Strange request!!!! Power amp???

[Butuz]

Strange request I know. But does anyone in Wales / South West area have a spare power amp of decent quality that they are not using that they could lend me short term i.e for a week or two? I'll come and collect etc hopefully no bother on your part!

I am trying to work out if my Arcam P75 is the weakest link in my system (I strongly suspect it is!!!) but unfortunatly I don't have any other amp's to try and none of my mates etc are in to hi-fi so I am at a loss for the moment.

I can't afford to just go out and buy a power amp in the vein hope that it makes a significant difference :( so am hoping to borrow someone's unused one just so I can see whether I would be wasting my money or not on amplification!!!

I understand peeps may be suspicious of a request like this in this day and age but I just thought I'd ask anyway just incase!!!

Cheers :cool:

Butuz

[Rare Bird]

I was unhappy with my old P75, adding another P75 did improve things alot.

[Effem]

Strange request I know. But does anyone in Wales / South West area have a spare power amp of decent quality that they are not using that they could lend me short term i.e for a week or two? I'll come and collect etc hopefully no bother on your part!

I am trying to work out if my Arcam P75 is the weakest link in my system (I strongly suspect it is!!!) but unfortunatly I don't have any other amp's to try and none of my mates etc are in to hi-fi so I am at a loss for the moment.

I can't afford to just go out and buy a power amp in the vein hope that it makes a significant difference :( so am hoping to borrow someone's unused one just so I can see whether I would be wasting my money or not on amplification!!!

I understand peeps may be suspicious of a request like this in this day and age but I just thought I'd ask anyway just incase!!!

Cheers :cool:

Butuz

This is just my opinion of course, but I personally don't think your P75 is the problem - of course this without knowing what it is about the sound you are unhappy with!

My hot favourite for first getting shot of pronto is the QED SA speaker cable. I had only 3 inches of the wretched stuff in my system (As a speaker jumper) and it royally screwed the sound up big time, so I would hate to think what a couple of metres of it would do :( Replace it with anything you fancy.

Next, I would look closely at using the Beresford as a pre-amp. It is a very fine DAC in it's own right, but not the last word in pre-amps when an external pre is being used. This isn't being negative at all about such a fine piece of kit and even less so within it's price.

I still say though that the real culprit is that QED SA speaker cable.

[Spectral Morn]

Yes QED Silver Anniversary can be a major problem, so like Frank I would suggest changing it first. QED XT300 is much better having a more weighty and tonally rich sound. However with your Tannoy speakers I think a cable that is just to the cool side (SA is too far that way) or even handed will be more suitable. However unlike Frank I think you need to be able to try some cable in your own system before buying. Most good dealers should have demo cable they will loan you.

Not sure about the amplifier as I have never heard one.

What exactly don't you like about the current sound you have ?

Regards D S D L

[chris@panteg]

I agree with Neil here ' try a different speaker cable 1st , if you can find some, try Hitachi 102ssx its excellent stuff and will work with just about anything .

Failing that Mark Grant has something that must be worth trying surely .

[Butuz]

Hi all cheers for the prompt replies!!!

Andre - intereresting to hear that. How did you connect both of them up? I have been keeping an eye out recently for P75's on ebay with a view to bi amping horizontally or vertically, but they don't appear to go that cheap really. I think I'd be more inclined to replace and flog the P75 rather than add another one.

Effem the only other pre amp I have is a pasive pre my dad made for me which I always thought was great. The beresford does sound far better - but of course that could well just be the DAC part of it shining through. Again I have no other preamp equipment to test with.

Dalek - in terms of what can be imroved and what is wrong - I don't know what can be improved really - and in all honesty there is nothing wrong with it as it is. I don't listen to it and think that any particular part is a problem. I don't have much experience though. Upgrading the source by adding the beresford made a massive difference. Upgrading the speakers to the tannoys made a masive difference. It now sounds fantastic considering how cheap the system is (all secondhand). However it does leave me wondering if there is more to be had from the amp as that and the speaker cable has not been upgraded!

Effem & Dalek & chris I have been wondering about the QED, it's a throwback to 10+ years ago my old original marrantz 5000 and b&w 601 first system. Its probably outclassed now by the current system as you say.

I have been looking at the speaker cable on mark grant's website but both cables he stocks seem rather cheap, so I was not sure really! Can't find too much in the way of reviews of the cable he stocks.

Still for a couple of quid a metre it would be deffo worth a punt as I only need about 4 metres.

Many Thanks

Andrew

[chris@panteg]

Hi Andrew

The Hitachi cable i use was much cheaper than the AudioQuest Crystal i had before and quite frankly blew it out of the window and kicked it down the street.

I think the MG stuff could surprise you seriously .

[Effem]

Hi all cheers for the prompt replies!!!

Effem & Dalek & chris I have been wondering about the QED, it's a throwback to 10+ years ago my old original marrantz 5000 and b&w 601 first system. Its probably outclassed now by the current system as you say.

I have been looking at the speaker cable on mark grant's website but both cables he stocks seem rather cheap, so I was not sure really! Can't find too much in the way of reviews of the cable he stocks.

Still for a couple of quid a metre it would be deffo worth a punt as I only need about 4 metres.

Many Thanks

Andrew

QED SA is the worst sounding speaker cable on the planet as far as I am concerned. I had enough of just 3 inches of the damn stuff as speaker jumpers. This is from a man who made a living from building and selling cables!

I doubt very much if buying some of Mark Grant's cables are going to be a detrimental move and for some perverse reason QED cables seem to sell well on ebay too, so you might make a quid or two AND have better sound :)

[Marco]

Hi Andrew,

Go for the MG (Belden) speaker cable, as quite simply, it's a no-brainer. My mate uses some with his Tannoy Canterburys, and it sounds great, so it should work just fine with your DC3000s! ;)

Buy with confidence :)

Marco.

[Rare Bird]

Hi all cheers for the prompt replies!!!

Andre - intereresting to hear that. How did you connect both of them up? I have been keeping an eye out recently for P75's on ebay with a view to bi amping horizontally or vertically, but they don't appear to go that cheap really. I think I'd be more inclined to replace and flog the P75 rather than add another one.





You daisy chain them, there's a mono facility on the amp.If you wanna bi-amp just use em as two stereo amps..

[Ashmore]

I recently added a P80 to my A85 in a horizontal biamp setup. It made quite a difference. Opened things up quite a lot.

I'm now using my Caiman as a preamp and the A85 and A80 both as straight power amps. The system has improved further, offering more detail than when the A85 was on pre duties.

I also had that QED stuff and concur with our learned friends - it is bright and harsh. Replacing it with copper cable made things better.

S

[Alex_UK]

I have been looking at the speaker cable on mark grant's website but both cables he stocks seem rather cheap, so I was not sure really! Can't find too much in the way of reviews of the cable he stocks.

Hi Butuz - try reading from post #8 on this thread...

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3560

[Butuz]

Cheers guys I'll deffo try the Belden 5000UP before I worry about amps.

Mark is out of stock at the moment hopefully he can get more in!!!

Cheers

Butuz

[Maximum]

Gonna have to get some of that Mark Grant cable too I think, I'm using QED SA here too :rolleyes:

I've heard people here say it's awful before and tried swapping for the very basic 50p a metre copper ones I had before, but that just sounded veiled. Perhaps a recut of the ends might help for those using the gold plated plugs, they are about 10 years old after all.

[Effem]

Gonna have to get some of that Mark Grant cable too I think, I'm using QED SA here too :rolleyes:

I've heard people here say it's awful before and tried swapping for the very basic 50p a metre copper ones I had before, but that just sounded veiled. Perhaps a recut of the ends might help for those using the gold plated plugs, they are about 10 years old after all.

I wish that was true.

The 3 inches I had as jumpers were unterminated bare wire and it still sounded dreadful :(

[Maximum]

Oops sorry for the confusion, I should have put a comma between 'those' and 'using'. What I meant is perhaps the cheap leads would benefit from cutting some copper off the ends that may have oxidized, and some fresh gold connectors to replace the non gold ones they have. Actually thats a good point I was using the SA as jumpers when I tested it.