Record player amplification question

Peluca

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Feb 20, 2022
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Hi Everyone, I'm new to the forum but not new to HiFi and What Hifi but I hope you can help with a question:

I have a Linn Sondek, very good set up, going into a Trichord Diablo, Naim NAC282 and Naim NAP250.2 and finally to Proac Response D2s.

The bottom line is that I've felt for a long time that's a lot of amplification for a single source and I wonder if I can achieve the same quality of sound from a dedicated single-source amp? Let's say I get around £2000 for the Naims, does anyone have any suggestions what could replace them around that price range (or perhaps a bit less!).

Thank you for reading.
 
Quality of amplification and number of sources doesn't really matter, I'd suggest. I think you'd have to spend quite a lot to better what you have. Other than the feeling you describe, is there anything about the sound that you are actually unhappy with?
 
As above but would also like to know if you have a Moving coil or moving magnet cartridge on your turntable.
Also, if you have become accustomed to the presentation of Naim products you might find an integrated amplifier from another manufacturer not to be to your liking.
there are many excellent integrated amps out there so you are really going to have to audition as many as you can, which isn't easy these days I admit.
If you have a Moving magnet cartridge something like the Exposure 2510 might be a place to start
 
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Peluca

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Hi 12th Monkey and Al, thanks for your replies.

No I'm not unhappy with the sound at all, it just struck me that the amplification is capable of a lot more than I use it for, that extra stuff going to waste. It also (I shouldn't say this in these hallowed halls) takes up a lot of space. I suppose also I could use the money, sad but true.

I have a MC cartridge - a Koetsu rosewood platinum, which will probably be buried with me I love it so.

I only need an amp to make the sound from one source louder.
 
No I'm not unhappy with the sound at all, it just struck me that the amplification is capable of a lot more than I use it for, that extra stuff going to waste. It also (I shouldn't say this in these hallowed halls) takes up a lot of space. I suppose also I could use the money, sad but true.

I think you'll find many of us have single-source systems - the phono stage in my preamp (and all the other line level inputs bar one for that matter) will never see service, for example. But if space and cash are issues, Al's point about sound characteristics is important - Naim seems to have more of a lively 'house' sound as I understand it, so maybe you could audition something to fit budget from their range and see whether you can live with it?
 
Unfortunately that cartridge, and a very nice one it is to, is going to create issues if you are trying to obtain a one box setup.
I cannot think of any amplifiers in your budget that have a phono stage that will cope with it. You may have to retain the Diablo.
 

prince albert

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Looks like you have a Flat earth system this is where I’ve been sometime ago
replaced mine with a Naim uniti Mk 2 all in one cd/amp/tuner etc
never looked back! Well occasionally
Make sure you are doing the right move
i did try other amplifiers but I missed the Naim prat sound
 
With your single source being a Koetsu cartridge on a Linn turntable, you’re surely not going to get close your current sound other than maybe via a secondhand SuperNait, which will retain some of the Naim character. I think the latest brand new SuperNAIT 3 with a MM phono stage costs about £3800. The point is that your amplifiers would retail at almost ten grand today, so nothing for £2k is going to get close.
 
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Peluca

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Hi all, again thank you for your replies - yes I belong to the stone age, my understanding of all things Hi-Fi largely comes from my obsession with the same in the 1980s (I even had a letter printed about Dolby S, which ages me...). I've dipped in and out since then. It sounds like I should keep the amplification given the absence of any cost-effective alternative. I don't know what a 'prat' sound is though!
 
Hi all, again thank you for your replies - yes I belong to the stone age, my understanding of all things Hi-Fi largely comes from my obsession with the same in the 1980s (I even had a letter printed about Dolby S, which ages me...). I've dipped in and out since then. It sounds like I should keep the amplification given the absence of any cost-effective alternative. I don't know what a 'prat' sound is though!
It stands for Pace, Rhythm, and Timing but that means very different things to different people..... :cool:
 
They sound like words that could be swapped quite easily. Pace surely just means tempo - in other words 'is the music played at the correct speed?' Maybe describing a sound which someone can't hear isn't that much easier than describing colour to someone who can't see...
 
They sound like words that could be swapped quite easily. Pace surely just means tempo - in other words 'is the music played at the correct speed?' Maybe describing a sound which someone can't hear isn't that much easier than describing colour to someone who can't see...
I would strongly suggest that any source that cannot play music at the correct speed be avoided like the plague.... :)
and as for timing? Well......
to me it means a very strident and forward sound which isn't always best people want.
In my opinion an amplifier cannot provide PRaT, only a source can.
 
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