Your Amplifier history

A relatively short list, compared to many.

Cyrus 1 (around 1992). The design quirkiness and reputation meant it had to be this for my first proper hifi.

Myryad Z140. (circa 2005) Striving for a richer sound, but still detailed. Lovely looking design and well made/finished.
Naim NAIT 5si (2016)
Naim NAIT XS3 (2020) ex demo from my Naim dealer.

Before 1996: B&O Beomaster 901.
1996: Yamaha surroundamp.
2000: Cayin 251B/Yamaha P4500
2002: Holfi Integra 8
2002: Holfi Integra 88SE
2004: Doxa 012 and 70SE
2004: Audiolab 8000A
2005: Naim Nait 3
2006: Nait 2
2006: Nac102/HC/250
2006: Nac 82/HC/250
2008:NAC52/SC/250
2010: Phonosophie Biamp 2-4, Headline mk1, Linn LK140
2011: Nait 1 and 2. Nac 42 and 62,5, 110 and 140. Rega Brio mk1
2013: Cyrus 2/PSX
2014: Devialet D200, Rega Mira 3
2016: Some cheap tube integrated. Do not remeber its name.
2018: Nac72/180
2020: Yamaha P2200
2021: Valvet E2, DIY kit amp, Anaview 1000/2600

Iā€™ve had
1977 Heathkit AA1214 - 15 watt a side stereo transistor amp that I built myself, and wish I had kept.
1978 Armstrong 626 - was not that reliable, so when in for one repair I bought.
1979 Amstrad thing - made a noise, sold on when the Armstrong came back.
1983 Mission 778
1992 Exposure Model XX.
1999 Arcam A22/P25 combo - had five channels so made my one and only foray into home cinema. Mrs A did not like 5 speakers in the lounge plus subwoofer.
2008 Naim NAC202/NAP200 - I know people knock it in this forum, but I liked it!
2010 Naim Napsc added to 202/200.
2012 Naim HICAP added.
2015 NAC N272/200 - sideways step but it was better at UPnP streaming than my Logitech Squeezebox.
2016 NACN272/XPS2/NAP200 - the bass was strong, but probably not totally in control of my speakers!
2017 NACN272/XPS2/NAP300(nonDR) - this is what I have today and massively enjoyable playing RPO right now.

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From memoryā€¦.

Started with a small Sony amp kit then:
Pioneer A400
Pioneer A400X
Audiolab 8000A
Audiolab 8000C/P
Cyrus 3 with PSX-R
Aura A100 with P200
Sony TAE-9000ES with TA-N9000ES
NAD S100 with S200
VTL MB185
Chord CPM3300
Mark Levinson 383.

I have had a few more from Rotel, Yamaha, Sony with the advent of dolby pro-logic but do not remember the specific models.

Big pause in Ć”udio sold everything thenā€¦ Restarted after 10 years without an audio system and now I have.

A pair of active Focal Solo 6BE for the desktop computer.
Denon AVC-X8500
Denon PMA 2500NE
Naim Supernait 3 awaiting for an Hi-Cap this month

I really hope this addiction stops on the supernait 3 this time.

Almost one day into this thread and it is very interesting. Not as much info on reasons for choosing or views of how good they were as I had hoped, but nonetheless it is fascinating to see peopleā€™s choices and journeys. I am also amazed at how many amps some people have had, sometimes over a quite short period of time. Clearly some people have multiple systems, but also it seems that upgraditis, or simply changeitis, has been rampant with some!

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Armstrong 621 - very unreliable - didnā€™t keep for very long
Technics SUV2 - bought at university - annoyed the neighbours playing Robert Plant
A&R A60 - great sounding amp - a more mellow Cocteau Twins phase
Linn Kairn + 2 x LK100s active - everything I ever wanted in a system - kept for 15 years
Naimuniti - change of circumstances so downsized
Naimuniti + NAP250 - starting to upsize again - added an octave of bass
NAC282/SC + NAP250 - upgraditis fully underway
NAC252/SC + NAP250 - investing in the front end
NAC252/SCDR + NAP300DR - end game? (although will be interested to hear the NC separates).

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My favorite really depends on the speakers:

After trying several tube amps for my Devore 0/96 (Fi, Leben, Shindo) for over 10 years, the journey stopped at Accuphase for the past 7 years now.

While for my Graham Ls5/9 it is still Accuphase, for the Falcon LS3/5a it really is the Naim 52/250 combo that brings out some of the best sound I heard from any speaker.

And for my 22 year old Missions it is simply Cyrus that works best.

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That may explain the good results Iā€™m getting from the Graham LS5/9 when used with the Luxman. I havenā€™t managed to try the Naim 282/250DR with the Graham yet, hopefully soon (a lot of work to swap the amps).

Have your tried the Naim 52/250 with the LS5/9?

  1. Pioneer amp (part of a stacking system purchased form Laskyā€™s!)
  2. Audiolab 8000A
  3. Audiolab 8000Q c/w 8000P
  4. Audiolab 8000Q c/w Linn Power amp (the 8000P stopped working)
  5. Naim 152XS/155XS
  6. Naim 282/250DR (probably the end of my journey)

ARCAM Delta 90.2 - 1995 ish (currently in home office - works great!)
Linn Majik - 1998 (now being used by my Dad as part of an AV system)
Naim NAC 282/200 - 2003
SONOS PLAY 5 - 2010 (282 and other separates moved onā€¦mistake!!!)
Naim NAC 282/200 then HC/250DR - 2021
Naim NSC 222/300/NC250 - 2023

Weirdly enough, my two favourite amps (both of the 282 pres) are the only ones I no longer own! :joy: The NSC222 /300 has a lot to live up to!

Short list-
Luxman l300-1976/1981
Nac42-nap110-1981/1993
Nac52-nap135-1994-

Watching you build that system with those speakers was a joy

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In my late teens/early twenties my first proper amp was:-

QUAD 22 pre-amp, pair QUAD 11 power amps
QUAD 33 pre-amp, 303 power amp
Naim 32/snaps/250 power amp. A massive step up
52 pre-amp, 250. 250 replaced by 2 x 135s
552, 135s replaced by 500 power amp
All DRd before the shut down on this upgrade
No more, all done.

PS: the QUAD 22/11 sold for Ā£75 all those years ago. Ā£2000 plus now on e-bay

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1980 Homebrew current dumping poweramp with a simple preamp circuit. Worked but not great.

1985 Modified Hitachi 7 transistor MOSFET poweramp application circuit, reconfigured to work with a passive preamp - quite successful

1986 Addressed the shortcomings of the above circuit for HiFi use - this worked VERY well.

1995 Wife refused to use my amp as: 1 - too many boxes, 2 - no remote.
She had a Yamaha amp that was, quite frankly, dull.

2002 Audiolab 8000s - OK but still not as good as my 1986 model (it has a remote - Iā€™d got lazy!)

2016 Nait XS2 - the first amp I had that exceeded my 1986 version.

2018? 272 + 300 DR

2019? 272 /555DR + 300DR - in a totally different league

4 Likes

Hmmm jogging my memoriesā€¦ my hifi journey started in 1995 when I went to Uniā€¦.

1995 Denon PMA250 mkiii
1997 Musical Fidelity E1
2000 NAD S100 (this was a real beast)
2006 Musical Fidelity A5
2007 Naim Supernait 1
2008 Naim Supernait 1 + HiCap
2008 Naim Supernait 1 + HiCap + NAP200 (bi-amp)
2011 EMM-Labs DCC2 SE + Nuforce Ref 9 v2 monoblocs
2012 Nuforce P20 pre + P18 monoblocs
2016 Naim Supernait 2
2017 Naim 252+SCDR+250DR
2018 Naim 252+SCDR+300DR

Thinking stopping here or hoping to pick up a pre-owned 552

Still have a Threshold SA3 for occasional listening

Teenage years plenty of AiO setups like the Amstrad music centers :grin:

Mid 80s opted for separates so I purchased a Sony TA-F220, this blew away the AiOs, my old friend Andy still has this amp!

Moved onto the Marantz PM66KI amp with CD63 KI CD player

1994 - Nait 3 kept the CD63 along with Dynaudio Audience 40s

Converted the Nait 3 into a NAC92 (Naim then supplied the DIY kits) along with a NAP180

102 and so on to where Iā€™m at now with a 552DR/300

Also a Nait2 CB :slightly_smiling_face:

The Graham LS5/9 work well with pretty much every amp I tried - really wonderful speakers.

The Accuphase has a more refinement and separation while the Naim has a bit more drive. The Accuphase with LS5/9 is my favorite especially for classical and even symphonic music - wonderful separation of instruments. And letā€™s you hear deep into the performances. They do work well on Jazz as well.

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Rotel 820a
Sansui au30x
Pioneer a400
Arcam Alpha 9 +9p (bi amping)
Creek Destiny
Marantz pm 6003
Rega Elicit mk2
Unison Research S6 ( now mothballed due to technical issues)
Naim Nait 5si

Here we go :

A&r cambridge A60

Kenwood Trio KA60

Mission Cyrus 1

Naim 12s snaps 160

(Why did I ever upgrade !!)

42.5 hicap 250

72 hicap 250

Adale Grad 1 Tpx2 m130 dual monos

Nait xs2 and olive hi cap

Supernait2 hicap dr

Rotel RA 312
Mission Cyrus + PSX
Arcam
Linn Majik + 3x LK100 into Ninkas
Whilst posted overseas:
Naim NAIT
Naim 200
Naim 252 + NAP 300
PASS Int
Nagra Classic Pre/power

Still have the Linn pre/power at home but one of the LKā€™s has blown. Ninkas now passed down to my eldest son who chose to decline on the Linn amps - too much clutter he said so I bought him a Rotel integrated. No accounting for gen something choices!
ATB