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Post by ChrisB on Sept 16, 2016 19:29:23 GMT
The original TVA power amp.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 17, 2016 8:19:29 GMT
What about early Naim power amps that lacked a Zobel stability network and relied on the speaker cable to be the right inductance and capacitance? Use of a braided Monitor Audio cable soon caused overheating and death of the amp.
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steve
Rank: Trio
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Post by steve on Sept 17, 2016 9:56:44 GMT
The original Musical Fidelity A1 amp had an alarming propensity to blow its output stage at turn-on. I had three do that on me. The dealer I bought it from, had the gall to say and I quote. " I'm not giving you another one to blow up" Eventually the production fault was sorted by the manufacturer.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 17, 2016 10:04:12 GMT
Ah yes, the original toaster/amp.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2016 12:14:44 GMT
The A1 can be a beautiful amp, but there was a lot of talk about skimping on component values and also re-badging B200s biased towards Class A in order to meet demand for A1s at short notice.. I've had quite a few but only a couple sounded good.
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Post by ChrisB on Sept 17, 2016 15:52:25 GMT
The TVA and the A1 were both Tim de Paravicini designs for Anthony Michaelson. I wonder which of those two insisted on pushing the designs to the limit?
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Post by Dave on Sept 17, 2016 22:11:24 GMT
"Fatally". The original NAD 3020 had an error in the PCB layout which introduced crosstalk between L & R channels. As a result, ambiance and low level detail was aided. Hahaha... I'm probably one of the few hifi nerds who has never owned a 3020, I've always thought they looked a bit tacky.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Sept 18, 2016 0:16:08 GMT
Well, it is supposed to be the best selling amplifier of all time, with a figure of 1.5 million being quoted. Which is an awful lot.
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Post by ChrisB on Sept 18, 2016 5:56:47 GMT
Never owned a NAD anything.
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Post by pinkie on Sept 18, 2016 6:06:27 GMT
What about early Naim power amps that lacked a Zobel stability network and relied on the speaker cable to be the right inductance and capacitance? Use of a braided Monitor Audio cable soon caused overheating and death of the amp. Hardly unique to Naim. Richard Dunn promotes the lack of a zobel network as a positive feature of NVA amps. Another area where we failed to see eye to eye. I have some sympathy with his idea that the perfect hifi would be a radiogram where the designer controls all elements including the speakers. But if you are building components, then it is desirable that they are compatible with other normal items, and certainly that they are not potentially unstable in normal use.
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Post by ChrisB on Sept 18, 2016 6:36:36 GMT
Normal use in this case, though, would be with the cable that it intended to be used with, since it is effectively part of the amplifier. I do think though, that in this type of amp, the cable should be included in the price of the amp and hardwired to it to prevent finicky (or stupid) audiophiles doing something they shouldn't. I know everyone uses different lengths but that shouldn't be so hard to overcome.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 18, 2016 8:57:55 GMT
NVA have made it clear that the amps must be used with their speaker cables. Not sure Naim did so to start with.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Sept 18, 2016 9:21:43 GMT
What about early Naim power amps that lacked a Zobel stability network and relied on the speaker cable to be the right inductance and capacitance? Use of a braided Monitor Audio cable soon caused overheating and death of the amp. Hardly unique to Naim. Richard Dunn promotes the lack of a zobel network as a positive feature of NVA amps. Another area where we failed to see eye to eye. I have some sympathy with his idea that the perfect hifi would be a radiogram where the designer controls all elements including the speakers. But if you are building components, then it is desirable that they are compatible with other normal items, and certainly that they are not potentially unstable in normal use. You could say the same for Exposure amps - but no-one ever does. Use either make of amp with "normal" low capacitance cable, and there isn't any problem. I would imagine RD doesn't use a Zobel Network and output inductor as he regards them as filters. I've no way of knowing, but I would imagine that high capacitance speaker cable use isn't "the norm". Obviously RD has been designing speaker cables for years intended for use with his amps (and others). At the same time, there is plenty other "normal" low capacitance cable out there which could be used without issue in "normal use".
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Post by ChrisB on Sept 18, 2016 11:42:58 GMT
I don't think warranties are any good if an NVA dies through the use of NVA cable.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 12:03:44 GMT
NVA have made it clear that the amps must be used with their speaker cables. Not sure Naim did so to start with. IIRC Naim got caught out with the Monitor Audio litz cable and then made it known that their amps required low capacitance cable. There are many low capacitance cables out there though and the ones that pose a threat to Naim, NVA and early Exposure amps are a minority. Does a Zobel network screw with the sound? No idea, but I do like Naim, NVA and Exposure amps that don't have them.
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Post by John on Sept 18, 2016 12:07:28 GMT
My understanding is that the warrenty would not be a issue if using NVA cables. As Martin has pointed out his cables are designed to work with his amplifiers and NVA clearly point it out that you must use their cables so if you wish to ignore this is at your own risk
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