Ellisdj review Arcam

[Electro]

I just listened to the follow up on my main system and I can't hear any difference either.

Even the leading edges in the soundstage were in the same places.

Are you sure you uploaded the different recordings ? It might be worth checking.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Is the perceived audio change on the first video is down to the song dynamics changing and the mind associating the dynamics to a change of sound.
Without the sight and knowing what's connected it becomes impossible tohear a difference

Ellis im not saying that you cant hear a difference but that blind is virtually impossible to tell they are that close

All othet differences discussed are down to the mind tricking the listener

If there's a difference itwould take weeks with one same song and then change to see imo

 

[Andrewjvt]

Why dont you do similar videos with different speakers to show the differences

 

[ellisdj]

I dont have different speakers at the minute.

I time aligned the songs as close as possible so your not going to get leading edges be in different places in that sense.

Its quite possible the differences in that song are minimal - its very limited in its range but its the only one I recorded that I know you can play on an ipad or whatever.

I only recorded 3 and atleast 1 of the other 2 is blocked on phones etc.

Thanks for the feedback will try and do better next time

 

[Andrewjvt]

I dont have different speakers at the minute.

I time aligned the songs as close as possible so your not going to get leading edges be in different places in that sense.

 

Its quite possible the differences in that song are minimal - its very limited in its range but its the only one I recorded that I know you can play on an ipad or whatever.

I only recorded 3 and atleast 1 of the other 2 is blocked on phones etc. 

 

Thanks for the feedback will try and do better next time 

 

 

 

Hey it's all good also glad you understand what i mean about the dynamics.
Just trying to keep it real with the differences
I enjoy your videos

 

[Native_bon]

As for me I prefered the B sound, but again this may well be due to the change in dynamics, changing from one point to the nxt as mentioned before. Having said that I could 95% of the time pick out my old Audiolab Mdac from my 2qute dac blind. The bass of the 2qute is much more tighter. Am sure the differences between the Chord dacs are very sublte. If the test was comparing Chord to other dac makes, sure it would have be much easy to tell the differences in sound.

I also thought the test change points could have being introduced much cleaner.

 

[ellisdj]

Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 800 Review Up

 

[CnoEvil]

Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 800 Review Up

So you liked it then......I thought you might.

A lot of what you described soundwise, is what drew me to the 35i.....though in a much more bijou 35W.

You have also come round to my way of thinking regarding a very high quality stereo amp being necessary to get the most from 2 channel music....and just how good the New Refs are.

This has now seeped into your Soul and will prove to be an itch that will need to be scratched some time in the nearish future.

Welcome to my world. *music2*

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Just finished watching the latest video

£9000 that's a lot of money for a amplifier not to keen on the looks but looks well made was it meant hum then ? That would of put me off for a amplifier at that price tag . But great reviews as usual mate *smile*

 

[Andrewjvt]

Nice review did you need to put isolation feet under the amp?

 

[ellisdj]

That might help with the soundstage depth andrew but I was worried to as its so heavy and I didnt want to scratch the underside by mistake in the setup process.
If the amp was mine I would put them straight under it and on top. Especially with transformer hum. I have had hum on a few amps even with an isotek syncro mains cable before it.

I was hoping to use the amp to demo a few things but its all time constraints all the time. Takes a long time to do all this. Took 3 and half hours to render that review in 4k just for starters. Let alone the filming and editing etc before it. It is largely enjoyable though.

 

[lindsayt]

You clearly liked the MF Nuvista 800 a lot. Where do you think your Bryston loses out when compared to it in 2 channel mode? And could that be down to the pre-amp used with the Bryston more than the Bryston itself?

And, do you think it'd be a nice challenge to find a 2 channel amp that sounds better than the Nuvista 800 with your KEFs and costs less than £500?

 

[ellisdj]

Hi LindsayT - I cant really say on where the Bryston loses out to the Musical Fildelity - too many variables as you hint at - different pre amp and dac.

It will be interesting moving forward to see what else I get to hear to compare to it.

What amp are you suggesting at £500 because I need a base line amplifier to compare other against and I dont have a spare 9 grand presently to lay down for a Nu Vista 800 otherwise would keep this one.

Its funny I am deliberately not looking at any other reviews for this kit so I dont get biased by them. However I read the stereophile review for the Nu Vista 800 while I was waiting for the bloody video to render - had to do it twice 8 hours in total They said pretty much what I was thinking about it - its at the level where its good enough to say job done and he was using it on Wilson Alexandrias or similar.

 

[ellisdj]

Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 800 Review Up

So you liked it then......I thought you might.

A lot of what you described soundwise, is what drew me to the 35i.....though in a much more bijou 35W.

You have also come round to my way of thinking regarding a very high quality stereo amp being necessary to get the most from 2 channel music....and just how good the New Refs are.

This has now seeped into your Soul and will prove to be an itch that will need to be scratched some time in the nearish future.

Welcome to my world. *music2*

Sorry CNo for not directly replying before - I havent had the best out of the REF's yet. I had some time with the Dave and Nu Vista 800 and it was great but not enough to be satisified with what I was hearing. There is more there fore sure, massive sound not enough refinement for me. I think I know the reasons, just didnt have the time to work on it. I did really like the Nu Vista, its a very nice amp overall to look at, to touch and use and to listen to. What more can they do in that regard

 

[lindsayt]

Ellisdj, a good, clean, simple, less is more solid state amp might sound better than the Nuvista 800 with your speakers. Or it might not. There are plenty of candidates from this genre.

I'll let you know if I buy such an amp - I'm looking to bag one for less than £100 - and would give you the option to review it.

 

[Vladimir]

That might help with the soundstage depth andrew but I was worried to as its so heavy and I didnt want to scratch the underside by mistake in the setup process. If the amp was mine I would put them straight under it and on top. Especially with transformer hum. I have had hum on a few amps even with an isotek syncro mains cable before it.

Have you checked the mains for DC with a multimeter? You may need a mains filter with more esoteric gear.

 

[Vladimir]

Ellisdj, a good, clean, simple, less is more solid state amp might sound better than the Nuvista 800 with your speakers. Or it might not. There are plenty of candidates from this genre.

I'll let you know if I buy such an amp - I'm looking to bag one for less than £100 - and would give you the option to review it.

Hmm... looks like a quality oldschool dual mono Class AB amp to me. *unknw*

 

[ellisdj]

That might help with the soundstage depth andrew but I was worried to as its so heavy and I didnt want to scratch the underside by mistake in the setup process. If the amp was mine I would put them straight under it and on top. Especially with transformer hum. I have had hum on a few amps even with an isotek syncro mains cable before it.

Have you checked the mains for DC with a multimeter? You may need a mains filter with more esoteric gear.

Is that tongue in cheek - I have got a DC filter in the chain - Isotek Syncro

 

[ellisdj]

Ellisdj, a good, clean, simple, less is more solid state amp might sound better than the Nuvista 800 with your speakers. Or it might not. There are plenty of candidates from this genre.

I'll let you know if I buy such an amp - I'm looking to bag one for less than £100 - and would give you the option to review it.

I do trust you - I would try it for sure and record it and make a video on it - would be an interesting watch. You would have to give me the nod on a few options unless you send me one then thats even cheaper

 

[lindsayt]

Yep, it does look like an oldschool amp. So, what we're looking at is keeping the good aspects of the Nuvista and probing for any weak aspects.

The ultra low THD figures indicate a lot of negative feedback. Plus there may be integrated circuits eg cheapo op amps in the signal path in the pre-amp section. So, something simpler with less negative feedback and definitely no op amps in the signal path might sound a little bit better, whilst costing over £8000 less. It's also possible we could get away with no linestage in Ellisdj's system, which again might give a small overall improvement in sound quality. The volume control appears to be the same as in my cheapo Marantz Atmos AV amp. If so, again there might be scope for a small improvement by using a stepped attenuator for volume control.

Less is more. Less is more. Might apply to beating the MF in Ellisdj's system. Or it might not.

 

[Vladimir]

That might help with the soundstage depth andrew but I was worried to as its so heavy and I didnt want to scratch the underside by mistake in the setup process. If the amp was mine I would put them straight under it and on top. Especially with transformer hum. I have had hum on a few amps even with an isotek syncro mains cable before it.

Have you checked the mains for DC with a multimeter? You may need a mains filter with more esoteric gear.

Is that tongue in cheek - I have got a DC filter in the chain - Isotek Syncro

Ooops. I didn't pay attention, missed the Isotek. Can't be the mains then.

Weird. Maybe your unit got loose transformer during shipping.

 

[ellisdj]

Or I just give off a lot of electromagnetic energy like the bad guy in the terrible spiderman 2 of a few years ago

 

[Vladimir]

Or I just give off a lot of electromagnetic energy like the bad guy in the terrible spiderman 2 of a few years ago

If the transformers are undersized for the application they would saturate their magnetic field and tend to vibrate, but if they were humming while amp sits idle, then errmmm

 

[Vladimir]

Yep, it does look like an oldschool amp. So, what we're looking at is keeping the good aspects of the Nuvista and probing for any weak aspects.

The ultra low THD figures indicate a lot of negative feedback. Plus there may be integrated circuits eg cheapo op amps in the signal path in the pre-amp section. So, something simpler with less negative feedback and definitely no op amps in the signal path might sound a little bit better, whilst costing over £8000 less. It's also possible we could get away with no linestage in Ellisdj's system, which again might give a small overall improvement in sound quality. The volume control appears to be the same as in my cheapo Marantz Atmos AV amp. If so, again there might be scope for a small improvement by using a stepped attenuator for volume control.

Less is more. Less is more. Might apply to beating the MF in Ellisdj's system. Or it might not.

The price is high mainly because of this retro feature - the Nuvistors.

 

[ellisdj]

What is the bottom picture vlad?