The Lyrita Pre. Somehow the pulse of the music was totally lost and the music became sluggish and boring. The pace appeared to slow down although if you kept the count, it may not actually be the case. In any case the combination robbed the NAD 325 of its musicality completely. Everything else was good. The tone is clean and pure, its almost the proverbial straight wire that does nothing except for adding a bit of tube "enhancements" like depth to the sound stage and a sweeter tone with more body, with slightly better imaging and focus. I also felt the upper harmonics were gone, but this is just a matter of tube rolling which I am confident can be fixed. The lack of pace, speed and quick surefooted agility is what bothered me more. The combination also displayed a certain lack of finesse at times, unable to get the timing right when the musicians converged, and lent a somewhat flat sounding auditory experience, as if the instruments were just slightly off tune. The inclusion of the pre in the system made it totally incapable of the slight exuberance in persona that the nad 325 displays when it is all by itself. It sounds more like an over aged person plodding through the music with sluggish circulation as compared to the quick and sprightly NAD. The moment when you discover your beer is absolutely flat and warm - that was the lingering experience...
Hence I am no longer impressed by all the reviews that solely praise the tonality or the image focus and depth of tubes. With the NAD 325, the sound may be a little more distorted and noisy, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is very true to its reputation - a king of the budget segment for musicality and sheer enjoyment factor. With the pre in place however, all the parts have greater attributes that tubes are famous for in terms of purity and sonic quality, but it does not make an ultimately favorable impression on the whole due to lost vitality and pulse of the music. It does everything a tube is supposed to do but enliven the listening experience. That said, I heard the tube do things that may be termed well worth dying for ... but on second thoughts again - not quite really! I still prefer the NAD standalone in the end. :licklips:
I also asked a lady friend to audition. She needed explaining what tubes are or what a pre and power amp were, and stared at the tubes with sheer fascination, taking delight in their gentle glowing charm. But at the end of two long auditions she too made the observation that the music was dull and lifeless, and lost its pulse and pace. (Did I post any nasty comments in the "Women and Hifi" thread?
) The accuracy of her comments made me jump (thankfully she knows nothing about this particular HifiVision thread)
hyeah:
I have a gut feeling the NAD does not play well with the output impedance of the pre and the 2volt input. The input sensitivity of the power amp section is 735mv. Maybe it is used to running best at certain finely tuned signal levels between pre-power, hence fails to impress when supplied with a different input signal? But I really am no electronics expert to make a qualified judgment.
However the taste of tube sound with single drivers is hard to let go once acquired, and is still really worth having, hence my search.
The solid state option that sounds most tube like is the new Rotel RC-1082 pre (usd 1100/- ,same 3d depth and tonality as tubes). But again it does not have the variable output like the NAD c165bee (usd 900) which I might need in case I discover the 325 is truly being hampered by the 2V input. The c165bee has a little more flat soundstage but of wider width. But these are the two options I have in mind considering that decent tube pre's start upwards of usd 1400./-
If I get the NAD for its flexibility of variable output, I could try and pair it with a tube power one year later ... Else I could risk the Rotel and stay happily in the SS domain, which I am loathe to do long term, unless it surprises me.
I must add a word of compliment about the tonaility of the NAD 325 though - when doing A/B testing, I found little difference between the tonality of the tube pre and the solid state NAD. More body, depth and sweetness in the tubes yes - but the NAD wasn't lacking too much esp in roundness of tone.
Regards
