Warm or clinical sounding amplifiers - £500 - £900 range

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Happy new year all!

I'm in the market for a new amplifier, upgrading from a NAD C350. I'm hearing lots about some of the amplifiers I've identified as contenders. I'd like to know people's thoughts on whether they think (or have heard) if any of the following amplifiers are warm sounding or more clinical:

Audiolab 8200A

Creek Evolution 2

Cyrus 6a

Marantz PM-KI Pearl Lite

Naim Nait 5i

Roksan Kandy K2

Rotel RA-1520

(I know this will also depend on my speakers and every other component etc)
 
Based on my existing equipement and certain models:

Audiolab 8000 = Clinical

Creek Evo2 = smooth/neutral

Cyrus = Where's the bin?

Marantz 8003 = warm and cuddly. The budget end is smooth

Naim = Neutral/ in ya face

Kandy K2 = smooth but attacking

Rotel RA-06 = very neutral/bright.
 

richardw42

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Why the change ?

Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.

Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.
 

drummerman

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richardw42 said:
Why the change ?

Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.

Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.

Agree. There is always a technical explanation on why things sound the way they do. It can be, as you say, an amplifier struggling to cope with a reactive load, it may be bandwidth limited by design or it has a distortion pattern which is audible. It may have a high output impedance which affects its frequency response into different speakers or its frequency response is volume dependent because of the pot/volume control used.

Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.

regards
 

BigH

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"Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities."

Well amps do sound different. NAD have a rep for sounding warm so do ARCam, Audiolab are more neatral/clinical.

One more to add to list is Rega Brio R around £500.

Are you looking to change the NAD because you don't like the sound?
 

fatman

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Creek Evolution 5350 currently being sold at £679

http://www.lintone.co.uk/special-offers/creek-evolution-5350-integrated-amplifier-silver-2763-148-3769.php
 

shooter

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drummerman said:
richardw42 said:
Why the change ?

Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.

Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.

Agree. There is always a technical explanation on why things sound the way they do. It can be, as you say, an amplifier struggling to cope with a reactive load, it may be bandwidth limited by design or it has a distortion pattern which is audible. It may have a high output impedance which affects its frequency response into different speakers or its frequency response is volume dependent because of the pot/volume control used.

Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.

regards

Not helpful IMO, I read the penguins post before yours and it was helpful to the OP, simple and straight forward.

How about adding some laymans tech talk to each of the products above to understand the characteristics PP has posted about and help the OP and anyone else reading understand?
 

BigH

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I think plastic penguin answered the question, not sure about some of the other answers. Amps sound different I don't think the reason why are really relevant unless you want to know. From what I have heard/read I tend to agree with PP.
 
A

Anonymous

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I had k2 and brio but I prefer ki pearl lite much more... and you have some adjusting possibilities too. so many bad records out there...
 
drummerman said:
richardw42 said:
Why the change ?

Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.

Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.

Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.

regards

Nothing wrong in keeping things in layperson's terms. Life's complicated enough, so why over-complicate a hobby?
 

drummerman

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plastic penguin said:
drummerman said:
richardw42 said:
Why the change ?

Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.

Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.

Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.

regards

Nothing wrong in keeping things in layperson's terms. Life's complicated enough, so why over-complicate a hobby?

Because things are not as simple as that. Your 'description' of amplifiers, totally subjective and probably mostly with your speakers, will almost certainly not apply on every occasion.

Perhaps keeping it 'simple' is more in line with this Forum. I guess for the more technically minded there are others.

regards
 

drummerman

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What this forum could do with is some stickies with technical basics which newcomers (as well as some regulars) could use to gain some useful knowledge and I include myself there too. I am constantly learning and in the process have acknowledged that I have repeatedly given questionable advise in the past and I'm sure still do. Its not just about measurements and/or how things work/interact but these are important. Anyone not interested in that aspect is simply adopting 'the head in the sand' attitude, likely to make costly mistakes and at the end of the day not understanding a thing about this hobby ...

regards
 

BigH

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Many people are not interested, in fact that puts many off hifi, they just want to know what may suit their tastes. Not all amps are the same or even similar, just for us manufactorers design different sounds. Some may prefer Cyrus and some Naim or Creek. Until the OP answers the question about WHY they want to change from NAD I don't think we can much further.
 

drummerman

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BigH said:
[drummerman]

Well many reviews will say similar thimgs about those amps, take Audiolab, WHF says clinical or too clinical.

... and others dont! - Hifi News

Do you understand why some call this particular amplifier 'clinical' ... whatever that is? - Could it be that it is simply technically more adept than some others (in a similar vain to some Cambridge Audio Designs)? - Is it possible that a lack of distortion together with great stereo separation and low noise gives more of what is on the disc or whatever media is used? - This will not make it appeal to everybody but it may do to some especially if their speakers vear towards the other extreme. Similarely, wouldn't you like to know that, for example, amplifier A has high output impedance/low damping and so should ideally be paired with a speaker that has high inherent damping?

You see, things are not straight forward. That doesnt mean you have to make unneccesseraly complicated but a modicum of understanding will go a long way towards helping achieving some symmetry.

regards
 
drummerman said:
plastic penguin said:
drummerman said:
richardw42 said:
Why the change ?

Unless the Nad is becoming unreliable, I wouldn't bother.

Warm, clinical, smooth ? Can't see how a combination of electrical components are capable of theses qualities. Surely it's about whether its capable of adequately driving the speakers to their full potential.

Unfortunately, people sometimes try to simplify things to much as Plastic Penguin did.

regards

Nothing wrong in keeping things in layperson's terms. Life's complicated enough, so why over-complicate a hobby?

Because things are not as simple as that. Your 'description' of amplifiers, totally subjective and probably mostly with your speakers, will almost certainly not apply on every occasion.

Perhaps keeping it 'simple' is more in line with this Forum. I guess for the more technically minded there are others.

regards

First, I don't object when people start getting technical. Look how many threads you've started over the past week or so. Some make very relevent points, others don't. I've contributed on at least one of them. That's fine.

Second, look back at my first post in this thread and I made crystal clear this is what I found on "my existing equipement and certain models..." of those brands mentioned by the OP.

Third, I get totally chuffed off with people using 2,000 words when it could be explained just as clearly with 50.

Regards
 

drummerman

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PP, I thought I'd leave it but I have to say that I rarely heard as much crap as coming from you. I find it highly questionable that anybody that 'doesn't to technical' can give any meaninful advise.

If you'd spend the time you do giving 'advise' by learning a little about what you are actually talking about, I'm sure it would make more sense.

regards
 

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