a bit like your old school exam results, an A was excellent, a B pretty good but a D was a big disappointment and poorly thought of, maybe it has stuck in peoples psych!
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It is interesting yes - with Naim I found their speakers had a distinctive sound, their higher grade amps less so though tonal balances do vary - though their earlier NAITs like XS2 I feel had quite an attractive ābounceā which you could describe as a characteristic sound.
The Naim tuners I donāt feel exhibit a prominent Naim house sound, however I do find the Naim DACs in standalone and streamers do have quite a prominent Naim sound - and I feel it is an attractively coloured sound - and the degree of colouration becomes less the higher the quality the componentā¦
With regard to amps - people go on about Class A/B, A etc - I really think that is unlikely to affect the sound in any significant way, I do feel though how global feedback and other feedback circuity is used within the design is more likely to affect the feel of the amp. I am not sure beefy power supplies really make much difference, the power supply needs to be rated for its load conditions - the key aspect will be the power supply regulation for the amp or within the amp itself (negative feedback). High grade amps from different manufacturers focus on different ways of regulating, and they all have their own characteristic responses.
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LOL - I can assure you an audio amplifier using Class C would not sound good at all - but it could make a good fuzz box for an electric guitar. Seriously Class C is for non linear application modes like FM amplifiers, RF oscillators etc
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I knew that of course and was in the spirit of the tone of the post 
Itās certainly ruffled a lot of feathers round these parts of late.
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I thought so - it makes you realise how much you rely on facial expressions and body language 
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Pure class A is the way, but itās not very efficient as far as energy consumption goes. But the sound quality you get is the best.
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I am assured through my dealer that Naim confirm the 1.5m XLR Interconnect as shown on the current Naim price list is the only available option, so Iāll try it and seeā¦ā¦
ATB, J
Keep me posted, Iām going to try as time allows, just got my NAP250 back from Salisbury today.
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Thatās encouraging anywayā¦ā¦ (slight note of irony 
). Hope it goes well hereafter 
.
Will respond in this thread as and when the loaners arrive.
ATB, J
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All good, fixed and back to me within a matter of weeks so no dramas all told 
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Hello, Blackbird, what are those QUAD amps shown in your rather moody photo? They look for all the world like old QUAD valve amps from the 1950s.
I believe they are a pair of 280ās and a pair of 240ās. Apparently they couldnāt find a third pair do used some Nord class D amps.
You can see them if you look on Quadās website Graham. They have several valve products as well as other products you may not recognise.
Quad write it as Qll Eighty and Qll Forty actually.
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I think this is likely to be my next upgrade so really interested to hear how you get on.
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Is this a new Harbeth loudspeaker? I donāt see any new products on their site, other than the Nelson sub.
Yes an active DSP Harbeth.
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SL XLRās due here this week, so will post feedback here to (try and) keep all the SL XLR experience in one place 
. @Mr.M too.
As Iāve said before, theyāll have to be something pretty special to warrant an upgrade from the factory supplied XLRās in the context of 222/300/250, currently with āas suppliedā loom with the exception of PowerLines from my previous system.
To my (non golden) ears, the above have delivered reference performance, almost out of the box.
ATB, J
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My old Krell KSA100 Mk2 was pure class A at all output levels - but was harsh and toppy. That was fed by a Wadia DAC with digital volume control, wired up with expensive Transparent stuff ā¦ boy, I was so glad to return to Naim pre and power amps.
Never heard any of that kit.
All i can say about my class A amp is, thatās itās pure class. Lol.