Balling
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Registered: 7th Apr 04
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quote:
Originally posted by SVM 286
Nad are really nice amps.
If often over priced, though.
Same pattern as Bose, really. You never go completely wrong, but you never get quite what you pay for either.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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If you're looking at NAD then it might be worth looking at Rotel, as their integrated amps tend to be similar in price. And if you're going to listen to Arcam, then have a listen to Cyrus stuff - HiFi gear is a slippery slope though 
Balling - Surprised you're comparing Bose to NAD considering Bose is horrendously overpriced and offer mediocre sound at best. Saying that i haven't heard any recent NAD gear, since the 3020 and 310, so perhaps they have gone down the pan.
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Balling
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No, no, I wasn't comparing their products. Just saying that, for what it is, they're both brands that rarely disappoint, but then rarely live up to their price either.
Granted, the gap between price and quality is probably larger when looking at Bose.
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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Did look at a Rotel 04 but didn't listen to it, just got back with the NAD and some BX2 speakers. Only just fitted in the corrado boot
Also, Ipods are crap compared to CD, didn't know this until we tested the same songs in the shops from ipod and from CD.
Got to go out and buy some CDs now, oh and i'll need a CD played to play them
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Balling
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Registered: 7th Apr 04
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quote:
Originally posted by 3CorsaMeal
Ipods are crap compared to CD
That's a bit of a broad statement. It depends entirely on the quality of the content on said iPod as well as how it's transferred to the speakers.
With an external DAC and lossless files, I'd claim that very, very few people would be able to tell the difference between an iPod and a CD.
Can get crappy CD players as well.
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Balling
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Location: Denmark
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quote:
Originally posted by 3CorsaMeal
Also, Ipods are crap compared to CD, didn't know this until we tested the same songs in the shops from ipod and from CD.
Wait, did they have the iPod in the store or was it your own? Sounds like a sales gimmick to try and push overpriced players of a dying format.
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Chris F
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Organiser: East Anglia
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Registered: 26th Dec 05
Location: Newmarket Drives: Escort Van 1.8
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System is lovely, i had a Cambridge Audio one before i got my 7.1 Onkyo
My biggest advice is spend as much as you can on interconnects and speaker cable. It really makes a difference on hifi
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris F
My biggest advice is spend as much as you can on interconnects and speaker cable. It really makes a difference on hifi
quote:
Originally posted by Balling
quote:
Originally posted by 3CorsaMeal
Ipods are crap compared to CD
That's a bit of a broad statement.
Yup. I've got a 5G and it produces a reasonable sound for a portable player.
Ideally you want an iPod with a Wolfson DAC (5G or below), use decent lossless material (WAV, Apple Lossless, FLAC + Rockbox) and then punt everything through the line-out/dock-connector (internal headphone amp is a bit pap) to a decent amp. And if you have a 5G, then there are a load of mods that can be done to them to improve the sound (capacitor changes etc).
So i wouldn't completely write off iPods (or other players like Cowon's, Sandisk etc) as you can get a decent sound out of them, plus they're a lot easier to deal with - although granted, you do lose out on the artwork which is one of the big pluses with CDs/Vinyl.
[Edited on 17-01-2014 by Dom]
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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quote:
Originally posted by Balling
quote:
Originally posted by 3CorsaMeal
Also, Ipods are crap compared to CD, didn't know this until we tested the same songs in the shops from ipod and from CD.
Wait, did they have the iPod in the store or was it your own? Sounds like a sales gimmick to try and push overpriced players of a dying format.
Took my Ipod and he happened to have the same song from CD, really noticed the difference, i brought the question up as put my old barry boy speakers in my car from about 10yrs ago and now using an ipod and didn't sound how i remembered, so going to try with a CD when i get home.
All my ipod music was bought from ipod, then we plugged straight into the amp.
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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I have a 90's NAD amp, cracking piece of kit, really sounds nice. Unfortunately my ancient Denon separates have given up the ghost though so it's not being used 
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Chris F
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Registered: 26th Dec 05
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by Chris F
My biggest advice is spend as much as you can on interconnects and speaker cable. It really makes a difference on hifi
What im right!
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baza31
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Registered: 19th Apr 03
Location: yorkshire
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Not if a shit speaker is on the other end
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris F
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by Chris F
My biggest advice is spend as much as you can on interconnects and speaker cable. It really makes a difference on hifi
What im right!
But you're not. Granted you want solid cabling with decent connectors, no different to buying any other cabling, including digital, but it's pointless spending hundreds or thousands on cables as it's snake-oil bollocks 
Speaker cable - Van Damme Blue (about £1-2 per metre; stick some banana plugs on for easy of use). Interconnects - What ever is in the box (if you want to burn money then look at Mark Grant or flashbacksales.co.uk).
Job Done 
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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I always get ripped off on cable. They work their magic and I paid £8 a metre for something that looks like washing line.
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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Also going to experiment with the ipod Dom. Mine is an 8gb chromematic(?) Nano from a few years back.
Can I connect my Samsung galaxy s3 to it? Was looking at music on play store thing but not sure about it.
Don't really fancy buying cds again. Although I swear I end up skipping most tracks when ipod is on random mood and full of music.
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SVM 286
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Registered: 13th Feb 05
Location: pain
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quote:
Originally posted by Balling
quote:
Originally posted by SVM 286
Nad are really nice amps.
If often over priced, though.
Same pattern as Bose, really. You never go completely wrong, but you never get quite what you pay for either.
I'd say that Nad are pretty decent Mister B. Whilst I would say that Bose most definitely are not
Nad may not be the best for the price (not forgetting that most Hi-Fi is subject to personal taste/perception) and they may use their name to make money, but they're not out and out 'emperor's-new-clothes' promoting, snake oil salesmen, unlike Bose
( or B&O with 'their' televisions for that matter )
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SVM 286
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Registered: 13th Feb 05
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The only time I use my ipod or the music player on my 4s is with earphones when i'm not home.
If i'm indoors I use source material.
That's what it's there for
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by 3CorsaMeal
Also going to experiment with the ipod Dom. Mine is an 8gb chromematic(?) Nano from a few years back.
Can I connect my Samsung galaxy s3 to it?
Sounds like a 1/2G Nano (Wolfson DAC iirc), so grab a dock (with remote) or a LOD (line-out device) phono/RCA cable from eBay (search for 'iPod line out') and feed that to your amp.
For the S3 you can just grab a 3.5mm jack to phono/RCA cable and use the headphone output; alternative you can purchase a USB DAC and OTG cable and go down that route.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris F
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by Chris F
My biggest advice is spend as much as you can on interconnects and speaker cable. It really makes a difference on hifi
What im right!
Lol at this, exactly the sort of thing I'd expect you to come out with. What fancy interconnects do you have and how much did you overpay by so we can all have a laugh?
The sort of person who comes out with that is the sort of person who can't tell the difference anyway.
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SVM 286
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Registered: 13th Feb 05
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In my experience, the only time you can tell any difference, is if you have decent speakers, components and source material.
And if you do a back to back test, by running all shite stuff on your rig (the type of leads and cables you get free with cheaper components) and then swapping the entire lot out for decent upgrades in one hit.
I did this, as it was going to be such a big undertaking to change it all, that i'd been putting it off for ever, rather than do it bit by bit.
When I finally did it, the difference was nice and well worth doing. I wouldn't spend silly money doing it though.
At the time, I was working in a Hi-Fi and AV place, so I got everything as cheap as was physically possible to do so (cost, or cost + VAT usually). The dearest thing I bought was an Audioquest Coral phono pair, for connecting my CD player to my pre-amp.
The law of diminishing returns applies so much on Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi leads though, that after a while, you'd have to spend insane money on the system and all the connections to get a negligible improvement over a set-up at a fraction of the cost.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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All you need for speakers is to not be using bell wire. Interconnects again, decent sized conductors. All the other stuff is just rubbish as proven by the infamous monster cable vs coat hanger thread.
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SVM 286
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Registered: 13th Feb 05
Location: pain
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Not familiar with that thread John
I changed my standard stuff for a combination of Audioquest and QED interconnects. And I swapped my basic cheapie, large gauge speaker wire for QED Silver Anniversary stuff with gold plated banana plugs.
The difference was nice. Clearer treble and a little more oomph low down. I wouldn't spend any more though. I don't think anything else would make any more improvement, no matter what the standard, or the cost.
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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I didn't get banana plugs. Just done the wire into the screw up thing. Wire is by a company called chord and is thin stuff. Its just round like washing line. 3.8mm overall diameter. Was a right pain to splice etc.
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SVM 286
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Registered: 13th Feb 05
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The insulation on my QED stuff is incredibly rigid and heavy duty too Jim.
Luckily i've got the proper (razor sharp) cutters and the strippers they do as a kit which makes it MUCH easier than trying to use a scalpel or conventional strippers and cutters.
Initially I did what you did on the binding posts. I already had the bananas but didn't use em straight off. Also, I left the speaker cables double length, so when I got my power amp I could bi-wire the speakers and split the drivers between the pre and power.
After I halved the cable length and installed the second amp, I used the bananas on the speaker terminals. At the amps i've kept with the binding posts as they work really nicely and you need special terminations which I con't have and are a fiddle to do.
Now that WAS a nice upgrade.
The extra power, plus shortening the cables, plus the more thorough connection at the speaker posts, made for a surprising improvement.
Splitting the drivers between amps gives you more control and more accuracy, plus it makes the sound all the sweeter and more natural. And Christ can you turn it up loud Tracks that used to sound strained or make the speakers distort when up loud, can now be listened to far louder without issue.
Overheating in the summer when flat out for ages is a thing of the past too
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Never came across a cable I couldn't strip with my leatherman, or a stanley, speaker or otherwise.
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