dean_martin
04-09-2004, 10:22 AM
In responding to Topspeed's "integrated amp recommendations" I suggested that he might look for a Cambridge Audio A500 integrated demo model to meet his $300 or so budget. I had just ordered one from audioadvisor.com for my son. My son had $300 at his disposal when the amp section of his old NAD 25wpc stereo receiver died. So, being the anal retentive, penny-pinching electronics freak that I am, I tried to find an upgrade for him at a bargain price. The Cambridge fit the bill as a neat Brit integrated at a great price - already reduced because it's an old model and reduced further based on its demo status. So, it arrived on Wed. It sounded great but I was concerned about a popping noise at power on and power off. Then, my son called me into his room when I got in from work on Thurs. The amp was sending a humming sound to both speakers. This wasn't the normal hum like when you power up an active subwoofer. It sounds almost exactly like the sound you get when you engage the record calibration button on an old tuner. (It's an electronic tone generated to allow you to set the levels on your tape deck.) I tried unplugging the amp from the surge protector and plugging it directly into different wall sockets with the same result. That's my trouble-shooting limit.
I'm not really worried about dealing with audio advisor. They have always treated me right. I haven't called them yet because this was the only A500 they had. If we get another integrated from them we will probably exceed my son's budget. If we make a warranty claim we will be inconvenienced for a while.
In comparing the reliability factor between CA and NAD integrateds I can say that neither of my NAD integrateds has failed nor needed repair. The old NAD receiver that my son blew is 15 years old. It would probably still be working fine with my listening habits, but my son had a habit of using the bass boost and turning up the bass control even at high volumes. I can say that this is the second CA product that I've had trouble with. The first was my D300 cd player. After about 4 months, its display went dim and it locked up. I had it too long to get a replacement without attempting repairs under warranty first. I bought it from audiolab.com. They sent for it, got it repaired under warranty and shipped it back in a reasonable amount of time. It has functioned perfectly for a couple of years now and I really like its sound.
Based on all of the above, I'm changing my recommendation of the A500 to "conditional" and I'm adding the following question: What should I do to get my son's tunes going again? Some options I'm considering now are a new stereo receiver from Onkyo or Denon in the $200 (Onkyo) to $250 (Denon) range, or a small 50 to 60 wpc amp to mate with the NAD receiver. I've checked the preamp section of the receiver and it works fine plus it has a decent tuner built in (probably better than the Onkyo or Denon) and a decent phono section. The NAD has pre-out and main-in connections so functionality won't be a problem. What do you think?
I'm not really worried about dealing with audio advisor. They have always treated me right. I haven't called them yet because this was the only A500 they had. If we get another integrated from them we will probably exceed my son's budget. If we make a warranty claim we will be inconvenienced for a while.
In comparing the reliability factor between CA and NAD integrateds I can say that neither of my NAD integrateds has failed nor needed repair. The old NAD receiver that my son blew is 15 years old. It would probably still be working fine with my listening habits, but my son had a habit of using the bass boost and turning up the bass control even at high volumes. I can say that this is the second CA product that I've had trouble with. The first was my D300 cd player. After about 4 months, its display went dim and it locked up. I had it too long to get a replacement without attempting repairs under warranty first. I bought it from audiolab.com. They sent for it, got it repaired under warranty and shipped it back in a reasonable amount of time. It has functioned perfectly for a couple of years now and I really like its sound.
Based on all of the above, I'm changing my recommendation of the A500 to "conditional" and I'm adding the following question: What should I do to get my son's tunes going again? Some options I'm considering now are a new stereo receiver from Onkyo or Denon in the $200 (Onkyo) to $250 (Denon) range, or a small 50 to 60 wpc amp to mate with the NAD receiver. I've checked the preamp section of the receiver and it works fine plus it has a decent tuner built in (probably better than the Onkyo or Denon) and a decent phono section. The NAD has pre-out and main-in connections so functionality won't be a problem. What do you think?