Here is my story… two years ago, i wanted to step up from my hifi. I bought a klh5, i was really impressed, next to that i used the rme adi2. At those time i had an old nait xs amp, i wanted to upgrade this too.
Temporary i bought an a800 pa/studio amp - previously i used a crown xls, it showed me the naim hifi weaknesses - yeah, it was not a sophisticated sound, but give some concert feeling, what is completely missing from the smooth “hifi” amp. From another aspect, sometimes felt too much for a living room, so i stayed at the naim. I expected simiar - and i got it, but the scale of somewhere between the two. After a couple of months i realized, i never enjoyed the music so much, than with the el cheapo a800.
So i wanted to stay on the same studio/pro side, but in a higher level, i bought an ahb2. It was exceptionally clean, and boring again… i played a lot with the input/ output levels the adi2 is a really good partner in that, but nothing happened, no cheerful sound. After a month i give up, and bought a c298.
I still have this amp - since 1.5 years, from many aspect it is better than the a800, but sometimes i felt something is not ok, and i put back the a800. I did it many times, last time i promised myself, ok… i hear the a800 issues if i connect after the c298, but do i have any issues, if i left there for weeks? None. It has dirtier sound, but more cheerful, and more concert feeling. Sometimes i felt the my biggest issue with the a800, it is so cheap, a more expensive amp must be better.
So here i started to give up to force to love more expensive amps, if i enjoyed the listening with then far the cheapest amp, what ive ever had. I can imagine somewhere else, or in a different setup, the a800 is the worst, but i learned the lession, finally is the most important, which is the most enjoyable for me.
nordacoustics.co.uk
