Affordable amp for Quad els 2905 speakers
wipa -- Sun, 11/13/2011 - 10:12
I am not an audiophile wizz but like listening to music (classical - vocal and instrumental and jazz). I recently bought Quads els 2905 speakers and tried them out with lyngdorf TDAI-2200 with and without roomperfect, quad elite system and 909 amp and Sugden A21. The sound of the Sugden I liked the most (extremely natural sound, lot's of air, beautiful image) but ran into problems when - even at sound levels which I do not consider extravagantly loud - playing certain CDs (one of the speakers consistently shut down). I was told that this amp was not strong enough for the Quads. I am now looking for a pre-amp/amp system that will match the sugden sound and is in the same price range. Btw the lyngdorf roomperfect system was not an improvement and both with and without corrections, the lyngdorf was inferior to the sugden. The quad pre-amp/amp is better but also inferior to the sugden sound. Can anyone help me out? I live in Belgium so need brands that are available in this part of the world.
Thanks
Wim
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I would recommend the Devaliet D-Premier (www.devaliet.com) foremost for any audiophile speaker like the Quad's. A Bryston 4BSST2 (www.bryston.com) might be a secondary choice, at a much lower price point, but not including a pre-amp and DAC/ADC.
At a very low price point, I would recomend trying a NAIM Nait XS integrated amplifier (http://www.whathifi.com/review/nait-xs).
And also at a similar price, the Unison Seconda (http://www.whathifi.com/review/unison-research-seconda) - which should add warmth to the detail of the Quads, while the NAIM adds pace / snap.
So, Devaliet first, Bryston as an alternate with definately enough power (but enough sound you like...?), and the NAIM and Unison Research as alternately beautiful sounding contemporary integrated offerings.
Price point wise, the Bryston 4BSST2 with BP26DA (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_14_4/bryston-bp-26-preamplifier-11...) might make common sense (it's precise, and powerful), given your Quad 2905 purchase, but I myself would go for the Devaliet in a heartbeat (www.devaliet.com), or else try to spend much less on an amp like the Unison Research, and still have a beautiful, beautiful sound.
I haven't heard Sugden in a long time, but I remember it having a beautiful, dark sound, and was often paired with smaller B&W Matrix 804/5 loudspeakers.
Regards from Canada.
Staxguy
Thanks for your reply
I couldn't find anything that matched the Sugden sound ( tried the Naim which sounded very nice but lacked the image and staging of the Sugden). So I decided to spend a bit more and bought the amp Sugden Masterclass SPA -4 and pre-amp LA-4 with the Sugden Fusoon 21 cd player. Sounds fantastic! Regs
Sounds very nice. I agree with you with the NAIM. I find it enjoyable, for mid-fi (Imagine another client but myself...) and quite clear, regardless of the level in the brand-line, but not perfect, for myself. I might get a set of Cambridge Audio Azur 840W amplifiers for my PSB Stratus Gold speakers (living room and bedroom systems to replace older electronics) after thinking of the DAC Magic Plus for my computer system, and intutively hoping it won't completely be terrible...
I haven't had a chance to audition your Sugden Masterclas SPA-4, but it conjectures up images of FM Acoustics + Musical Fidelity.
I've had a terrible time, speaker shopping, locally, finally grudgingly admitting that I would be better off spending $16,000 on some B&W 802 diamonds as opposed to spending the same money in restaurant tabs this year, althought I have yet to hear them sound well.