Hawklord
Well-known Member
My current system is in my sig the only difference now being that I will be picking up a brand spanking new Naim CD5i cd player tomorrow. I auditioned the usual suspects and chose the Naim as it seemed to offer everything I wanted at the right price. There were better players (the cyrus cd8+psx to name but one) but this was the best compromise with the budget I had.
As a general rule of thumb I have always believed that the total budget within a system should be split equally between source, amp and speakers. If this is the case then I have speakers that cost about £1200 (with upgraded bases) a cdp that cost £825 and an integrated amp that cost £395 and I would expect the amp to be the weakest link in this set up.
My question is that although my A75+ appears to drive my Linn Ninka's effortlessly (I currently have bi-wired with van den hul teat track) would there be any real benefits replacing it with a more expensive model? Would an amp upgrade contribute to the overall system performance given that I now have a better source supplying it?
During the audition last week we auditioned all the cdp's with an Arcam a80 as this was the nearest match they had to my A75+. After choosing the naim I did take them up on the offer of hearing the cd5i coupled with the nait5i. Although this system did sound different it wasn't necessarily any better imo. We didn't spend much time comparing the two since I had taken up two and a half hours of their time up to that point already and I didn't want to outstay my welcome
What benefits could I expect to hear with a better amp and what kind of money will I need to purchase something that gives me a marked improvement over my existing amp?
What makes/models would you suggest I research and audition (when I have funds to replace the arcam).
thanks for all you help so far, keep the good advice coming
As a general rule of thumb I have always believed that the total budget within a system should be split equally between source, amp and speakers. If this is the case then I have speakers that cost about £1200 (with upgraded bases) a cdp that cost £825 and an integrated amp that cost £395 and I would expect the amp to be the weakest link in this set up.
My question is that although my A75+ appears to drive my Linn Ninka's effortlessly (I currently have bi-wired with van den hul teat track) would there be any real benefits replacing it with a more expensive model? Would an amp upgrade contribute to the overall system performance given that I now have a better source supplying it?
During the audition last week we auditioned all the cdp's with an Arcam a80 as this was the nearest match they had to my A75+. After choosing the naim I did take them up on the offer of hearing the cd5i coupled with the nait5i. Although this system did sound different it wasn't necessarily any better imo. We didn't spend much time comparing the two since I had taken up two and a half hours of their time up to that point already and I didn't want to outstay my welcome
What benefits could I expect to hear with a better amp and what kind of money will I need to purchase something that gives me a marked improvement over my existing amp?
What makes/models would you suggest I research and audition (when I have funds to replace the arcam).
thanks for all you help so far, keep the good advice coming
