Having fun with amps

[John]

Lately I been luckly enough to have a few amps to play with. My set up is a bit different to most here active in the bass and passive in the mid treble region. its a set up that gives me lots of speed is clean seductive and capable of kicking me in the guts with its dynamics and scale.
Mini T
This is a cracking little amp. It has similar qualities to main set up in that it is fast, has lots of detail, good bass. I was just blown away about how such a cheap amp could sound so good. I think this is the kind of amp most people here will love it will challenge amps costing 10 to 30 times its price. Its not for me. It lacks a bit of resolution in my system it just does not rock hard enough, also sometimes in places lacks a bit of space. I been overly critical as my taste in music is quite complex in nature( remember I am compairing this with a 60 watt valve amp that really delevers in this area).
The Chamalion 1400s This has everything the Mini t amp plus the extra resolution of my power amp,compairing it with the Glowmaster it just lacks a bit of harmonic texture to notes. The best way I can describe the difference is the Chamalion is more anytical while the glowmaster draws me deeper into into the music, instruments sound a bit more real. (thanks to Tim of MAD for lending me this fab amp)
The next amp I tried is a NAD 3130 I bought of ebay for £30 . As a amplifier its nothing special, the Mini T easily outperforms it. My intial experience was using it as a phonostage with a Pioneer 518 direct drive turntable, it just did not work for me and very nearly sold the amp without trying it just as preamp. Using it only as a preamp it has added extra resolution to my system. It was like when I heard Marco system; the area his system outperformed mine was its abilty to rock, but now using a £30 NAD as preamp it rocks just as hard as Marco system does. This is the unit that is staying in my system, it just increases the synergy of the system and boy does it make the music fun and perhaps a wee bit scary due to its sense of scale and resolution.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

This might in time solve the problem of how to get an analogue source into my system upstairs ...
I have been trying to find something I can use as a pre for about £20 ... Can you think of anything else that wouldn't just be a heap of stinky dump

Must be satisfying finding something that works so well in our system for so little cash!!
I don't suppose you tried it as a pre to the mini t did you?

[Ali Tait]

Lately I been luckly enough to have a few amps to play with. My set up is a bit different to most here active in the bass and passive in the mid treble region. its a set up that gives me lots of speed is clean seductive and capable of kicking me in the guts with its dynamics and scale.
Mini T
This is a cracking little amp. It has similar qualities to main set up in that it is fast, has lots of detail, good bass. I was just blown away about how such a cheap amp could sound so good. I think this is the kind of amp most people here will love it will challenge amps costing 10 to 30 times its price. Its not for me. It lacks a bit of resolution in my system it just does not rock hard enough, also sometimes in places lacks a bit of space. I been overly critical as my taste in music is quite complex in nature( remember I am compairing this with a 60 watt valve amp that really delevers in this area).
The Chamalion 1400s This has everything the Mini t amp plus the extra resolution of my power amp,compairing it with the Glowmaster it just lacks a bit of harmonic texture to notes. The best way I can describe the difference is the Chamalion is more anytical while the glowmaster draws me deeper into into the music, instruments sound a bit more real. (thanks to Tim of MAD for lending me this fab amp)
The next amp I tried is a NAD 3130 I bought of ebay for £30 . As a amplifier its nothing special, the Mini T easily outperforms it. My intial experience was using it as a phonostage with a Pioneer 518 direct drive turntable, it just did not work for me and very nearly sold the amp without trying it just as preamp. Using it only as a preamp it has added extra resolution to my system. It was like when I heard Marco system; the area his system outperformed mine was its abilty to rock, but now using a £30 NAD as preamp it rocks just as hard as Marco system does. This is the unit that is staying in my system, it just increases the synergy of the system and boy does it make the music fun and perhaps a wee bit scary due to its sense of scale and resolution.

Good that you've found an improvement there John. Have you tried any good valve preamps? I suspect that would improve things even more. The WAD pre 2 or 3 would be a good choice. Being basically triode amps in miniature, they have massive drive, and the output trannies negate any impdance mismatch. Or one I have been looking at is the diy hifi supply triode jobbie that Clive uses. Looks a nice piece of kit.

[Welder]

Stop it you lot

I’m trying very hard not to invest in either Temple Audio Bantam or one or two of these with a power supply.
http://www.autocostruire.com/catalog...c0c2719f592836

I’ve got a NAD 3020 pre board sitting here which may work well.
Having heard some NuForce kit recently and been pretty shocked by what it could do further temptation just isn’t helping

Has anyone heard the autocostruire amps and compared them to the Temple?

[Ali Tait]

John, I won't say much until Gary puts his post up, but I took my OB's,WAD pre, Behringer 2496 and my pair of Bantam Golds round to his place last week. I'll let him post his impressions, but I think he liked what he heard. Oh, and the Bantams trashed the mini-t amp.

[Welder]

Tease

A major consideration for me now is an amps ability to drive and control my speakers at low volumes.
Much as I love my Exposure, it needs a heavy right foot to wake the Volts up and because they’re fairly efficient that means loud and I don’t always want loud, particularly for net radio, games etc.
Whatever other disadvantages T class and/or digital may or may not have, they are particularly good at control at low volume it seems.

Come on then Gary, lets hear it!

[Ali Tait]

Yes, I think that's one reason they sound so good on the OB's- the efficiency, which is around 95dB I think.

[Ali Tait]

And the easy load of course.

[John]

Ali
I am sure the WAD pre would be even better its a cracking amp but I have to do this on the cheap at the moment. Remember my dac is a valve passive pre, but I think due to the input sensitivity of my power amp having that extra gain is really helping. I really did not expect this I am usually of the view anything added to the chain will only hinder or add colour to the sound

[Ali Tait]

Yes indeed, I have found the same at times.