| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 22.1 | Aha.... | ERIC::SALLITT | A legend in his lunchtime | Fri Aug 05 1988 10:31 | 29 |
| Some questions for you first, Iain....
What is wrong with your Leak (apart from its age) that makes you
want to replace it?
Why choose the Quad combo (as good as it is) to replace the Leak?
Is it the name/reputation?
What is wrong with your system's sound that you feel you can correct
with the changes you propose?
I'd agree with changing your speakers, but I don't know your proposed
replacements - why those? How big is the room you plan to listen
in?
Which source do you use mostly, or get the most pleasure from, i.e.
records, tapes, CDs, or radio?
If you bought the Quad combo you wouldn't have much change out of
800 pounds (at a guess); apart from the fact that you'd lose the
radio side of the Leak (unless you plan to use it as a tuner). I've
no idea how much your proposed speakers would cost, but overall
I wouldn't think you'd have much change out of 1.5 grand; now if
I had your system, and that sort of money burning a hole in my pocket,
I can think of several ways I'd spend it - other than what you propose
- but my hifi goals may be different to yours.
If you can answer the questions, we may be able to go a bit further.
Dave
|
| 22.2 | More Info.. | HEWIE::HAYWARD | Concerned of Tilehurst | Fri Aug 05 1988 12:06 | 51 |
|
> What is wrong with your Leak (apart from its age) that makes you
> want to replace it?
At the end of the day very little, I think its a good amp. However
it is developing an irritating buzz in one on the speakers
intermittently. Its not the speakers, as I have swapped them over.
It also isn't an obvious dry joint as I injected a soldering iron
into some of the more obvious places. Therefore, I am left
with repairing/replacing.
> Why choose the Quad combo (as good as it is) to replace the Leak?
> Is it the name/reputation?
Correct !
> What is wrong with your system's sound that you feel you can correct
> with the changes you propose?
See above, I would also like a little more power.
> I'd agree with changing your speakers, but I don't know your proposed
> replacements - why those? How big is the room you plan to listen
> in?
The speakers, I haven't heard yet, but a friend of mine thinks there
are great.
> Which source do you use mostly, or get the most pleasure from, i.e.
> records, tapes, CDs, or radio?
Radio, followed by CD.
> If you bought the Quad combo you wouldn't have much change out of
> 800 pounds (at a guess); apart from the fact that you'd lose the
> radio side of the Leak (unless you plan to use it as a tuner). I've
> no idea how much your proposed speakers would cost, but overall
> I wouldn't think you'd have much change out of 1.5 grand; now if
> I had your system, and that sort of money burning a hole in my pocket,
> I can think of several ways I'd spend it - other than what you propose
> - but my hifi goals may be different to yours.
As I said in the base note, the proposed replacement would cost
mega bucks and the figure you mention is not far out. At the end of
the day, I am going to listen to this monster for 8-10 years so I
want the best I can 'afford'.
Hope this helps..
Iain
|
| 22.3 | We're getting there.... | ERIC::SALLITT | A legend in his lunchtime | Fri Aug 05 1988 14:01 | 70 |
| OK, so the Leak has to go; I've no doubt you'll get a reasonable
price for it, some of their stuff are collectors' pieces now.
Before we go further, a piece of advice:
Don't buy *anything* purely on its reputation, Quad's may or may
not be justified, it depends what you want and who you speak to;
also do not buy anything that someone else tells you is good, we're
all different and like different things, and they may not know what
they're talking about - this applies to anything I or anybody else
recommends in here. It's your money, your ears, and like you say,
you want to enjoy whatever you get for 8-10 years.
Now, you don't need to spend Quad+Tannoy whatever money to improve
on what you have; I'm not knocking it, it's just that things have
moved on a little since systems like yours were popular.
You say radio is most important, then CD; does this mean you don't
use your record player anymore? Bear in mind that if radio is
important, you're going to need a tuner.
I'm not going to recommend products, but two approaches and some
price guesses.
Still using records.....
Integrated amplifier #200-300 (no more)
Tuner #180-250 (you'll get a very good one
for this)
Speakers #80-150 (no more)
The reason I put an upper limit on the amp is that a better one (like
the Quads) will show up the weaknesses in your record player; likewise
the speakers, which would show up weaknesses in the cheaper amp
*and* the record player. If you wanted to replace your record player
then that opens up another can of worms altogether.
No records.....
"Passive" preamp (basically a
switch box with a volume control on
it) #75
Power amplifier #500-->the sky;
Tuner as first system
Speakers as speakers above, or
more. Given an elastic
budget, the listening
room is the limit here.
If you are only using CD, radio and cassette, these provide enough
signal to drive the power amp without a preamp. You may find a system
like this so revealing that you will want a better CD player. You
won't have any tone controls, but the higher you go in hifi the
less you need them.
These are just suggestions, probably extremes. Find a dealer who
will guide you through all the options you're interested in without
hassling you, using your own favourite CDs or whatever. Take your
time to listen; don't worry too much about what to listen *for*,
the dealer - if he/she is any good - will help here, but basically
just ask yourself if you like what your hearing. a good dealer will
take several sessions with you before you decide, if that's what's
needed.
Have fun.
Dave
|
| 22.4 | Oh, I forgot.... | ERIC::SALLITT | A legend in his lunchtime | Fri Aug 05 1988 14:07 | 7 |
| .......leave enough in your budget for decent interconnects, speaker
cables, speaker stands and a respectable roof-mounted FM antenna.
These should not be regarded as trivia, they can make or break a
system.
Dave
|
| 22.5 | Very interesting. | HEWIE::HAYWARD | Concerned of Tilehurst | Fri Aug 05 1988 15:07 | 69 |
| < Note 22.3 by ERIC::SALLITT "A legend in his lunchtime" >
-< We're getting there.... >-
> OK, so the Leak has to go; I've no doubt you'll get a reasonable
> price for it, some of their stuff are collectors' pieces now.
^^^^^^^^^^
Really ?
Before we go further, a piece of advice:
> Don't buy *anything* purely on its reputation, Quad's may or may
> not be justified, it depends what you want and who you speak to;
> also do not buy anything that someone else tells you is good, we're
> all different and like different things, and they may not know what
> they're talking about - this applies to anything I or anybody else
> recommends in here. It's your money, your ears, and like you say,
> you want to enjoy whatever you get for 8-10 years.
I quite agree, especially when you consider the price ! What
I started out by doing is finding a combination ( via recommendations )
suggesting it, and looking carefully at the responce. Basically,
I then don't appear to be a total fool when I walk into the shop
and asking questions.
No records.....
Correct !
> "Passive" preamp (basically a
> switch box with a volume control on
> it) #75
> Power amplifier #500-->the sky;
> Tuner as first system
To start with, I was going to jump the LEAK tuner into the new system
> Speakers as speakers above, or
> more. Given an elastic
> budget, the listening
> room is the limit here.
> If you are only using CD, radio and cassette, these provide enough
> signal to drive the power amp without a preamp. You may find a system
> like this so revealing that you will want a better CD player. You
> won't have any tone controls, but the higher you go in hifi the
> less you need them.
This I didn't realise !
> These are just suggestions, probably extremes. Find a dealer who
> will guide you through all the options you're interested in without
> hassling you, using your own favourite CDs or whatever. Take your
> time to listen; don't worry too much about what to listen *for*,
> the dealer - if he/she is any good - will help here, but basically
> just ask yourself if you like what your hearing. a good dealer will
> take several sessions with you before you decide, if that's what's
> needed.
I shall wonder into B&B on saturday, and see what they say !
Apperciate the help folks, keep it comming..
Iain
|
| 22.6 | Go for it.... | ERIC::SALLITT | A legend in his lunchtime | Fri Aug 05 1988 16:27 | 17 |
| re .5>
Yes, Leak stuff can be very collectable if it's in good nick.
If you go the passive preamp route, bear in mind not all power amps
are sensitive enough for this, but you shouldn't have problems finding
one that'll work and sound OK. A big benefit of this route if you
only use CD is that few integrated amps' CD inputs have headroom for the
CD signal, which can be up (I think) about 3 volts; what most do
is attenuate the signal, which will cause degradation. Not all do,
of course, but if you've got the choice.....
Find a dealer who'll let you use your CD player in the dem. Reading
Hifi in Harris Arcade is another worth trying, a BADA member, I
believe.
Dave
|
| 22.7 | Saturdays work !! | HEWIE::HAYWARD | Concerned of Tilehurst | Wed Aug 10 1988 14:31 | 57 |
|
Ok, sorry for the late reply, but on Saturday I phoned
around all the 'local' dealers to find prices/alternatives.
Only one of the many dealers that I phoned was helpful
so after a long discussion on the phone, he invited me
over to listen to products.
When I arrived ( complete with my CD player ) he had lined up
in the listening room the following : -
NAIM 62 Pre amp.
NAIM 140 Power amp.
Kef 104/2 speakers.
QUAD 34 pre amp.
QUAD 606 power amp.
The listening session took about 2 hours, at which time
I had decided that there wasn't a great deal between
the two systems. Although, if I was pushed, I would
say that the NAIM probably came out on top for sound quality.
After this session, the salesman came down and we stated talking
about the room the system would be set up in etc. We also
spoke about the qualities of the various systems. This conversation
lead to an interesting point made by the salesman about, if you
took the NAIM 62 pre amp and the QUAD 606 power amp, the result
would be better than sticking to one manufacture. The only
problem was that if you wanted to do this, you would have to purchase
the NAIM HI-CAP power supply, which costs an additional #300 !
The other point he stated making was that if we put the new ROSE
valve pre amp on the QUAD, it would be even better. However,
he started telling me about the draw backs of doing this when we were
interrupted and we never resumed the conversation.
So, after all that, can any one now help me answer
the following questions : -
o Is it worth asking the salesman to put the ROSE & 606 together
for another session, or are there serious draw backs, if so
what ?
o The QUAD 606 is rated as an 8 Ohm amp, but the Kefs 104 are
4 ohm speakers. Would this have made a difference to
the quality of the QUAD's sound ?
o Does any know anything about the AE1 speaker ? Once again
the sales man was raving about it, but didn't have one
he could demo, until next week.
Thanks for you help
Iain
|
| 22.8 | Where was it? | NEARLY::GOODENOUGH | Jeff Goodenough, IED/Reading UK | Wed Aug 10 1988 15:03 | 3 |
| It would be interesting to know where this helpful dealer is located.
Jeff.
|
| 22.9 | Nameless. | HEWIE::HAYWARD | Concerned of Tilehurst | Thu Aug 11 1988 10:24 | 6 |
|
They ( I can't remember their name ) were located in Oxford
Tel No : - 0865-247783. Ask for Nigel !!
Iain
|
| 22.10 | Great stuff... | ERIC::SALLITT | A legend in his lunchtime | Thu Aug 11 1988 10:46 | 38 |
| re .7....
"Is it worth asking the salesman to put the ROSE & 606 together
for another session, or are there serious draw backs, if so
what ?"
If you're in the market for hardware at this price point, yes it's
worth it, especially if you've found a dealer who'll take the time
help you explore; but yes there's a drawback in that you need a clear goal
or idea of the sound you want to achieve, and auditioning every
combination possible can be confusing. I'm glad you weren't confronted
with a Naim power amp driven by another brand preamp - *not* a good
idea as Naim power amps are very picky about what they're driven
with.
"
o The QUAD 606 is rated as an 8 Ohm amp, but the Kefs 104 are
4 ohm speakers. Would this have made a difference to
the quality of the QUAD's sound ?"
No difference at all. The quoted impedance is just a nominal figure
as with a music signal a speaker's impedance can vary from up to
1.5 x quoted figure down to around (with some speakers) .2 x the
quoted figure. Anyway, the amps you auditioned should just about
drive a short circuitfor short periods without self-destructing.
" o Does any know anything about the AE1 speaker ?"
A small high performance speaker; a little bass-light for some tastes,
absolutely *must* be fed with a quality signal or it will sound
dreadful. This means not only amps of the quality you've auditioned so
far (or better), but also a good source - like I said in an earlier
reply, they may make you want a better CD player......
You seem to be doing OK; are you going to tell us who the dealer
is...?
Dave
|