Help for an old git please? :-)

[mart61]

Hi there

I have owned for about the last twenty years a Nakamichi PA-5 Power Amp and a Nakamichi CA-5 Control (pre) Amp.

I have just fired them up (they've been in storage for the last five years or so) and they work fine.

I now whish to buy a new pair of bookshelf speakers and am looking at the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, the B&W 685 and Monitor Audio BR2. I've not yet heard any of these and will make my decision having listened to each of them.

My question is this:

Do I need a subwoofer for this set up? If so, should it be active or passive? I am only looking to establish a straight forward stereo system, not a home cinema or surround sound system.

Finally, are the speakers I've short listed above any good? And if you recommend a subwoofer, which ones should I test? My total budget is sub-£500 for the speakers and subwoofer.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[GW43]

If it's just music you want to listen to I'd forget a sub, and look for a pair of second hand/ex-demo bookshelf speakers with a decent set of stands.

In my opinion, you'll get a much better sound quality for your money with (say) some £800-£1000 speakers (original price) bought 2nd hand, than some new speakers of the type you've listed and a cheap sub.

[mart61]

Thanks very much for the input. What stands would you reccomend?

[GW43]

Atacama make some decent ones, although (again in my opinion) their best ones have recently been discontinued, the SE range.

Have a look on E-Bay - stands are a good second hand buy as there is little to go wrong, other than maybe having to touch up a bit of paintwork.

50cm or 60cm would be the size to go for, depending on the size of your speakers. The tweeters should be approximately at ear height when you're sitting down.

[russ.will]

The old PA Series amps were (are) true classics. They're a Nelson Pass design and can pretty much drive anything, so I'm with GW43 as to looking for older, higher end designs to partner them.

As you have the power on tap, the lower efficiency stand-mounts that do have reasonable bass depth are a practical consideration. Search out the likes of ATC SCM-10s, Sonus Faber Concerta, Opera Callas etc, etc.

Russell

[mart61]

Well, having headed out to a nearby hifi store, I did the unspeakable! I listened to several of the speakers from my short list and then bought something not a bookshelf speaker at all - the Mordaunt Short Avant 914i.

Am I very bad?

I will say that, having got them home, wired them into my PA-5/CA-5ii combo, they sound superb! And at £229, they were less than buying one of the higher-end Bose Sounddocks!

One question - in the manual it speaks of "Single-wiring" and "Bi-wiring".

What is the meaning of this and which way should I wire them?

[blue max 2]

Originally Posted by mart61

I will say that, having got them home, wired them into my PA-5/CA-5ii combo, they sound superb!

If they sound that good, don't change a thing!

Graham

[mart61]

Originally Posted by russ.will

The old PA Series amps were (are) true classics. They're a Nelson Pass design and can pretty much drive anything...

Thanks for the input. I'm now sitting and listening to Love Over Gold and I'm not dissapointed by my choice on the Avant 914i.



I paid a fortune for the PA-5 and CA-5ii back in around 1988. A figure of around £1000 for the PA-5 and around £750 for the CA-5ii if my memory serves me well.

[GW43]

Glad to hear you're happy - that the main thing, rather than listening to advice, it's better to go out and actually listen to some speakers!

[russ.will]

Originally Posted by mart61

Well, having headed out to a nearby hifi store, I did the unspeakable! I listened to several of the speakers from my short list and then bought something not a bookshelf speaker at all - the Mordaunt Short Avant 914i.

Am I very bad?

Stop this immediately! If you continue to set such an example, before you know it, people will stop buying stuff online without a demo and start trusting their own ears. As a result, the continual stream of "which 5* award winner should I partner with the other 5* award winner I haven't heard?" type questions will dry up and forums will close left right and center.

Originally Posted by mart61

One question - in the manual it speaks of "Single-wiring" and "Bi-wiring".

What is the meaning of this and which way should I wire them?

It's a common typo found in manuals; It should read Buy-wiring.

The theory is that the speakers internal crossover is separated into two halves and by running two separate runs of cable to each half of the crossover, you reduce interactions between the drive units. This conveniently ignores the fact that in electrical terms the two halves of the crossover are still joined together where the two runs of cable meet at the amplifier, just as if they were joined at the back of the speaker, or indeed inside it like non bi-wirable speakers. My advice is, if you want to spend double the amount on cable, then buy a cable that's double the price, but if you spend much more than £5/m, you'd have been better off spending more on the speakers.

One improvement that can be made, is to remove the flat metal jumpers, or bars that connect the two sets of binding posts. Simply bare extra speaker cable and pass it through both sets of binding posts, taking obvious care not to let any strands stray. The jumpers are dodgy in both electrical and sonic terms and tend to lend a slightly spitty, edgy quality to treble reproduction. It's not a night and day difference, but it's noticeable over prolonged periods once you're familiar with the speakers sound.

FWIW, I just listened to the whole of Alchemy this afternoon.

Russell

[russ.will]

Originally Posted by GW43

Glad to hear you're happy - that the main thing, rather than listening to advice, it's better to go out and actually listen to some speakers!

That's an oxymoron, no?

Russell

[mart61]

Thanks to you all for all your input. I have found over the years that the way something sounds is the same as the way something looks/tastes - all very subjective.

I have to say the speakers are sounding really good and the old (I bought them in 1988) Nakamichi kit is none too shabby either...

I'm now on ELO!

Ya gotta love 'em...

[russ.will]

Have you stolen my LP collection?

Russell

[mart61]

Originally Posted by russ.will

Have you stolen my LP collection?

Russell

Well, if it includes Peter Gabriel Plays Live, that's on right now, then yes, perhaps I have...

[GW43]

Originally Posted by russ.will

That's an oxymoron, no?

Russell

Like "Sun reader!"

What I meant was it's all very well asking the opinions of the fine people on here, but it's actually much better to go out and listen to some speakers and make one's own mind up.

Not sure if I actually said that tho'!