Musical Fidelity a2 or a220 compare to Sugden?

[RTilbury]

Ok well i was looking for an upgrade from my NAD C350 and was really interested in the sugden a21a but its just too much for me at the moment. I was told from someone that the Musical Fidelity A2 is comparable and can be had for considerbly less. Do any of you have any experience with this class A amp which is rated at 25 watts or the A220 that is rated at 50 watts. Keep in mind my Tannoys are easy to drive at 91db at 8 ohms.

Any information would be appreciated.

These are some of the questions I have. Will these amps be a considerable upgrade from the NAD C350? Which is better, the A2 or A220? Will getting the A2 or A220 and using it as a preamp with my nad as the amp be a good idea? Or should I just sell my NAD to help pay for the musical fidelity. Im not sure what prices these amps sell for either.

Are there any other amps that fall in to this exact price category that will give this kinda sound? Is the Musical Fidelity X-a1 a good sounding amp? I really like richness and emotion in my music, thats why i am considering these class A biased amps.

[RGA]

Well Tannoy is generally tube amp friendly -- why on earth are you not considering Jolida or Antique Sound Labs -- the Jolida 302b and the ASL AQ1003 DT are both brand new $1kUS. The AQ 1003DT comes with a remote, subwoofer output, and a built onto the chassis bias meter...ASL also makes the MG SI 15 DT which is cheaper but the tubes are a lot more money... The AQ 1003DT is class a about 30-40watts.


The Sugden sounds better but it is double the money and not as much fun as the tube amp wlll be. http://www.divertech.com/antiquesl.html#INTEGRATED The amp is relatively small in size but a very hefty 45lbs of tank like steel construction. if you're new to tubes go to this forum http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tubes/bbs.html and they can help you out.

I posted below a thread about a Sugden A21a on the used market -- you may see more pop up as Sugden has just released the A21 SE version which has 5 watts more and a remote.

I don't think Musical Fidelity is as good as Sugden -- though Musical Fidelity looks better -- though I have only heard their higher end models and separates. Sugden is better to me and cheaper -- though the advertising riddled US magazines may say otherwise.

[RGA]

Actually, while I have not heard the following set-up I have heard good things about the power amp section.

You could get the ASL MG OTL 32 (Preamplifier and supposedly top flight headphone amplifier) $700.00 http://www.divertech.com/aslmgheadotl32.html as well as the Wave 25 monoblock power amplifiers $350 pretty sure it's for the pair but I might be wrong -- still might be worth checking out as you would have separates and mono-blocks no less separates... http://www.divertech.com/aslwaveav20dt.htm

You can look voer the complete line-up and see if there is a combo that looks interesting. http://www.divertech.com/antiquesl.html

[RTilbury]

Well Tannoy is generally tube amp friendly -- why on earth are you not considering Jolida or Antique Sound Labs -- the Jolida 302b and the ASL AQ1003 DT are both brand new $1kUS. The AQ 1003DT comes with a remote, subwoofer output, and a built onto the chassis bias meter...ASL also makes the MG SI 15 DT which is cheaper but the tubes are a lot more money... The AQ 1003DT is class a about 30-40watts.


The Sugden sounds better but it is double the money and not as much fun as the tube amp wlll be. http://www.divertech.com/antiquesl.html#INTEGRATED The amp is relatively small in size but a very hefty 45lbs of tank like steel construction. if you're new to tubes go to this forum http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tubes/bbs.html and they can help you out.

I posted below a thread about a Sugden A21a on the used market -- you may see more pop up as Sugden has just released the A21 SE version which has 5 watts more and a remote.

I don't think Musical Fidelity is as good as Sugden -- though Musical Fidelity looks better -- though I have only heard their higher end models and separates. Sugden is better to me and cheaper -- though the advertising riddled US magazines may say otherwise.

I am on a limited budget and 400-600 dollars is basically what I am looking into. Less than that would be even more welcome. Tubes sound great but just too exspensive with replacing them and repairs. I also dont think they would love my current rack, which isnt very large.

I was hoping the Musical Fidelity would be the answer to my sound problem, at a very affordable price.

BTW I think it was you RGA that made the Sugden go up a lot faster in price on ebay with your Auction Advertisement... I had been watching for several days
)

[RGA]

D'oh

What did it go for? Few people read my thread on the Sugden - more will come up.

Tubes are not that expensive to replace and tube amps generally should be fine...It's tough to upgrade with a similar budget you already spent on the NAD. There was an A25 which is older but was also supposed to be very good -- it will go for a LOT less than the A21a -- but then it's not pure class A I don't think.

[RTilbury]

The A21a ended up selling for 710 i think, still not a bad price, but too pricey for me. Didnt you used to have a sugden RGA? what was it and where is it now?

[RTilbury]

Well I also was thinking about using the NAD 350 as a amp, i know its a good solid 60 watt amp, its just the pre that isnt great. sigh. If only I was rich. lol

[RGA]

yes I traded the Sugden A48b in for my current Oto. The Sugden was purchased by a fellow I met at Soundhounds in Victoria BC. He was working on cleaning it up (it needed it) the contacts as well as some other tune-up issues. It would have easily gone for under $400.00Cad. The a48b was a terrific unit but it too was class A -- for what it's worth I auditioned it directly against the MF A300...the A300 had a bigger more open sound (more powerful sound) but it didn't get to the heart of the music as well In my viiew. Given the price differential it was a no brainer.

The A48b was a more powerful version of the A25 I believe.