I am contemplating selling my integrated amp and buying a power amp to go with my valve pre-amp that I was origionaly using. An Elekit TU-8500.
I rushed to sell my original power amp a Cambridge Audio Azure but have regretted it now.
I was wondering if there are any guide lines for pre/power matching, would a Naim power amp work? (There is a new old stock 155 XS currently for sale in my price range for instance) and what sort of money balance would you suggest - more on the pre or more on the power?
I am in NZ and have a limited amount of equipment/shops reasonably close by so I would like to narrow the field down if possible.
One line of thought was to free up some capital and buy a Uniti Star as a last/long term solution.
You thoughts will be greatly appreciated
Is the integrated the Modwright KWI-200 listed in your profile? It’s reputed to be good so I wonder what’s got you thinking of a change. It’s a 200W amp, while the NAP155 is about a quarter of that? Is it enough to match your speakers? Naim power amps do work best with Naim preamps, so it’s going to be something of a lottery as to how successful it is. And then you mention a Star, which is an all in one and would replace the Linn CD. It all seems slightly random; are you clear what you are trying to achieve?
It is the ModWright that I am talking about. It is a very fine amplifier but it does not fit my rack - it has too much depth and has had to have additional ugly supports, it is also far more powerful than I need. I have previously used a Linn Majik 1 which was about 60w into 4 ohms and was fine. It also is a bit too laid back and lacks attack that I am missing.
The ModWright was a bit of a impulsive second hand buy and I wouldn’t buy it again.
I was thinking of getting a cheap power amp as a stop gap whilst I demo an Atom and Star.
I like the Star as it would give me a CD player like you say to replace the Linn.
Alternatively spend a lot more on a better power amp, which would mean buying new, and delay looking at the Uniti products.
Thanks for the clarification. Presumably it’s not possible to audition the Star and potentially go straight to that without spending on a power amp you don’t ultimately want and may well lose money on. Going direct to the Star would be the most cost effective route, avoiding the potential loss on sale, and the need to get a bespoke lead.
As to balance, the preamp is generally the most important so I wouldn’t be concerned about using a cheaper power amp. As it’s interim, the cheaper the better really. The 155 was discontinued a good few years ago so hopefully is really cheap. I wonder if an Olive amp such as a 140 might be a safer buy, but then your market is more limited than the U.K.
I guess it’s worth asking if you need a CD player at all. The Nova is significantly better than the Star and ripping your CDs may be an option, or simply keeping the Linn player. Lots of options.
I am hoping to listen to the Star on my next visit to Auckland in a few months. I am still deciding on the way to progress a bit so I will see how the Star sounds and will leave selling the ModWright until after that.
I would like to incorporate the valve amp into one of my systems but I think that that is not really possible with the main system as one of the Uniti’s would take over sound duties from the TV’s sound bar and I would also get rid of the Bose surround system that is never used.
The office system looks unlikely too as the preamp doesn’t have a headphone socket.
I looked at the Nova but it is above what I can afford (Unfortunately).
I am considering just ripping the CD’s. This would probably lead me to the Atom and some sort of server or NAS as well to supply my main and an office systems.
I currently have music files on a external HDD but I do not find this ideal.
Could put all my music onto a SD card? If so that would make the extra expense of the Nova a better prospect. I presume the SQ of an SD card is good and files transferred via a PC?
Having read what HungryHalibut said, and a couple of articles from the web, it sounds like a Naim power amp is not the way to go for me.
I don’t see why an Atom would struggle with my speakers, Chario Hiper Tower, as they are 4ohm and have a rec, 50 to 150Watt amp requirement. I had them with a Linn Majik 1 amp and it was putting out 66W into 4ohm and that combo was fine.
I can’t really help on SD cards, but it would only be practical if you have a small collection. There is still the issue of needing to remove it and connect to a computer in order to add music or edit metadata, much like with you current HDD. I NAS or bespoke server is far easier as you just copy music to it, and the music then becomes immediately available to the streamer. A decent Qnap or Synology NAS does not have to be expensive.
I think you are right to hang on to the Modwright until you have tried the Star. Don’t forget that used Novas do come up, and with no moving parts there is little to go wrong. I’d be wary of using an Atom with large low impedance speakers, which can be harder to control than something with the more standard 8 ohms.
Yes I was thinking further and decided that the Atom might be at its limit so to speak.
And I think that a NAS or server might be the way to go - make a move to modern times
I & Mrs Pete22 have been having thoughts about an Atom etc and we don’t believe that we would use a streamer at this time in the main system and as the Linn CD player sounds good through the Denaphrips DAC I don’t see a need to consider a replacement or alternative for it any time soon, touch wood.
So the only thing for me was to listen to the ModWright end enjoy it.
A question has come up though and I am hoping that @HungryHalibut and possibly a NZ local might have an opinion on a Supernait2 with a Hicap Dr power supply that has come up for sale.
This would have ample power for my speakers and would comfortably fit on my equipment rack.
I assume it would have the attack from the drums that I am missing.
A Supernait 2 sounds like a good idea to me. It’s worth noting that not everyone finds adding a Hicap brings musical benefits, finding the music more together without it. The SN2 already has a DR power supply for the preamp, and as I’m sure you already know, a Hicap only benefits the preamp part.
Hi @Pete22 I sold my Supernait2 + HiCapDR to my music buddy last September when I bought my NAC332 preamplifier. Having helped him set it up, I have heard his system numerous times since - it all sounds excellent and not just the drums!
