I've been busy over the last couple of weeks or so, exploring different options for my system, and I've purposefully left any feedback to this report.
I started by buying a 1980/81 Kenwood. Nice looking and in excellent condition with about 45 wpc. It looked promising, but had a strange smell about it and the hum from the old cast iron transformer was too much for me to bear. Sound was OK but strangely un-involving and certainly not what I was looking for. It even managed to make the KEF C30s sound clinical, which is no mean feat.
Next stop, after a failed attempt to buy a lovely recapped and serviced Pioneer SX-690 receiver, was a JVC A-X1. About 35wpc and again circa 1980, this was the entry-level model in JVC's Super-A range of non-switching amps designed to give the class A sound without the excessive heat. Condition was virtually as new but, again, the amp emitted a strange scent almost like burning although it didn't seem to be running particularly hot. Sound was fairly smooth if a bit on the 'inoffensive' side, when both channels worked but there was an intermittent issue with the right channel disappearing completely. Back it went, but at least it showed me that the entry-level Super-A wasn't right for me, either with the KEFs or a pair of Wharfedale Denton 2 XPs.
Eager to pursue the JVC theme a little further, I then picked up an A-X4. 65 wpc, and a S.E.A. graphic equalizer which can be switched out. All working very well but in slightly rough condition on the top panel and, again, with a vague smell of burning but again no excessive heat. Sound-wise it was in a different league to the A-X1 - much more fluid sounding and a fuller and more involving sound - but a little on the big, bold and not very atmospheric side. It sounded slightly woolly with the KEFs, completely wrong with the Denton 2 XPs and at its absolute best with the Mordaunt-Short MS902i. Trying old Sansuis and listening to a friend's old Pioneer didn't take me any further either.
Thinking of going back to new kit I then re-auditioned some old friends - Marantz CD6003/PM6003, NAD C545BEE/C326BEE and some Rega and Arcam kit. The Marantz was as flustered by large-scale textures as ever, and the NAD combo still irritated me with the slightly over-blown bass although I could hear some very positive attirbutes from both combinations. The Rega combo (Apollo/Brio 3) was too bright at anything other than the lowest volume levels, and the Arcams (CD17/A18) were, quite simply, boring in their efficiency and (IMO) very over-priced for their performance.
Then I decided to try the real entry-level in the shape of CA's new AM1 amplifier with my existing 340C CD player. 20wpc, and just a volume control and source selector in a nicely finished and very slimline unit. Cheap too, at a selling price of £99.99. Actually it sounded excellent - plenty of life and attack and a good sense of involvement - but was ruined by a poor volume pot that just didn't balance properly until the 9 o'clock position. It is sequential as well - the left channel comes in first and then you have to turn the control up a bit more to get the right channel. Not much good when you do a lot of listening at low levels, so back it went. Actually I reckon it must be a faulty batch/teething problems - I hope so because if they can get that sorted Cambridge will have a little belter on its hands. I know its an issue that the earliest Azur amps suffered with and they seemed to get that sorted, so there is strong hope!
Finally I decided to try something that has been nagging at me for some time - matching my 340C CD player with its companion amp, the 340A SE. That, my friends, is where the story ends. The 340A SE is a blinder and the synergy between the 340C/340A SE and Mordaunt-Short Avant MS902i is rather special. It isn't as ballsy as the NAD, as detailed as the 740A I used to have, or as warm and cosy as the A-X4. It certainly doesn't have the Arcam snob factor or over-blown price ticket, and it isn't as huge and visually impressive as any of the big old late 70s/early 80s units.
It IS musical and involving, and it brings the music to life vividly. It is well built, everything works, it doesn't smell of 30 years of use, and it looks smart. It represents a sweet point in the CA range. It is expensive enough to have high grade parts throughout (including a volume control that tracks properly), and it sounds substantially better than the AM1 (good though that is for the money), but it isn't so clinical that it tears the music apart. It doesn't over-flatter recordings like the NAD could, but it doesn't make a song and dance about their weaknesses either. In short, its a system for enjoying music on and, although it isn't what I imagined I'd end up with, it is my very satisfying final destination.
I started by buying a 1980/81 Kenwood. Nice looking and in excellent condition with about 45 wpc. It looked promising, but had a strange smell about it and the hum from the old cast iron transformer was too much for me to bear. Sound was OK but strangely un-involving and certainly not what I was looking for. It even managed to make the KEF C30s sound clinical, which is no mean feat.
Next stop, after a failed attempt to buy a lovely recapped and serviced Pioneer SX-690 receiver, was a JVC A-X1. About 35wpc and again circa 1980, this was the entry-level model in JVC's Super-A range of non-switching amps designed to give the class A sound without the excessive heat. Condition was virtually as new but, again, the amp emitted a strange scent almost like burning although it didn't seem to be running particularly hot. Sound was fairly smooth if a bit on the 'inoffensive' side, when both channels worked but there was an intermittent issue with the right channel disappearing completely. Back it went, but at least it showed me that the entry-level Super-A wasn't right for me, either with the KEFs or a pair of Wharfedale Denton 2 XPs.
Eager to pursue the JVC theme a little further, I then picked up an A-X4. 65 wpc, and a S.E.A. graphic equalizer which can be switched out. All working very well but in slightly rough condition on the top panel and, again, with a vague smell of burning but again no excessive heat. Sound-wise it was in a different league to the A-X1 - much more fluid sounding and a fuller and more involving sound - but a little on the big, bold and not very atmospheric side. It sounded slightly woolly with the KEFs, completely wrong with the Denton 2 XPs and at its absolute best with the Mordaunt-Short MS902i. Trying old Sansuis and listening to a friend's old Pioneer didn't take me any further either.
Thinking of going back to new kit I then re-auditioned some old friends - Marantz CD6003/PM6003, NAD C545BEE/C326BEE and some Rega and Arcam kit. The Marantz was as flustered by large-scale textures as ever, and the NAD combo still irritated me with the slightly over-blown bass although I could hear some very positive attirbutes from both combinations. The Rega combo (Apollo/Brio 3) was too bright at anything other than the lowest volume levels, and the Arcams (CD17/A18) were, quite simply, boring in their efficiency and (IMO) very over-priced for their performance.
Then I decided to try the real entry-level in the shape of CA's new AM1 amplifier with my existing 340C CD player. 20wpc, and just a volume control and source selector in a nicely finished and very slimline unit. Cheap too, at a selling price of £99.99. Actually it sounded excellent - plenty of life and attack and a good sense of involvement - but was ruined by a poor volume pot that just didn't balance properly until the 9 o'clock position. It is sequential as well - the left channel comes in first and then you have to turn the control up a bit more to get the right channel. Not much good when you do a lot of listening at low levels, so back it went. Actually I reckon it must be a faulty batch/teething problems - I hope so because if they can get that sorted Cambridge will have a little belter on its hands. I know its an issue that the earliest Azur amps suffered with and they seemed to get that sorted, so there is strong hope!
Finally I decided to try something that has been nagging at me for some time - matching my 340C CD player with its companion amp, the 340A SE. That, my friends, is where the story ends. The 340A SE is a blinder and the synergy between the 340C/340A SE and Mordaunt-Short Avant MS902i is rather special. It isn't as ballsy as the NAD, as detailed as the 740A I used to have, or as warm and cosy as the A-X4. It certainly doesn't have the Arcam snob factor or over-blown price ticket, and it isn't as huge and visually impressive as any of the big old late 70s/early 80s units.
It IS musical and involving, and it brings the music to life vividly. It is well built, everything works, it doesn't smell of 30 years of use, and it looks smart. It represents a sweet point in the CA range. It is expensive enough to have high grade parts throughout (including a volume control that tracks properly), and it sounds substantially better than the AM1 (good though that is for the money), but it isn't so clinical that it tears the music apart. It doesn't over-flatter recordings like the NAD could, but it doesn't make a song and dance about their weaknesses either. In short, its a system for enjoying music on and, although it isn't what I imagined I'd end up with, it is my very satisfying final destination.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram