What's the rest of your system? The A3 is great. I've owned one. One of my other favorites in that price range is the Audio Refinement Complete. |
I owned the A3 previously and would highly recommend it.I also owned the 3.2 and liked the A3 better.YMMV.Incidentally ,I believe the A3 is 170 watts into 4 ohms,if your speakers are 4 ohm.
tracer |
You have a very nice little system already. The A3 is a great choice. I had a Jolida 1701a for a while and thought it was good but lacked resolution. Your speakers would make that too obvious I think. The A3 won't have that problem.
As S7horton says, the Audio Refinement Complete is very very nice. But if you want to get into vacuum tubes (which I highly recommend), the Consonance Cyber 100 that is up for sale here would be a great choice. I have no connections with the seller. I am very familiar with the Consonance M100 Plus - it was a super nice amp for the money. Unless you really like music loud, a 40W tube amp would work great.
Arthur |
s7horton , you can view my system by cliking the link right on the bottom of my message, thanks. |
You're right. My fault, I usually pick up on that. I've had great success with the audio refinement and B&W (CDM 1NT). I've also had great success with the A3 and signature 805's)
I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. I think the AR could be a big improvement over the NAD, although they are the same power rating.. The A3's can be a little tricky to find. I wouldn't mind grabbing one myself. The AR's are a little easier and should be 100 to 150 dollars cheaper than the A3.
I can't speak about the 3.2 as I have never owned it, but would love to try it.
Honestly, in your situation, I would go for the A3 if you can one used. |
One more thing, the MF X150 is a great amplifier as well. And, come to think of it I prefered my x150 over my A3. It has more power and I feel is more refined. Those are even harder to find and sell quickly. But, if you can grab one, that would be worth the 650-700 dollars they cost. |
Thanks for the suggestions, what initially led me to write up this post is because i've seen a musical fidelity for sale in a classifieds. Also, I like the fact that its rated at 85wpc unlike the a3.2 and a5 that are above 100wpc, also, the a3 has sleek robust look to it! I also have asmall listening room and I don't need something too overpowered. |
That Musical Fidelity is a fanastic amp, I'd take it over a Jolida any day. Very crisp, and a great preamp if you want to hook it up to a tube amp!
May I also recommend the Audcom? It's well within your budget and a great piece for the money. |
If you can find one the Fisher 500c all tube unit from the 1960's is one of the sweetest sounding units I've ever heard. It has a warm and involving presentation with a three dimensional mid-range like the worlds best tube gear and sounds far and away more refined then the Jolida you mention. Ask around people who know will likely rave about this piece. Also of note is the fact its an all tube unit with a full tube pre-amp and amplifier and an all tube FM tuner. Id imagine if something like this were built today it would cost at least $7000 or more if current gear is any guide. Also of note is the fact that the Jolida has no real pre-amp per se, just a cheap attenuator to lower the voltage from your CD player. Oh yea the Fisher also has an all tube phono stage for a high output MM cartridge.
Cheers! |
I see you have B&W's...well...another suggestion is the Bryston B-60. I switched from a NAD 7225pe to the Bryston and the difference was significant. I haven't heard your particular NAD but I would assume that it is better than my circa 1988 NAD so who knows...maybe you are due for better speakers and not as much the amp.
I checked out a Jolida running N805's when I first bought my CDM1nt's...it was nice...but for my taste the Bryston would still be better.
My Electrocompaniet ECI3 may however be more of an extension of the NAD sound than the B60.
hope my nonsensical babbling helped. |
check out the new onkyo...maybe the best bargin in a couple of decades..and its new. |
I own the Jolida you are referring to in one of my secondary systems. I like mine.... decent solid state power @ 100 wpc, with tubes in the pre stage. It's not the most attractive unit I've owned, but it sounds good, has been trouble free with a lot of use, and is a very good value for the price. |
