Chord 1200 amp or SH MF 370

Looking at a couple of Amps at the moment an old MF 370-2 export model which sounds quite nice priced at 1400 beer tokens or a Chord 1200. Anyone had any experience of either ? I will need to get a Chord for demo and the nearest dealer appears to be in Sheffield, so I am interested in any comments on either amp.

 

Don't know how far Doug Brady is from you but they had the Chord in stock for dem back in August.

www.dougbradyhifi.com/sale2.htm


They're usually pretty good at letting you demo the stuff at home.

The Chord's a good amp, a little too 'laid back' for me, left me with the impression that it would be great for orchestral or chamber music but less suitable for pop/rock/dance etc.

If you decide to go over to Doug Brady I would recommend you give Sean Williams a call at www.williamshart.com and arrange to call in at his place while you're over there and have a demo of the JLH amps, take no notice of the low price you wont believe how good they are, especially the monoblocs.

 

Kark,

what speakers are you using?

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Neat critique on slate audio stands and Marantz cd 17

 

Laid back is not what Im into, like rock, dance with a smattering of Jazz/soul stuff.

JLH sounds interesting, any none mainstream manufactures are worth a look.

 

Your music tastes are similar to mine. I like an amp with lots of 'slam' and 'attack' with a good grip on the bass line. I auditioned a wide range of amps looking for my 'ideal' amp including top of the range stuff from Chord, Naim and Krell. I eventually settled on Krell monoblocs, unbelievable 'slam' and 'grip' just what I was looking for. Unfortunately too expensive to use for my 'surround' channels so I settled on JLH monoblocs (the upgraded SE versions) from Williams-Hart, they are a similar sound to the Krell but with slightly less 'grip' and a marginally narrower sound stage, not bad considering they are less than a fifth of the cost of my Krells, well worth checking out. Sean Williams will send you his amps for a home dem subject to a small deposit on your credit card.

 

Cheers Gary,
Im using a Naim 72 / 140 combination, which I have had for a few years now, but that itch is starting to come back and I am wondering if Im missing anything with the latest stuff.

I have noticed that pure A class amps tend to produce a fuller, less nasal sound than the Naims ( which I like because they emphasise the rythmic nature of music ), if I can get all the slam and attack of the Naims but with the advantages of A class / valve I would consider changing.

 

this is setting me up for my recommendation!

So you want slam and attack with a bit of valve and class A warmth and scale!? Guess what.....2 months ago, so did I!

So what if i told you about a tube preamp/powersupply combined with a semi (up to 40w) class A, with a bit of a kick to it! A distinctly non mainstream company (serbian), but have a new distributor in the UK. www.korato.com kpv10 and kta100. there is a review at www.tnt-audio.com

I admit to being more than a bit biased towards these amps, in my view they are the best I have ever heard. It is like a friendly Krell.......all the scale and glory, but not so dry and heartless.

Problem is...... you'll have to wait for the UK distributor to get moving!

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Buns,

I could'nt find a price on these, any ideas?

Certainly look interesting, valve pre and trani power, this seems more and more the direction to go. I have a Marshall set up at home using the same system and its magic with a guitar.

The reviewer compares a Naim 140 sound, but more rounded, sounds fantastic.

Sorry to set you up for a recommendation I hate the usual "whats the best" type questions, but I am interested in opinions on the tonal characteristics of different amp combinations compared to Naims amps.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

Gets more interesting by the minute, I found a site on Yahoo, but it had no contact name or telephone number just a set of prices for xmas 98.

4500.00 for the power amp and 3000.00 for the pre, bit outa my league unless I can find a pair secondhand.

Cheers for the info Gordon.

 

Kark,

I cant actually tell you the price yet! I got mine a while back prior to the distributor! I will find you out who it is and you can get in touch with them!

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Should I ask how you aquired your amps, or is it best not to ask.

 

Mine are now 3 months old....... at the time i had to deal direct with them. It will be good to be able to get them within the UK, it wa a real nuisance with all bank transfers and fairly hefty shipping!

I emailed the guy earlier, i should be able to get back to you tomorrow!

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Thanks again for the help, hope I can repay the favour sometime.

 

No favour required, you are giving me something to do!

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So you owe me now

 

errrrmmm yes...... tell you what, i'll get you the contact details for korato distributor.....sound like a fair exchange!?

I think i have just entered a closed loop of helping people that i cant get free of because i keep owing people favours!

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"A" Audiosolutions
63, Love Lane
PONTEFRACT
West Yorkshire
WF8 4EG
England

Contact person: Andy Davison

I have also pm'd you with something more interesting.

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serves you right for being so helpful

 

Thanks again Buns, thats only two favours you owe me now, Pontefract is in my sales territory, so Ill go take a look.

 

i contacted koroto 6-9-2002 there was no uk distributer on that date is the uk distributer current, told that you could buy direct from koroto , dont think this encludes shiping costs??? kpv10=670e/or 770 with phono stage kta100 890 euros

 

You would be right, i got mine a few months ago in that way. However, the situation has recently changed.

Also, those costs are excluding shipping (about 200 euros) and import duties which came to upwards of £250.

still worth it though


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