Cambridge Audio Azur 540A VS. NAD C320 BEE

[Walker]

Hi Topspeed,
I'm still hoping for a good change after burn-in. Except for the low end it sounds wonderful, detail is so much better than the hk and the onkyo.
I used bookshelves (B&W 601i) for many years and was now hoping (with my floor standing speakers and new amp) for a bigger and richer sound. I'm not there yet, maybe tomorrow.
If not, I guess its part of an ongoing hobby.
Thanks for your help and I’ll keep you posted (did not dare to try Level 42 yet)
Walker

[hertz]

One point.The position of the volume control does not mean anything.It depends on the design.I once tried out the NAD c 350, c 320bee and c 370 at home. The volume control of the c 370 goes all the way to max without distorting the sound but the max undistorted sound in the c 350 and c320 bee is the 1' o clock position.But overall the 370 is a more powerfull amp but to get more power out of it, I had to go past 2 o' clock position.It all depends on the design.I bought the c 350 due to budget constraints and I rarely go past 11' o clock position and I am very happy.

You could check if your vol control is designed like the c 370 by cranking it all the way up.Be carefull when you do this though.If you are distorting the sound as you go up, you need a new amp.If the sound stays clean and undistorted and the amp is not getting heated up, you are ok with what you have.

Clean,defined bass and thumpy, bloated bass are different things. Most amps like the Nad and CA will give you undistorted, clean, fast bass.It is very well extended also. Except for badly recorded stuff, you shouldn't have a problem in this department keeping the tone controls at the off(flat) position. You need to check out the speaker placement, interconnects and speaker cables also..
Have fun.

[Tons of Fun]

The B&W's you're using aren't the most sensitive speakers out there (I would describe B&W as "creative" when it comes to giving sensitivity measurements) and what you are describing sounds a normal enough for the 540A on speaker of that type. Do remember;
1) The 540A is happy to about 12 ish on the dial
2) If it does get flustered, it will simply turn itself down.

[hertz]

If "Tons of fun" who knows technical stuff on CA is correct, you will need a more powerfull amp.The power of the amp is not going to improve on break in.I would strongly suggest you try out the NAD 320bee before you spend money on big beefy amps.The power it generates is awesome and it is high current.It clearly beat 100 watt amps from Nakamichi and Yamaha when I last auditioned it.Don't let the size fool you.Make sure you have atleast 16 guage high quality speaker wire though.

[psonic]

"basically it does not rock (yet). Is this normal for this amp (after only 30 hours on low levels most of the time) or are my speakers a wrong match?"

I don't think it will improve much more, though it could suprise you...I also don't think B&W is very efficient, like say a paradigm or klipsch. FWIW, I have seen the nad 320bee online refurbished for $279, with 1yr warranty. You could always order that and do an in-home comparison, selling the lesser on ebay or audiogon. Just an idea...

[psonic]

http://www.yawaonline.com/amplifiers.html

[Tons of Fun]

If "Tons of fun" who knows technical stuff on CA is correct, you will need a more powerfull amp.

Or with my sales hat on, he needs more sensitive speakers

[Walker]

Hi All,
I played many different types of music yesterday and came to the conclusion that it’s a great amp for well recorded music but it shows NO MERCY for a lot of older cd’s. It’s incredible how it went from great to awful. For example “Who’s Next” (The Who): I’ve never heard this cd so poorly (same with Queen, Joe Jackson and a lot of other older cd’s).
I’m used to the (older) HK sound witch puts a good camouflage net over poorly recorded cd’s. On the other end, well recorded cd’s sound excellent. I played some Tosca and Kruder & Dorfmeister and I was very happy.
The volume issue doesn’t bother me, I just turn it up more.
I'm definitely not going to sell my B&W's and I don’t think I will sell the CA anytime soon.
My conclusion so far: Great amp for well recorded music but imo not an all-rounder.
Walker

[noddin0ff]

Walker,

Good news! I sympathize. I'm slowly upgrading with remastered CD's (Look Sharp!, e.g.). Try to remind yourself that its not that poor CD's sound bad, it that good ones are allowed to really shine, something your HK wasn't doing...

Cheers!

noddin0ff

[Peter_Klim]

Or with my sales hat on, he needs more sensitive speakers

I second that!

Unless you loooooooooooooove the way the speakers sound (Q wise, not SPL wise).
But if your lesser-brand-old-amp had the same or less power (can't recall what you wrote) and played louder, that makes NO sense as to what's going on with the CA.

Have you ever told us what happens when you crank it up til it starts to distort - is it to your liking? Is it loud? What position is it at?


Maybe you need, dare I say it...an EQ? ...Wait, on your HK, did you use the tones controls alot? Maybe that's why your not happy w/the CA's lack of UMPH!

Some people, including me, may know what equipment is "good" but that doesn't mean we know what we hear sounds "good" and what doesn't (I haven't auditioned enough to know what is super good. But mostly I have not auditioned live and "unplugged" "musicians" to know what live music sounds like. So I usually listen to vocals to determine what sound like the person is right in fron of me). I mean honestly, if we all truely knew what the "best" sound is, we would less likely, in "many" but not all case, ask someone elses opinion on what to get.

Case in point, my brother still "thinks" Bose 301's (that he returned) sounds better than his Silver series Monitor Audio speakers (that I picked up for him as a replacement). CLEARRRRLY he is wrong! So what I am saying is that maybe you are opinion of the sound the CA delivers is of a lesser quality than your other amps. If you listened to the source of the music (a live performance w/o loud speakers and amplifiers), then you would understand that the CA sounds more like the real thing than the HK?

Please do not be offended. I'm only stating a possibility of what is going on.

How bout trying the amp on a friends sytem?

[Walker]

Hi peter,
The onkyo I used is 2x 100 and the hk is 5x75. I know the ca is better than the other 2 (both receivers), I can hear things I did not hear before. I think I just expected to much of this amp but it's a fine amp and very affordable.
I do believe my B&W speakers are in another league and I will upgrade amps in the future. I bought these speakers recently after a lot of research, forums and try outs and I'm sure they are the right ones for my taste.

I do hear a lot of live music and don't expect to come close to that kind of sound with a budget system.
I guess the quest for better is not over … hooray.
Thanks for your reactions,
W.