Pimare I30 with Quad 11L & Nad 542cdp an overkill?

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big_ears

Guest
Hi, I wd like to upgrade my system as I found it too bright and lacking in the bass dept. I have tested the I30 in a home trial and found it most suitable for my set up giving a very warm, textured and excellent image sound. I tested Rotel 03 and Cyrus 6vs/8vs with the 11Ls and they didn't perform as well. But, is the I30 an overkill? It's really too expensive.

I play mostly jazz, vocals, pop and classical guitars in a medium sized room.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

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NAD 320BEE, NAD 542CDP, QUAD 11L, STRAIGHTWIRE SYMPHONY, CHORD CARNIVAL
 
the I30 is a fantastic amp, whilst possibly overkill for the speakers you currently have, it could be worth buying it now so you can upgrade your speakers in the future to something even better....

i use an MF A5 (same price as I30) on my Monitor Audio GR10's which cost £800rrp because none of the other amps i tried cheaper got the sound out of them that i liked, so i was happy to pay (didnt pay full whack but then i'm good at bartering...heh)......if you like it, buy it....try and get a discount if you can, if not, well, its your choice, if you cant find anything else i guess its a case of would you rather pay £700 for something that doesnt quite make you happy, or double for something that does and gives you an upgrade path?
;)
 
Thanks for your advice. I have a set of hand-me-down Celestion SL600 as well and paired with YBA copper cables, the sound is much warmer and the bass stronger. h/e, playing pop tracks it seem to purge out jumbled noise, not as spacious layered image as Quad.
 
Knyght: Does cable terminators make a difference to the sound? I have cheapo Daiyo banana plugs that hang loosely in the amp outlets. Also, does power supply make a difference to the sound? Would placing the amp and cdp on granite or acrylic slabs improve the sound?

I still find the 11Ls doing better than the SL600 with the I30. Much clearer and bigger soundstage. With SL600, darker and background instruments not as clear. Any experience with ProAc studio 110 or reference 1sc with I30? Think it wd sound and look exceptional.
 
i would suggest you always make sure the connections are solid and reliable, you dont have to spend a fortune, but do make sure there is proper contact....

it is worth experimenting with things such as slabs below or even on top of speakers, under equipment etc, plus cutting squash balls in half and using those to eliminate vibration.......

if you have a noisy mains supply its worth trying a mains filter just in case :)

i dont have any proper experience of the Quads so i cant say what will work best in improving them sadly, equipment wise though just get to the shop and demo like mad!...good luck!
 
Thanks! All along, I have actually placed the cdp above the squash balls to dampen the vibrations. Also, I have left my dumbbell weights on top of the quads. But i haven't tried the granite slabs. hm...worth an experiment. :thumbsup:

Just had another round of listening and found the Quads perfect with midrange vocals e.g. Emi Fugita Canomile and Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. Limited by low end and bass. only 45hz...
 
big_ears said:
Thanks! All along, I have actually placed the cdp above the squash balls to dampen the vibrations. Also, I have left my dumbbell weights on top of the quads. But i haven't tried the granite slabs. hm...worth an experiment. :thumbsup:

Just had another round of listening and found the Quads perfect with midrange vocals e.g. Emi Fugita Canomile and Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. Limited by low end and bass. only 45hz...

you could always pick up a sub with High Level inputs......i use one for my Hifi listening when the music benefits from the deep stuff.....but you need to get one thats fairly nimble, otherwise it can have the effect of slowing things down (its kind of an illusion but it can be annoying)...

all you do is run a cable from teh speaker output on the back of the amp to the high level input, set the crossover on the sub to where your speakers roll off at their deepest and you extend your depths nicely...heh

check out the subwoofer forum for some advice on this, its worth considering, you can always try and ask a shop if you can do a home loan of a sub to demo it to see what you think...
 
The better the amplifier you get, the greater the control over the speaker. Just be careful to get the speaker/amplifier match right otherwise you'll be listening to a pair of 'under par' speakers....whatever you buy.
 

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