Deaf Row!

[StanleyB]

A good mate of mine designed the NAD audio amps that came out in the nineties. But when the company got sold and the design department up the road from me in Barnet got closed down and moved to Vancouver in Canada he ended up getting a director's job over there. I hear he is now vice president of product development. He sometimes does stuff on Youtube. I miss his company actually. Fantastic friend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRSBrZrjqdU

[walpurgis]

Just playing 'James Newton Howard and Friends' LP through the cheapo rig I've just set up. Standard TD150 Mk.II with Shure M75ED, into Cambridge Audio 'Azur' 540P phono stage driving a NAD 3130 amp powering my Monitor Audio R852 speakers.

I have to say, this whole little system is far greater than the sum of its parts might suggest. It's very punchy and dynamic, with great detail and decent transparency (something I wasn't expecting from an M75ED). The bass is lovely and tight, not short on perceived depth either. The TD150 is such an underrated deck it's almost criminal!

Excluding cables and speaker stands this lot only stands me in about £350.....Amazing!

Rather chuffed.

Now what am I going to rig up and play with next?

[Macca]

i can imagine that being good. I was always a fan of the 75ED. Still got one somewhere.

[walpurgis]

Playing a 'Porcupine Tree' CD now though the system on the Pioneer PD-S505 Precision, this is sounding great!

[Macca]

in todays money to buy that little lot you'd be spending £3K I reckon. The NAD alone would be about £600. I bet the speakers would be well over a grand. Don't know about the Thorens but got to be at least a grand. And what would Shure be asking for the E74D? £300? Must be in that area. Say £400 for the Pioneer.

So it should be pretty decent.

[walpurgis]

in todays money to buy that little lot you'd be spending £3K I reckon.

I think you're right Martin.

[Barry]

I can imagine that being good. I was always a fan of the 75ED. Still got one somewhere.

Lived with one for about a year, before climbing up the Shure ladder to the V15s, and then abandoning Shure for Ortofon and Decca cartridges. (The M75ED was also fitted to the TP13 arm on a TD150 deck).

[walpurgis]

Pushing the penny pinching boundaries even further. CD playing via Panasonic DVD-S38 into a vintage Cambridge Audio P80 amplifier driving my much more modern Cambridge Audio 'Aero' 2 speakers. This shouldn't really work, funny thing is, it does! Sounds way better than expected. I may have to revise my original thoughts about the Aero 2 speakers.

[Barry]

Those Cambridge P-series amplifiers were ahead of their time. Being one of the first to use the newly introduced toroidal transformer, they were able to achieve an elegant slim enclosure. Other innovations were the inclusion of the volume control in the feedback loop.

I have a P50 with matching T55 tuner and have used it to drive B&W DM2a speakers to good effect.

[walpurgis]

My P80 sounds rather nice. Needs a service though as the volume control crackles a bit until the amp warms up. I can't be bothered to tinker with it, so I'll probably sell it on 'as is', bit of a collector's item.