Nytech CTA 252

[trio leo]

Any one remember these odd looking "desk calculator" amplifiers? a friend of mine has one for sale, could anyone shed a light on what they are worth these days?
I do remember they weren't big on power, but they sounded pretty good.
Any help would be appreciated.

regards Al

[Rare Bird]

I thought they sounded great.

Enter Dave R with his usual on em :lol:

[brian2957]

I had one one of these many years ago . I think I paid £250 new . If memory serves me it was a decent little amp . I had it for a couple of years . I'm sure I saw one go on Ebay recently for around £50 - £60 . I can't remember if it was working though.

[hifi_dave]

We sold a few back in the day. They were promoted in the press as a "poor man's Naim". They sounded an awful lot better than they looked but the build was poor with a rat's nest of wiring and vulnerable switches.

No idea of their worth now but £50 sounds reasonable.

[StuN]

A good concept and a decent sound, but so much was crammed into the case they were a real pain if they needed work. There is a thread on PFM for devotees...

[chelsea]

Not worth much these days unless they have suddenly shot up in the last 12 months.

[Gromit]

Great little tuner/amp - I once owned the CA252 and it sounded fabulous, showing a clean pair of heels (narrowly mind) to an A60.

I've also heard that the CTA252 isn't the most reliable bit of kit, and a royal PITA to work on.

[DSJR]

KJ took them on after the worst of the reliability problems had passed and the ones we had were both great sounding and pretty reliable, although the tuners drifted all over the place for half an hour or so. If a surviving one has a fault, then they become the work of the devil, since after repairing any fault, one has to put the two halves back together via fixed multi connectors. ANY corrosion in these can be a nightmare to find and fix, so be warned.

The small integrateds that follwed suffered badly, since the active mid stage with tone controls had to be replaced with something else, and this bit wasn't as good for whatever reason.

If the price is right (I'd put it at £50 although eBay prices may totally annihilate this), then well worth collecting and enjoying for the lovely period piece that it is :)

[trio leo]

Thanks for the advice and help guys, I'll pass the information on to my friend.

regards Al :)