. I mentioned the vintage stuff in case you fancied experimenting a bit and/or saving some money. The A-S500 is fine and is well made where it counts and with good sound.
 

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