Cambridge Audio 340A

[audio amateur]

I'm back for a little more news (good and bad).
For the good part, I received the CA 340A amplifier today. It's in good shape (apart from a dent on the side), and it's works fine, so far... The problem is, it REEKS of cigarette smoke. Horrible. I didn't know stereo equipment could get so impregnated in such a smell. Anyway, I'm glad it's working and that's the most important. And boy is it working.. I played a little 'The sound of San Fran' by Global Deejays and those yellow woofers were bangin' like never before:eek6: I guess them 6 watts from the Trends weren't enough to move 'em that much:D

Anywayz, the bad news is i'm gonna be outta money real soon. That may just be because i'll be picking up a pair of Kef iQ5 SE's for my folks on Saturday (hopefully). It's a surpise.. Which they won't get until I go home in march.
This means I'll be returning the Merlin cables I just ordered. I've only just used them, and that's with the new amp.. I'll proceed to make a direct comparison with my cables. For the theory of that: I'll play a mono source, place the two speakers right next to each other, use one cable from each of the two pairs of interconnects and plug them in seperate inputs on the amp. That should give me direct switching between the cables in pretty similar conditions. Pretty good huh?
Whatever the outcome, I'll be returning them as I need the cash..
I might post a couple pictures later once i've done the comparison. I'll also give some insight as to what I think of the amp's sound.
Cheers

I forgot to add: any chance one of you has any idea of how to deal with the amps smell?

[Ajani]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Cambridge as well as the KEF VS B&W....

Any chance you might end up giving your parents the B&Ws and keeping the KEFs? lol

[audio amateur]

Well, if I do a direct comparison, it'll be this week-end. I might use the same switching method as for the cables to evaluate immediate tonal (or whatever you may call it) differences. But i'll be able to have some quality time with both, that's for sure.

The Kefs are more suited for my parents and their house back in France mostly because they are floorstanders (not too sure if they'd be happy with stands) and because the color will much better suite their antique furniture (I'll be taking the dark finish on the Kefs). And even though they are small and slim, I'm sure they offer more bang than the BWs, something that is necessary in their largish living room. I'll surely add to it a sub for the lower octaves in the future.

[JohnMichael]

My Cambridge Audio 640A had an odor about it at first as did a Chinese camera I bought for fun. The smell lessened over time. I did nothing to treat the odors. Since the amp is open to air it should smell better soon. My amp had a strange chemical smell and not what I would think of cigarettes.

[audio amateur]

My Cambridge Audio 640A had an odor about it at first as did a Chinese camera I bought for fun. The smell lessened over time. I did nothing to treat the odors. Since the amp is open to air it should smell better soon. My amp had a strange chemical smell and not what I would think of cigarettes.
I forgot to mention, this is a second hand unit. The previous owner was obviously a serious smoker... No doubt this is cigarette smell and nothing else. My amp is on my desk and when I stand in front it I can smell it.. I sprayed a little colone above it, which now gives a vanilla twist to the smell. I also removed the top and proceeded to scrub it with a little some soap and water. Hopefully with time it should dissipate.

[02audionoob]

You might want to check the dust inside, if any. Assuming you've cleaned the cover and all around the outside, maybe the smoke is in the dust. Perhaps it could be cleaned up with a cotton swab.