Quiet competence or occasional magic?

[Diapason]

Thanks for the offer, Paul, but I suspect I'll be sticking with standmount options if I do change. Well, until I move house anyway...!

Those speakers certainly look interesting, though. What are you thinking of next?

[paulb]

... Something that I could fit in a temple bar apartment... The Zu audio came to me trough a happy chance, I would normally shop at a much lesser level.Anyway if you want to have a listen let me know

[Adrian]

Interesting write up there, certainly have done the rounds!! But did you try a Primare???? Hahahaha...

Perhaps a McIntosh 252 might float the boat?

TBH if you’re keeping the speakers then you are really looking for a certain synergy between the amp & speakers.

[Diapason]

The 30.2 was gone before I made it back to Cloney to ask for it! The I32 that's available now is probably not the choice for me. I borrowed it a while back and while I liked it, the very clean, dry kind of sound I remember it having is not my goal here. We'll save that for the next system...

You're spot on about the synergy, but unfortunately it's definitely something you can't read about in reviews so it's a question of suck it and see. Of course I'm sitting here now listening to music via the Copland and thinking that Ivan might need to grab me by the lapels and just throw me out forever. It sounds gorgeous...

[Fran]

I think I'd hold on to the speakers Si.

If they let you back in, I would try that Devialet they have, and possibly the Audio analogue in the pre-owned as well. The devialet has a lot of options for room matching, which could work very well for you. I know its a bit pricier than others, but might be well worth it.

[james]

Maybe try Naim ?

[Diapason]

Thanks all. The Audio Analogue was the first to come home with me, and it's a really lovely machine (it's the amp that prompted this thread in the first place). It's far enough back now that I almost can't remember, but at the time I didn't feel it gave me the step forward I needed. The goal-posts have shifted so much since that I'm not sure what I'd make of it if I heard it again now, but it definitely had some of that magic.

The Devialet has the problem of not having enough inputs (I think it only has 3?). Because this is the sitting room system it's used for feckin' everything, so it needs to have lots of flexibility in terms of inputs, at least 5, while simultaneously being very easy for everyone else to use. Devialet in general is a funny one, though. Anytime I hear them I really admires them, I'm impressed by them, but while a part of me likes the sound, another part of me is always strangely reticent. I can't even really put my finger on why.

Naim is an interesting suggestion, thanks James. It's never really been on my radar before, but everything is on the table now.

One thing I can't get away from in all my hifi listening (not just in this system) is that I really enjoy the sound of Class A amps. It's unfortunate that they are also space heaters that bring increased electricity bills. Still, any time I've had a Class A amp at home I've thought it was something special.

[Adrian]

Perhaps the Bryson power amp with a nice preamp might be worth a go?

I suppose the beauty of a pre / power set up is that it allows flexibility wrt box swapping.

WRT class A, the extra running costs, one has to remember that Class A amps generally run at 30 watts or less.

So although they run inefficiently it’s still relatively low power. I would imagine 150w for a 24w Sugden amp or there abouts. It’s not in the same league as a kettle which could be up to 3Kw.

Most things in life are a compromise / trade off.

Yes Class A is somewhere between 25% to 50% efficient, but for that disadvantage there are several advantages....

1) higher fidelity of the input signal.
2) faster high frequency response, as the output devices are always on.
3) no cross over distortion.

A amp burning 200w would cost 4c per hour ( assuming a rate of 20c / KWhr.)

60 hours a month (2 hours every night) amounts up to a grande total 2.40 euro. Less than a price of coffee in most places.

Additionally the energy wasted as heat is captured in the home. So it theoretically should result in slightly less heating bills. Ireland is a cold country, so the heat is welcome in heating a house a touch. If the amp was outside in a garden, then sure it’s wasted heat / energy.

The only concern I would have with class A is ensuring proper ventilation around the amp.

[Diapason]

Great post Adrian, thank you. While I think the Sugden sucks about 300w, when we compare to my coffee spend it is indeed nothing! Ventilation not a problem where it will go, unless the cat starts sitting on it...

The pre/power approach is tempting to the box-swapper in me alright, although I'm trying to make sure the simplicity stays high here as it's for family use in the sitting room. This is one of those occasions where the closer I can get to one box the better. Interestingly, I thought the pre/power combo I tried would be a slam dunk compared to the cheaper integrateds, but it wasn't really. That's not to say it couldn't be, of course.

[Diapason]

Well well well...

When I borrowed the Copland CSA 100 last Saturday and stuck it in, I thought it sounded really good as I noted earlier in the thread. Most of my "serious" listening here happens at the weekend, and during the week I use the system mainly for TV watching, so not exactly crucial. As the Copland was a demo model, I had assumed it was well run-in already, but as the week went on and our bingeing of Below Deck Mediterranean continued, I was increasingly struck by the quality of the sound of background music, etc. If the music in gutter TV like Below Deck is capturing your attention then something good must be happening, but I didn't really think too much about it, putting it down to the internal DAC maybe being better than my Arcam.

Yesterday evening I had a couple of hours to spare so I sat down for some serious listening again, and honestly, if it was good before it's now excellent. I know burn-in is a contentious issue, but what had been a *little* closed in and a little "tight" sounding was now expansive and free. The good lateral imaging that had been slightly lacking in depth was now a proper soundstage front to back. Bass that had been tuneful has now deepened and solidified (to the level where I'm hearing upright bass details that I had never heard on this system before). It sounds subjectively as powerful as anything I would ever need, so now the speakers can stay too. And best of all, there was some of that midrange magic creeping in that left me in rapt attention and even brought on the occasional goosebump.

I asked Ivan how many hours were on the amp before I borrowed it, and "10 maximum" was the answer. That explains a LOT! The Copland is a hybrid design and while it only has 1 valve in there, I'm now pretty sure the break-in effect is real. Of all the amps I tried, this is now clearly the best for my taste and for my system. It's over my initial budget, and I had zero intention of replacing a Copland with another Copland, but here we are. In the end, it selected itself while I wasn't paying attention. And hey, now I get quiet competence AND occasional magic, so you can't say fairer than that.