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.
Iāve 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.
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 peopleās 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!
Armstrong 621 - very unreliable - didnāt 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).
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.
That may explain the good results Iām getting from the Graham LS5/9 when used with the Luxman. I havenāt managed to try the Naim 282/250DR with the Graham yet, hopefully soon (a lot of work to swap the amps).
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! The NSC222 /300 has a lot to live up to!
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
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 letās you hear deep into the performances. They do work well on Jazz as well.
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 LKās 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