Cambridge 840a Azur Integrated Amp vs Nad c272

like i said guys cant really audition it at home or anything. live in a different country to where the dealer is. i use pretty decent cables - supra interconnects and acoustic research for speaker cables - so i dont think those are the issue. IMO its not going to really be sooo much of a difference between the two considering the matching point of view. nothing ventured nothing gained so might as well go for the cambridge. my ears will survive

Hi again,
Afj if u were to believe magazine reviews its a no contest really. The CA would be considered far superior to the ageing NAD pre/power.(CA and CYRUS are always 5 star products in the UK mags and i advise u to take that with a pinch of salt) But to me thats only half the truth. I have owned Nad gear for almost a decade and the last components were the C542/C162/C272 and i was pretty safisfied. Its not the most revealing but there is a warmth in the music and the vocals are beautiful. I had bought all the 3 components for about 65K new and i think thats great VFM.
As Persi said look at the cdps from the CA brand. Supra makes some good ICS. The EFF range is good and can be got pretty cheap anywhere outside our country. Acoustic research speaker cables i am not too sure of. Actually a supra is tin coated copper and is claimed to bring out a tad more detail from the Nads so u can experiment with a Supra loudspeaker cable that fits in ur budget and see if the sound alters positively to suit your needs.
Regards

i dont think i'll change to cambridge if i have to give up on the mids. am sure the presentation of sound on a whole will change when i buy a dedicated cdp - which will be soon. have pretty much decided to go with the cambridge 640c cdp. and will try testing out the cables. thanks a lot for all of your help

Hi Again,
Great. Am sure u will be happy.
Afj i do have the bryston combo now and i like it but i also liked all the budget gear i have owned in the last two decades. I always enjoyed the music and tried to tweak my gear to derive the maximum i could. A while ago Nad was considered a very decent amp for the money but modern audiophiles scoff at its shortcomings while brands like CA are now claimed to be budget kings.
A dedicated CDP will offer great benefits. Please keep us posted.
Regards

Hi Afj,

Sorry didn't check back on this thread till now.

I'd say looking at your constraints and since you're in the market for a CDP anyway, the 640c would be hard to beat in the price range. Even on subjective parameters, it provides the attributes that (I think) you favour. So here's wishing you all the best with the source swap. Keep us posted on how it goes! :-)

Additionally, it just occurred to me that those RS6 floorstanders are surely contributing to the bass bloat effect, especially in a smallish room. Am sure that plugging the ports and better placement will add value here.

Dinyaar: I couldn't agree more reg. recent mag ratings! Just goes to underline the importance of listening for yourself. I personally have a soft spot for these NAD components, I think they really excel where it matters - i.e. conveying the emotional content of the music. Understandably, at this price point there will be flaws, but none that can't be lived with.

[quote=persiflage;16531]Hi Afj,



Additionally, it just occurred to me that those RS6 floorstanders are surely contributing to the bass bloat effect, especially in a smallish room. Am sure that plugging the ports and better placement will add value here.

the rooms not too small. its about 700 sq ft. but open plan lounge / dining etc so a lot of stuff for for sound waves to bounce off. i did try blocking the rear ports and though the bass was tighter i found the rest of the range thinner.

Hi Persi,
Hope u are enjoying ur music on a bright sunday morning!!!
I totally agree with u on the current quality of reviews. They actually cloud your mind. The superlatives used to describe average sounding gear is incredible. The new cyrus cd 6se is now one of the best cdps regardless of price if they are to be believed, god help the Regas! People are now suddenly very interested in bryston amps after the fantastic results of the amp shoot outs in the mags. Bryston has been one of the most reluctant to change and apart from a few silly changes + improved cosmetics the amp basically remains the same but the SST is brilliantly reviewed and i personally prefer my old 4BST to the new 4BSST in every way.
A friend of mine was upgrading his amp to drive his new B&W 683. Auditioning all the highly reviewed amps only!!! This amp is slow/this is detailed/this is warm and all the regular mumbo jumbo. I was to go over when he had organised a few dealers to come with their great amps for a home audition. I too took my old 20 yr old Harman Integrated (given to a cousin but back for some cleaning) to the party and believe me it drove his speakers wonderfully!!! In my opinion sounded better than most of the amps on display there but there were not too many believers.
Point i am making is that we are all( me included) so taken in by some joker in US/UK and his description of what he hears as great sound that we give it more weight than our own ears which is downright dumb.
Regards

Clap, clap, clap. Well said Dinyaar.

Cheers

Dinyaar,

I'm very well bro, playing with my Squeezebox this Sunday morning. Lemme tell you, the convenience is addictive! All It needs now is a decent external DAC..

I guess mags and equipment manufacturers need each other to survive. Mags also need to find new flavours of the moment (FOTM) in order to drive sales.

I hope that as the market matures, dealers will become more amenable to home demos/ trial periods with no questions asked refunds.

Which speakers do you use with the Bryston?

Regards,
Persiflage

Hi again,
Currently the B&W 805s. Musical taste and variety has shrunk and so have the size of the speakers. These seem to work 4 now! These replaced the 704s and i had the 603s for a while too. At my old place we are using the older Bryston ST with B&W 804s and a 601 driven by a Rotel integrated in the 2nd set up in the bedroom. I know it seems i have blinkers on and cant look beyond B&W but i have enjoyed their speakers for ages now. Growing up my parents had an all Quad set up. ESLs with the monos which are now beyond repair and just rotting.
Regards